Asahi Linux project's OpenGL support on Apple Silicon officially surpasses Apple

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Asahi Linux’s reverse‑engineered GPU drivers for Apple Silicon now offer fully conformant OpenGL 4.6 support, surpassing Apple’s own long‑deprecated OpenGL implementation on macOS and enabling better Linux gaming and graphics workloads on M1/M2 hardware. Commenters praise the technical achievement and tooling behind Asahi, while contrasting Apple’s excellent but tightly locked‑down hardware and Metal‑only strategy with Linux’s flexibility, uneven desktop polish, and the trade‑offs users face when choosing between ecosystems.

Apple Hardware and Ecosystem

  • Apple’s Apple Silicon hardware is widely praised: strong performance, great battery life, especially impressive for gaming and rendering potential.
  • Major frustrations: locked-down hardware, expensive RAM/storage, and reduced user control over what runs on their own devices.
  • Some feel Apple’s relationship with third‑party developers (e.g., game studios, Valve) has deteriorated, undermining the hardware’s gaming potential.

Apple Privacy, CSAM, and Trust

  • Debate over Apple’s stance toward law enforcement: some point to resistance in cases like the San Bernardino iPhone and the rollout of end‑to‑end iCloud encryption.
  • Others argue the on‑device CSAM scanning proposal and quiet sharing of push‑notification metadata with governments eroded trust, even among long‑time Apple fans.
  • There’s disagreement whether the abandoned CSAM plan was a bad miscalculation, a deliberate political move to justify E2EE, or evidence Apple cannot be fully trusted.

Asahi Linux Technical Progress

  • Asahi now delivers conformant OpenGL 4.6 on Apple Silicon via Mesa, with Rust in the kernel and extensive reverse‑engineering.
  • Python‑based tooling (m1n1, hypervisor + RPC) is highlighted as a huge productivity boost, enabling rapid experimentation and live driver tweaks.
  • Users report smooth installation, daily‑driver viability on M1/M2, and even local LLM experimentation, though some workloads (e.g., Google Maps) still expose performance issues.

OpenGL, Metal, and Vulkan Debate

  • Apple deprecated OpenGL in 2018, focuses on Metal, and has not mapped newer OpenGL features well onto M1 hardware.
  • Some say claims that Asahi “surpasses Apple” are misleading because Apple effectively stopped running that race.
  • Others argue Apple should have at least supported Vulkan if they were going to drop OpenGL; Metal is seen by some as a strategic but developer‑hostile move that cost Mac games.

Linux vs macOS Desktop Experience

  • Several users switching from Linux to macOS report lower productivity due to macOS quirks: automation hurdles, permissions issues, media keys launching Apple Music, needing third‑party tools for middle‑click or window management.
  • Others counter that Linux has its own serious drawbacks: inconsistent app packaging, Wayland/audio instability on some distros, weaker commercial app ecosystem, and less polish overall.
  • HiDPI/scaling is a key comparison point: macOS is praised for “just working,” while Linux is seen as historically messy but improving with Wayland and KDE fractional scaling; remaining glitches in GTK/KDE are noted.
  • Keyboard shortcut paradigms (Ctrl vs Cmd/Super), window vs app‑centric navigation, and the “Apple Way” attitude in support forums generate cultural friction.

Prioritization, DRM, and USB

  • Questions arise about why Asahi invested in Widevine DRM before full USB3 support.
  • Responses: open‑source contributors work where their skills and effort/benefit ratios fit; porting Widevine from ARM ChromeOS was comparatively easy, while USB3 requires deep, time‑consuming reverse‑engineering.
  • Some users even prefer DRM support over faster USB for day‑to‑day use (streaming vs file transfer speed).

Community, Culture, and Apple’s Incentives

  • Discussion recalls past friction between Asahi developers and HN (referrer‑based blocking, concerns HN is hostile to queer people).
  • Some think Apple should embrace Asahi because more OS options still sell Macs; others say Apple doesn’t care given the tiny niche and their focus on integrated hardware‑software “experience” and services revenue.

Impact on macOS and Gaming (Unclear)

  • There is interest in whether Asahi’s GL/Vulkan work benefits macOS via Proton/Wine variants, but the thread provides no clear answer; it appears these gains are specific to the Linux driver stack.