Malte Engeler

Dear Linux people,

I want to get a descently modern (used) Macbook and have it run Linux with as much of the build-in hardware being supported (WiFi, webcam, speakers, ports etc).

What MacBook and what Distro would you recommend?

Thx 🙏

Edit: I was thinking not older than 2015/2018 hardware. I like the design of that era. Apple Silicon era is probably too expensive for what I plan.

Jan 15 at 10:14pmWeb
Show threadyawnboxJan 15

@malteengeler

M1 MBP with @AsahiLinux

Show threadSchrank  🐘Jan 15
@malteengeler May I ask why? What motivation do you have to get pretty expensive hardware to run linux? Just curios, a mac user myself :-)
Show threadMalte EngelerJan 15
@Schrank design, hardware, display, battery life, all the apple strengths.
Show threadGötz HoffartJan 15
@malteengeler Macbook M1, M2 & AsahiLinux. Thunderbolt and Fingerprint is not supported yet. But USB3 works.
Show threadtanteJan 15
@malteengeler most modern is probably a M1 macbook and as distro there's basically only Asahi as a choice.
Show threadMalte EngelerJan 15
@tante I realise my question my have been misleading. Apple Silicon is probably too recent for what I need.
Show threadtanteJan 15
@malteengeler Yeah. Intel Macs have more degrees of freedom in choosing distros. You might want to look at other hardware though if you don't want to fight the computer but use it.
Show threadtanteJan 15
@malteengeler is your plan to _only_ run Linux or to dual boot? Because if you want to actually go for linux other hardware would make things a lot easier.
Show threadMalte EngelerJan 15
@tante other hardware makes me want to throw the laptop out I fear. But yes, I see what you mean. Still ... a MacBook Air over everything built for windows any day of the week.
Show threadtanteJan 15
@malteengeler the thing is: A lot of the hardware benefits that you get from Apple's ecosystem (think battery runtime) will not materialize with Linux on Mac.
I have tried it a few years ago and for me it was a bit too fiddly TBH.
Show threadMalte EngelerJan 15
@tante ok that good to know thx.
Show threadtanteJan 15
@malteengeler a used t14s thinkpad for example is not much heavier than a macbook air but works out of the box.
Show threadMalte EngelerJan 15
@tante 🙏
Show threadtanteJan 15
@malteengeler (I am not sponsored, I just have been using thinkpads for literal decades now so I am a bit biased. Advantage is that those machines are used by corporations and when they upgrade lots of them get sold for cheap)
Show threadfellmoon 🏴Jan 15
@tante @malteengeler I've literally yesterday gifted a refurbished T14s to someone and it's probably lighter then my x280 which I dailydrive.
Refurbished thinkpads are probably the best value, you can get for linux.
Show threadDavid CulleyJan 16

@tante @malteengeler The HP EliteBook 845 is also very good. Roughly equivalent to the Thinkpad T14. Unlike Thinkpads, however, its case is made of aluminium, so it might look more like a MacBook. Maybe that is close enough for you, despite explicitly requiring a MacBook.

The current generation of the 845 is the G11, but a much better deal is looking for the G8 from 2021 on the refurbished market. You can get a refurbished 845 G8 that looks like new for 350 EUR.

The G7 would be 50 EUR or so less.

As for a Linux distribution, that depends on how well you know Linux already. I would probably suggest Fedora or Pop!OS for the average macOS user, without knowing your use case.

Avoid Ubuntu, that's broken since the latest version.

Dead-simple distributions with absolute beginners and computer newbies in mind would be Mint or Elementary.

Show threadPaul-Vincent Roll (he/him)Jan 15
@malteengeler I think I would buy an M1 or no MacBook at all when it comes to Linux. Anything Intel the old MacBooks are just not that amazing, get super hot etc 😅
Show threadMalte EngelerJan 15
@paul ok thanks. That's good to know.
Show threadPaul-Vincent Roll (he/him)Jan 15
@malteengeler I don’t use it for Linux currently (have installed @AsahiLinux in the past and it’s great!) but the M1 series is still great and will last you quite a long time. They are fast, battery life will be a lot better than on Intel. Super quiet, cool jus great machines. Maybe slightly more expensive than the old Intel ones but way more reliable and will most certainly last longer.
Show threadTobias BernardJan 15
@malteengeler I'd recommend looking into a 2018-2020 Dell XPS as a compromise - not quite Apple quality but waaay better than a Thinkpad, and the hardware just works
Show threadSebastian GießmannJan 15
@malteengeler Linux MINT on a 2016 MacBook Pro works like a charm. Intel-based Macs are advantageous if you want to use #Linux. #did
Show threadm0lenaarJan 15
@malteengeler Continuing in the line of recommending things that are not exactly what you asked for: I've been using a Framework 13 for over a year now and for me it falls in the sweet spot of "Mac-like look and feel" and excellent Linux support (while being easily expandable and repairable)
Show threadTheTomasJan 16

@malteengeler Im Grunde ist die Hardware von Intel-Macs beinahe egal. Der Trick besteht darin mit Netzwerkabel zu booten und die benötigten Wifi-Treiber nachträglich zu installieren.

Habe vor ein paar Jahren einen Blog zu geschireben:

https://blog.jakobs.systems/blog/20201218-mac-to-linux/