Asahi Linux 7.1 extends Apple Silicon support to M3 audio and H.264 decode

Category: Linux/Kernel
Status: confirmed
Sources: Asahi Linux progress report, HN discussion
Summary: The Asahi Linux 7.1 progress report, published 2026-06-30, documents work bringing Linux to Apple Silicon. M3 machines gain high-quality audio output (speaker and headphone) plus CPU frequency switching, big.LITTLE task scheduling, and SMC hardware sensors via devicetree additions. The m1n1 bootloader reached v1.6.0, the first version requiring Rust for its stage 2 build, and moved GPU initialization into m1n1 along with SPMI controller and PCIe init improvements. A new V4L2 driver from contributor sofus decodes 10-bit AVC (H.264) video up to 4K through custom AVD firmware and the V4L2 Request API, with VP9, HEVC, and AV1 still pending. Installs from 7.0.12 onward set an APFS metadata flag to fix an issue where macOS 27 dropped Asahi from the boot picker.
Why it matters: M3 audio and hardware video decode close two long-standing gaps for Linux on recent Apple laptops, and the Rust requirement in m1n1 marks Rust moving into the low-level bootloader path.
Follow-up: Watch for further M3 GPU/display driver progress, VP9/HEVC/AV1 decode support, and upstreaming of the new drivers.