this post was submitted on 11 Apr 2026
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Didn't Apple just launch a $600 laptop?
Edit: everyone made a bunch of really great points. Mine was more about addressing the affordability angle of a dying Personal Computing.
It has indeed. One with 8GB RAM, not upgradable. Strictly limited to MacOS, no Linux no nothing.
Don't get me wrong, it is a fantastic offer but decisively non-modular and non upgradeable and no freedom of operating system choice. Framework's laptop's are the opposite, they are modular, upgradeable and easily repairable, with replacement parts being sold at a fair price.
The new Apple Neo has come a long way with a relatively clean interior and decently easy battery replacement procedure. That is less their own doing though and more them preparing for new EU legislation mandating exactly that.
Which, in the history of computing devices, certainly is nothing new. Apple, and others, has been doing this pretty much forever.
Oh, then I must have imagined the Mac I used years back with Windows just a false memory imprint I suppose. I was not saying that all of the above is a deal braker for everyone but it is definitely a deal breaker for some. Certainly if you want to use Linux, the Neo is simply not an option at all. Most Windows laptops are though and especially Framework laptops are very much so.
The fact that Apple doesn't really want you to use their stuff with other systems doesn't mean that you absolutely cannot do so. I don't know what gave you that absurd idea.
And even the relatively generic PC computers we have nowadays are designed to be quite hostile to anything that isn't Windows, even though we manage to work around it in most cases.
I wrote "Strictly limited to MacOS, no Linux no nothing."
To which you responded "Which, in the history of computing devices, certainly is nothing new. Apple, and others, has been doing this pretty much forever."
So unless you did not articulate yourself clearly, that means exactly that you absolutely cannot do so. Which was false in the past. But for the Apple Neo it is largely true, unless you are talking about developing a solution yourself. There is nothing that works on it other than operating systems from Apple. If I am mistaken, please tell me which alternative OS does work on it.
On the other side, I have a Framework Desktop, simply because that was the only option for buying the Max 395+ on an ITX board, for my custom fanles PC project. I had zero problems installing off the mill Linux distros on it.
I wouldn't buy a Mac to install Linux on it for a number of reasons, but I assumed someone somewhere had tried to install Linux on Apple silicon and I was correct. Apparently, asahi works on it: https://www.linuxnest.com/how-to-install-linux-on-a-macbook-m1-m2-m3-intel-the-complete-2025-guide/
It sounds like limited support, and I honestly have no idea why someone would do this. I think a better path to even alternative silicon Linux (non-x86 stuff) would be buying some type of ARM.
You can run Linux just fine on apple SOCs, multiple independent projects managed to run Linux on IPhones before. You do have to rewrite the device tree and all drivers, but that's the case for all new hardware. People have done it before for the ARM chips in the apple silicons. (up to the M2 series at least)
The only real question is if the bootloader is unlockable or if the neo needs to be jailbroken like its the case with most iphones.
Its definetly not a good choice for Linux and it will take a few years even with the best case scenario, but its possible nonetheless.
I am aware of Asahi Linux (M1&M2). I am not aware of the other projects. Can you provide some links to those that provide a functional and usable OS for iPhone hardware. Which SOCs are they for?
The difference to other hardware, as far as I understand is that Apple offers very little documentation to third parties. Which is the reason why Asahi Linux is still stuck on M2 when there is already the M5 out. If it were so trivial, why don't we have Asahi Linux for at least M3? It has been around for 3 years already.
Oh man. I began using Linux a little over a year ago by installing Ubuntu (then switching to Mint) on old Macs--a 2011 iMac and a 2015 MacBook Pro. The MacBook had a logic board failure and I decided to grab a super cheap Lenovo IdeaPad from Costco a few months back. Getting a bootable USB for the first Mac was really the only challenge I ever had, otherwise the installs were extremely straightforward (especially when I went to Mint). But for the IdeaPad (which has a CoPilot key on the keyboard and was "optimized for Windows 11"), while there weren't any real gymnastics involved, the process of removing Windows 11 took substantially longer than MacOS and I got the feeling that it was all the "AI" nonsense trying to avoid being deleted. It was clear that this laptop did NOT want something other than Windows on it.
Of course I was successful. And I managed to remap that Copilot key to bring up the Linux Mint menu when I hit it, as an extra layer of dominance.
x86 iMacs, yes. I was not talking about them. I was talking about Apple Silicon. I am not sure what makes removing Windows 11 so difficult, can't you simply install over it, the disk is being formatted before the installation anyway. And once Windows 11 is gone so is copilot.
That said, your mileage with laptops varies, regarding hardware support. Often touchpad support or whatever is making some fuss.
They provided and updated Windows drivers for their hardware for more than a decade.
They did, I was not talking about the past though. I was talking about Apple Silicon.
screen replacement isn't too crazy either on those which I do appreciate. the cost of parts is still high tho we'll see if it comes down in the future
Yeah, it's the complete opposite of what Apple II was: the first truly serviceable personal computer with a lot of DIY support and extensibility.
You can run Linux on the ARM MacBooks.
