Linux 6.13 SoC Updates Land With Initial Support For Many Older Apple Devices

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Linux 6.13 SoC Updates Land With Initial Support For Many Older Apple Devices

The four pull requests adding various SoC and board/platform support have now been merged for the Linux 6.13 kernel. This includes support for many older Apple iPad/iPhones, supporting another SoC with a combination of RISC-V and ARM cores, and a wide variety of other mostly ARM hardware support...

https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-6.13-SoC-Updates

[DeepDayze]

It certainly be a cool factor if Linux can run natively on an old iDevice, if the bootloader and device can be easily unlocked and that toolkits be available to wipe the device and to install a Linux rootfs. This would also help keep old iDevices from becoming ewaste.

Apple should perhaps supply documentation on how to do something like this.

[MastaG]

It certainly be a cool factor if Linux can run natively on an old iDevice, if the bootloader and device can be easily unlocked and that toolkits be available to wipe the device and to install a Linux rootfs. This would also help keep old iDevices from becoming ewaste.

Apple should perhaps supply documentation on how to do something like this.

Yeah, I've got a couple of old iPads laying around.
Stuck on iOS9 I believe.
These things last long and even the battery still holds up.
As no software is supporting older iOS versions, it would be cool if I could turn it into a Linux (or Android) tablet.

[ayumu]

It certainly be a cool factor if Linux can run natively on an old iDevice, if the bootloader and device can be easily unlocked and that toolkits be available to wipe the device and to install a Linux rootfs. This would also help keep old iDevices from becoming ewaste.

Apple should perhaps supply documentation on how to do something like this.

Apple would rather you throw away your old iDevices and buy newer iDevices.

The only way forward is legislation. Before or when a device goes unsupported, documentation and bootloader signing keys should be published, alongside an unlocked bootloader install tool.

[NateHubbard]

Apple would rather you throw away your old iDevices and buy newer iDevices.

The only way forward is legislation. Before or when a device goes unsupported, documentation and bootloader signing keys should be published, alongside an unlocked bootloader install tool.

Rather than legislation, I'd prefer something like PostmarketOS actually just working correctly on them. But I suppose you're right and there is probably no easy way for that to happen.

[mxan]

…if the bootloader and device can be easily unlocked...

That’s already the case All Apple A-series SoCs from the A4 to the A11 have permanent, unpatchable bootROM exploits. Checkm8 for the A5 (iPhone 4S) to A11 (iPhone X) and limera1n for the A4 (iPhone 4)

[p0358]

It certainly be a cool factor if Linux can run natively on an old iDevice, if the bootloader and device can be easily unlocked and that toolkits be available to wipe the device and to install a Linux rootfs. This would also help keep old iDevices from becoming ewaste.

The added device chips perfectly aligned with what's supported by the famous old "checkm8" bootrom exploit is certainly not a coincidence there. But so far only iPhone 7 on A10 was supported by Project Sandcastle back in a day in an experimental fashion, but it proved to be possible. So who knows, maybe the endgame will indeed be that all these devices could run some mobile Linux OS, definitely eager to see what the future brings there.

Apple should perhaps supply documentation on how to do something like this.

haha good joke