@ashwin I don't have Apple devices, but I know many who do, and since it is also Unix I try to learn as much about that ecosystem too.

From what I know, there isn't a single Linux port yet for the A18 Pro chip, which is the CPU for the Apple Neo notebook, which, by the way, is friggin' amazing. You could use virtualization software like UTM, Parallels, VMware Fusion or similar to run Linux on it; alternatively, as far as I know, there is currently no other option. CodeWeavers (CrossOver) is not officially supported yet. The A18 Pro chip is also from the iPhone 16, from what I've heard very interesting concept to use that in a notebook, and it seems to have worked.

@ashwin

It depends on what you want to do with it.

I used to run a powerpc mac laptop ~2003 with #Debian and as long as I was running free software it worked as a charm, but as soon as I wanted to run something non-free it was not available (at the time I think it was Adobe Acrobat or some game that was alluring).

@ashwin buying hardware that the vendor doesn’t support Linux for is too risky imho. That would apply here to the Neo, but also to many “generic” PC laptops.
It might work, it might even work quite well, but there’s unlikely to be firmware updates and probably a few other missing bits.

Look specifically for a model where the vendor has put in the effort to test and make Linux work.

As just one example, Lenovo have a list: https://lenovo.com/linux

@ashwin Pretty sure you're not gonna' get Mint to run on a MacBook Neo. The only project that runs on Apple Silicon is Asahi Linux, and that's only on the M1 and maybe the M2 series of processors.

If you want the best compatibility, get a PC laptop or an older Mac with an Intel processor.

@ashwin I would not buy an Apple device specifically to run Linux on.

Even the first-gen Apple silicon devices only had partial support so I suspect the newest will be some way behind. Asahi is a great project, and if you already had an Apple device you wanted to make use of then I’d say take a look; but don’t go out and spend money on the assumption that it’ll work smoothly. (And in particular you’re likely to be much more limited in your choice of distribution; I have no idea if there’s an Asahi version of Mint.)

@ashwin

Unfortunately you're unlikely to find a Linux for any A series chip any time soon if ever, that chip was meant for iPhones and iPads with the related but slightly different M series for computers. As the Neo shows, they do work in computers, even defective ones, but because it was unexpected, there's nothing out there yet, and for the M series, I think only Asahi Linux exists