Linux was ported to run on Apple’s Mac M1s

A new Linux port allows Apple’s Mac M1s to run Ubuntu for the first time. Corellium, a security company that offers a virtualized version of iOS for security testing, has successfully ported Ubuntu to M1 Macs and posted a tutorial for others to follow. The modified version of Ubuntu boots into the normal user interface and includes USB support.

The Corellium team detailed exactly how they got Ubuntu to work, and it’s a good, in-depth read if you’re interested in the details. While a number of M1 components are shared with Apple’s mobile chips, non-standard chips have made it difficult to create Linux drivers to make Ubuntu work properly.

Apple didn’t design its M1 Macs with dual boot or Boot Camp in mind. Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering at Apple, previously ruled out official support for native booting of alternative operating systems such as Windows or Linux. Virtualization seems to be Apple’s preferred method, but that hasn’t stopped people from creating their own ports.

Hector Martin, a developer who regularly runs Linux on various hardware, is Linux port also on M1 Macs. Developers seem to be won over by the performance benefits offered by Apple’s M1 chips and the ability to run Linux on a silent ARM-based machine. “I was waiting for an ARM laptop capable of running Linux for a long time, ”Linux creator Linus Torvalds said in November. “The new Air would be almost perfect, except for the operating system.”

Chris Wade, CTO of Corellium, describes this new port as “completely usableOn a Mac Mini M1, and it works by booting the full Ubuntu desktop from USB. However, you will need a USB-C dongle to operate the network, and the process of getting the port to work will require some familiarity with Linux and custom kernels. Corellium has posted a tutorial on the process, if you want to try this beta project.

Corellium has some experience working around Apple operating system protections. Corellium offers security researchers a virtual iPhone to help explore vulnerabilities. It’s a process that angered Apple enough to sue Corellium. Apple lost a first challenge to Corellium late last year, after initially filing a copyright lawsuit against the company in August 2019. Apple then alleged DMCA violations in January 2020, and a judge dismissed the copyright infringement complaints in December. A decision on the separate DMCA claims has been postponed.