Linux 'Scary Fast' on Apple Silicon
Community benchmarks show that Linux running on M1 and M2 chips is achieving 'exceptionally high' performance, with users reporting workstation-class speeds. This cross-OS efficiency highlights the robustness of Apple's custom silicon and unified memory architecture for diverse, high-performance workloads.
The performance leap is partly attributed to the Linux kernel's use of 16K memory pages, which aligns better with the silicon's architecture compared to the 4K pages used by most Linux systems on other architectures. This optimization reduces overhead on the CPU's memory management unit, freeing it up for computation and boosting performance in memory-intensive tasks like code compilation. Early benchmarks from Phoronix on the M1 showed Asahi Linux outperforming macOS in some WebP image encoding tests, though macOS was faster in other areas due to more mature power management and CPU P-state handling. More recent tests on an M1 MacBook Pro with Fedora Asahi Remix showed it consistently beating macOS in C-based gzip/pigz decompression benchmarks, indicating superior CPU and file I/O performance in specific scenarios. The Asahi Linux project, initially an Arch-based distribution, has officially partnered with the Fedora Project to create the Fedora Asahi Remix, now the flagship distribution. This collaboration allows the Asahi team to focus on reverse-engineering Apple's hardware while leveraging Fedora's robust and mainstream platform, a move intended to provide a more polished user experience. Development is a community-driven effort of reverse-engineering, as Apple does not provide documentation for its proprietary hardware. This has led to significant progress, with conformant OpenGL, OpenCL, and Vulkan drivers being developed, and much of the work being gradually upstreamed into the mainline Linux kernel. However, the project has faced hurdles, including the departure of its founder, Hector Martin, and other key developers, citing challenges with the kernel development community. Despite the performance, significant hardware support gaps remain. As of early 2026, features like Thunderbolt, USB-C display output, and high refresh rate displays are still under development. Support for newer chips like the M3 is in an early alpha state, with basic functionality but lacking GPU acceleration, and the M4 presents new reverse-engineering challenges. The project's long-term goal is to have all necessary drivers and patches integrated into the mainline Linux kernel, making running Linux on Apple Silicon a standard, well-supported option across various distributions. This effort not only benefits Mac users but also strengthens the broader ARM64 Linux ecosystem by forcing developers to address and fix platform-specific bugs.
