Linux

ARM is coming, On Linux

Andrej Friesen

Andrej Friesen

— 2 min read
ARM is coming, On Linux
Source

Tuxedo announced in their newsletter that they are working on an ARM machine. It is about the Snapdragon X1 Elite SoC:

TUXEDO on ARM is coming - TUXEDO Computers
TUXEDO on ARM is coming: As you may have gathered from the relevant press over the last few days, we at TUXEDO Computers are working on an ARM notebook with a Snapdragon X Elite SoC from Qualcomm. The tension rises We know that many of you are eagerly…
TUXEDO ComputersTUXEDO Computers, Germany

Performance Expectations

The Snapdragon X1 Elite is being touted as a competitor to Apple's M2 and M3 MacBooks, promising similar performance and efficiency. This is a bold claim, and if true, it could make ARM-based laptops a viable alternative for those looking for powerful, efficient, and quiet machines.

CPU:

  • 12 Oryon Cores
  • Up to 3.8 GHz
  • Single Core/ Dual Core Boost: 4.3 GHz

Storage:

  • NVME SSD over PCIe GEN4/UFS
Celebrity gif. Aubrey Plaza rests her elbow on The Late Show desk, cupping her chin in her palm and glancing to the side with a coy smile.
You got my attention!

Linux Support and Development

The mainline Linux kernel began supporting this SoC with a patch on October 25, 2023, just one day after the chip's announcement. The boot process uses standard UEFI with GRUB and systemd-boot. Current support ranges from Kernel 6.7 to 6.9, with more comprehensive support expected in Kernel 6.10 and 6.11.

Qualcomm is actively working on upstreaming Linux kernel support for the Snapdragon X1 Elite. According to an in-depth article from Qualcomm, this SoC is already gaining traction in Windows-based laptops, and they are committed to providing robust Linux support.

In a talk by Rajendra Nayak, it was mentioned that around ten engineers are focused on the upstreaming process, highlighting the effort being put into making this SoC Linux-friendly.

My Take

I am really curious. My MacBook is good, but it is a Mac. Not a fan of the OS to be honest. So let's see what will happen. I am happy about the ARM competition. If it means we have a powerful laptop with long battery life, no fan noise AND Liunx. I am in!

If Tuxedo is reading this, I am happy to take this device for a test run 😉

How about you? Would you buy an ARM Linux Laptop?

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