No you can't, not any Linux. Just a single one, Asahi Linux and that only on M1 and M2 nothing newer and that is not a flawless experience either and recommended only for those understanding the limitations.
But I wasn't even talking about other MacBooks, I was talking about the Apple Neo and there not even Asahi Linux runs, at least I am not aware of any fork that would work. Correct me please if you know more.
I did some googling and it seems you are right, at least for now. I expect Linux support for ARM macs will continue to expand.
As far as I can tell it’s a limitation if moving from the more popular x86 to ARM with some other hardware related caveats. Importantly, the macs are aren’t locked from booting other OSes, its just the hardware support hasn’t caught up yet.
Indeed, they aren't locked, which is good. However, Apple does also nothing to document a lot of things for 3rd parties which makes it very difficult for them and requires them to do a lot of reverse engineering. Asahi is a great project but progress has been slow, not due to Asahi's fault mind you. So we still have no M3 support and Apple is already moving to the M5.
So saying "hardware support hasn't caught up yet" is putting it a bit mildly. Apple makes it as hard as it can for that to catch on, stopping short of locking it down. But not locking it down is already something and it enabled Asahi in the first place.
Not on M3 and newer. That means everything released in the last 2-3 years
There’s nothing magic about the M3 and newer machines stopping you from running Linux on them.
Asahi already has some early support for them.
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Apple-M3-Asahi-Linux-2026
For the grand majority of people having hardware that lasts longer is more important than hardware that can be repaired
If you think a repairable thing can't last long or something that can last long cant be repairable then you're mistaken
Im not saying repairable things cant last long but objectively speaking the more moving parts especially ones that can be removed with little friction (without tools) the less durable something is. That's inherent to any device with moving parts, the idea is therefore it should be reduced (within reason). Yes framework laptops can be infinitely repaired but people want something that will last without needing to be repaired.
There's no reason why you can't design a repairable product with fewer moving parts. Just because I superglued stuff doesn't mean it'll last longer.
Repairable also doesn't mean tool less. It means having published schematics, spare parts available at decent prices as well as using standard tooling (no obsure screw heads or software pairing or DRM or other such fuckery).
Repairable also doesn't mean repairable in the house. It can be repairable by a specialist but that specialist shouldn't be sanctioned by the OEM.
Apple, John Deere, McDonald's etc. all make things that could be repairable with little corporate effort but intentionally make it non repairable.
Right but framework specifically does have a lot of moving parts and toolless disassembly
I can bet these tool-less disassembly doesn't impact longevity. There are no moving parts except a fan, which is almost par for the course.
Nokia phones had tool-less disassembly and no one could call them anything less than long lasting tanks.
No need to spread FUD
Why wouldn’t you put Asahi on it?
Pretty sure the problem is you can't.
Of course you can, why can’t you?
Only M-series SoCs can run Asahi.
Is the bootloader locked like on iOS devices? If not, there’s probably a chance it can eventually run Asahi
No, but Asahi Linux works only for M1 and M2 as of now. They need to reverse engineer a lot and want to get it working there well enough before even attempting M3. The Apple Neo is neither of those, it is an A18 Pro. Entirely different SOC.
“Entirely different” is a bit of a stretch. It’s about as close as you can get in this world without relabeling it. It’s built on the same architecture, same manufacturing processes, its just a different number of cores with different priorities for phone efficiency.
When Apple piloted the switch to Apple silicon, it sent developers a Mac mini with an iPhone chip in it before they released the M1. This is that exact same thing, but newer.
Yes the language was a bit colourful but the point remains.
M1/M2 and A18 Pro are not the same and Asahi, which is available for M1 and M2 cannot just run on an A18 Pro: https://github.com/rusch95/asahi_neo
I thought you'd also need adaptations of your drivers for an A18 Pro compared to an M4 but maybe I was mistaken there. Certainly M1 and M2 compatibility does not suffice.
For sure, but I bet some work can be done to allow it to work on the A18 Pro down the line. Maybe.
Probably eventually, so not right now. And it’s not a certainty though, M3 and 4 aren’t even fully supported they are missing GPU acceleration. Don’t buy a Neo today on the hope of running Asahi on it someday.
Did Apple lock a bootloader or something? A link would go a long way to helping others understand what you already seem to know
Here go to this page https://asahilinux.org/fedora/#device-support
Do you see the Neo on there? It’s an entirely different chip than the M-series so they don’t even have drivers for the SoC in the Neo
tyvm, appreciate the further reading
Proprietary hardware and nobody reverse engineered the drivers for graphics and all the proprietary shit.
They didn't technically locked it down but they making sure that using an alternative operating system it's a miserable experience
Go research it. It doesn't work. Moron
I did, and nothing says you can’t?
Why did you get so angry you absolute unhinged weirdo? Why would this make you that upset?
I sincerely wish life is as kind to you as you are to others
can it run Linux?
Can it? Yes.
Will it? Almost certainly.
Is there something you can install right now? No.
https://frame.work/linux
Officially supports 3 distros and supports more with community support.
Apple is part of the problem
You'll need to be more specific.
Its $500 for students