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Initial Apple M4 Linux Support Is Targeted for Linux 7.4

Initial Apple M4 device-tree work has reached Asahi’s Linux 7.4 development tree, but installer support and many device features remain unavailable or undetermined.
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Linux development has taken an initial step toward supporting Apple M4 Macs: a revised set of device-tree descriptions and bindings was applied to Asahi Linux’s apple-soc/dt-7.4 development tree on August 31, 2026. That is foundational hardware enablement—not confirmation that Linux 7.4 has been released, or that M4 Macs can now run a complete, usable Linux desktop.

What “initial M4 support” means

Apple’s M4 system-on-chip is identified as t8132. Its initial Linux work describes hardware in device trees and adds bindings that let the kernel represent components and their relationships. Those descriptions are groundwork for bringing up hardware; they are not, by themselves, finished drivers or working support for every component.

Yureka Lilian’s July 5, 2026 submission proposed ten patches covering CPU compatibles, Apple interrupt-controller support, watchdog, power-management and power-state bindings, pin control, I2C, PWM, device identification, and a minimal t8132 device tree. Lilian described the series as a limited foundation for future development: “This series covers only a minimal amount of hardware, which is useful as a basis for future developments.” The original patch announcement also said much of the boot-enablement work had been happening in the m1n1 bootloader.

Where the work stands

An August 31, 2026 mailing-list reply reported that the revised M4 series had been applied to Asahi’s apple-soc/dt-7.4 tree. This is a development-tree status, not proof that the changes are in a released Linux kernel. The application notice is the relevant status update.

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On October 2, Phoronix reported the initial M4 device trees as work for the Linux 7.4 merge window, while noting that being able to boot is not the same as broad usability. That report is secondary coverage; the application notice and Asahi’s feature matrix are more useful for understanding development status and device-level limits.

Can Linux run on an M4 Mac?

The answer depends on what “run” means. The development work is aimed at enabling early kernel support, but the Asahi Linux feature matrix, accessed October 4, 2026, associates M4 device-tree support with linux-asahi 7.4 and lists no installer support. It also shows only limited display behavior—boot framebuffer support on some laptop models—and leaves many components unsupported or still to be determined. Check the live M4 feature matrix for the status of a particular Mac and component.

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The matrix describes Asahi’s platform work; it does not guarantee support in an arbitrary Linux distribution or in a released mainline kernel. Device-tree support alone does not establish that a machine has a working desktop, GPU acceleration, Wi-Fi, audio, or complete laptop peripherals.

What the original boot notes do—and do not—show

In the July submission, Lilian said most changes needed to reach a bootable state had been made in m1n1, and that iBoot now sets and locks CPU configuration bits that m1n1 had previously set. The submission also said SMP boot depended on separate idle=nop patches and remained unstable at that point. These are observations from the July series, not a guarantee about every later build.

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How to check support for a specific M4 Mac

  1. Open the Asahi Linux M4 feature matrix and find the row for the exact Mac family: iMac, Mac mini, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air.
  2. Check device-tree status and installer availability separately. Device-tree work does not mean an installer is available.
  3. Review display behavior and each listed peripheral individually. A status for one component or model does not establish support for another.

The available evidence does not support ranking M4 models by Linux performance or naming an overall best M4 Mac for Linux.

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