Linux is getting official support for Apple’s M1 Macs, and we could see a June release date for the upcoming Linux Kernel 5.13 release. The first Release Candidate build of Linux Kernel 5.13 was released this week, and Linus Torvalds has confirmed that it supports Apple’s M1 chip.
The release notes of the new 5.13 Kernel notes that it adds support for several chips based on the ARM architecture, including the M1. This will offer users the ability to run Linux natively on the new M1 MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac.
While it was already possible to run Linux on M1 machines in a virtual machine, that solution did not take advantage of the maximum performance offered by native M1 support.
Linux on M1 will initially offer limited functionality short term, as not all drivers have yet been implemented. For example, hardware-accelerated video is currently absent. Future versions of the Linux Kernel are expected to offer improvements.
The official Linux Kernel 5.13 release is expected to become available sometime between June and July.
