If the Macbook Neo was capable of running Asahi Linux, that would be really neat! Especially since Apple will 100% bog it down with MacOS updates to force schools to upgrade their devices earlier than necessary.
The only thing keeping me from buying a neo is Linux support
Better off going elsewhere for Linux.
Linux will always be a second class citizen for Apple.
Oh I know. I just really like the idea of running a server off an iphone chip.
Especially since Apple will 100% bog it down with MacOS updates to force schools to upgrade their devices earlier than necessary.
Where do these conspiracies come from?
They’ve been caught in the past slowing down old iPhones claiming it was to preserve battery health. I think claiming they definitely will do it is a bit much, but it seems plausible enough.
Reality
It’s not a conspiracy, Apple (and many other companies) has been known to create software updates meant to slow down older devices to encourage users to upgrade.
When apple is involved, usually history. They’ve done it before. It’s not unreasonable to expect it to happen again. Especially since apple themselves are surprised at the popularity of that device. Once they heeleits eating into air and pro purchases, things are likely to change for the neo.
Replacing the battery in a throttled phone resulted in increased performance, conclusively shining light on Apple’s throttling shenanigans. The phones weren’t the problem—old batteries were. Public outcry and lawsuits ensued. Finally, Apple publicly admitted to CPU throttling for aging batteries.
Despite the shadiness of the ordeal, this change was actually made to lengthen the lifespan of these devices. The sentiment (and conspiracy) I continue to see is that there are software updates made to intentionally cripple devices and frustrate their users.
Wait, with Asahi booting on a A18 chip, does that mean Asahi on iPhones might be possible in the future?
I would imagine that the hardware on iPhones (touchscreen input, multiple cameras, FaceID) would make it much more challenging and probably not within the scope of the project (!). iPhones are also more locked down then Macs are, I believe there is no way to install an alternate operating system on modern iPhones. Project Sandcastle, a project to implement Android on iPhones, only got around to the 7 (and even then, it had poor support).
Macs explicitly allow booting a 3rd party OS, which makes Asahi even possible in the first place. IPhones actively fight you if you try.
It’s great that M4/M5 is booting but M3 support is still sporadic and incomplete.