The Asahi Linux team has released its latest progress report with the launch of Linux kernel 7.1, providing a comprehensive update for users interested in running Linux on Apple Silicon Macs.
A major update is the improved M3 support. The Asahi team reports that several core components now function on M3-series Macs, including PCIe, WiFi, Bluetooth, NVMe, keyboard, trackpad, and other SoC block drivers. Plus, audio support is now available for M3 machines, providing high-quality output.
CPU frequency scaling and big.LITTLE task scheduling are now functional on M3 systems. Hardware sensor support has been added for M3 machines as well, requiring mainly device tree updates since the SMC firmware interface remains largely unchanged across models.
However, Asahi Linux is not yet ready to offer installer support for Apple M3 Macs. The team notes that further work is needed, but progress is moving quickly.
The report also addresses two key macOS 27 issues. The first involved the boot picker: after installing the macOS 27 developer beta, some users found that Asahi Linux no longer appeared in Startup Disk or Apple’s boot picker, making the installation seem unavailable.
The issue was traced to a bootable APFS metadata flag now required by Apple’s boot tools in macOS 27, which earlier versions ignored. New Asahi installations will now set this flag automatically.
The second issue involved SMC firmware changes affecting battery management. Apple modified a battery interface to return a single byte instead of a 32-bit integer, which caused Asahi’s Linux power supply driver to misinterpret battery status and, in some cases, trigger an emergency shutdown.
Asahi has patched this issue in its downstream kernel starting with version 7.0.12, enabling the driver to support both firmware interfaces.
The team also cautions users against installing macOS developer betas on production machines, noting that global firmware updates can be permanent and may require a DFU restore to reverse.
Another major development is the initial work on Apple Video Decoder (AVD) support, Apple’s hardware for decoding video formats like AVC/H.264, HEVC/H.265, VP9, and AV1 on newer SoCs.
In light of this, rather than relying on Apple’s bundled AVD firmware from macOS, the Asahi team is developing custom firmware. Additionally, a functional V4L2 driver for AVC hardware decoding is now available. It can decode 10-bit AVC/H.264 video up to 4K and supports software using the V4L2 Request API.
However, this feature is not yet ready for users. Support for VP9, HEVC, and AV1 is still in development, and device-specific issues require further testing.
Finally, the project is preparing for future support for M4 and A18 Pro, with improved handling of Apple’s non-macOS boot mode and new power domain metadata in the Apple Device Tree.
For additional details, see the official announcement.
