Asahi Linux Breaks Through with Thunderbolt Support on Apple Silicon
Asahi Linux developers have successfully enabled Thunderbolt support on Apple Silicon through reverse engineering of Apple's proprietary ACIO subsystem, marking a major milestone in open-source hardware compatibility. The project's progress has been highlighted as a breakthrough, particularly in supporting USB3-via-USB4 and XDomain, which are critical for Thunderbolt functionality.
The community is split on whether the implementation is practical. Some praise the progress as a major breakthrough, while others argue that missing features like PCIe and DisplayPort tunneling limit its usefulness. UnLocoPoco notes the achievement of USB3-via-USB4 and XDomain, but stresses that key features remain absent. cm0002 emphasizes the extensive reverse engineering required to unlock Thunderbolt support, acknowledging the initial implementation's limitations.
The debate centers on the completeness of the implementation. While the community largely agrees that the work is significant, there is clear division over whether it meets practical needs. The consensus is that the progress is a major step forward, but the missing features highlight ongoing challenges in achieving full Thunderbolt support on Apple Silicon.
Key Points
#1Asahi Linux has enabled Thunderbolt support on Apple Silicon through reverse engineering of Apple's proprietary ACIO subsystem
UnLocoPoco and cm0002 both highlight the extensive reverse engineering required to unlock Thunderbolt functionality on Apple Silicon.
#2The implementation supports USB3-via-USB4 and XDomain, but lacks PCIe and DisplayPort tunneling
UnLocoPoco and cm0002 both note that while USB3-via-USB4 and XDomain are supported, critical features like PCIe and DisplayPort tunneling remain missing.
#3The progress is seen as a major breakthrough by some, but others argue it's not yet practical
UnLocoPoco calls the progress a major breakthrough, while others argue that missing features limit its usefulness.
#4The community is divided on the practicality of the implementation
Opinions split on whether the implementation is sufficient for practical use, with some calling it a major breakthrough and others highlighting its limitations.
Source Discussions (3)
This report was synthesized from the following Lemmy discussions, ranked by community score.