Reverse Engineering Apple's M1 GPU: Open-Source Drivers Make Linux Gaming Soar
2025-08-27
Beginning in 2020, Hector Martin, a University of Toronto computer science student, launched the Asahi Linux project to bring Linux to Apple's M1 chip. Collaborating with an engineer at Collabora, he reverse-engineered the M1's GPU, gradually achieving graphics acceleration and ultimately achieving full support for OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenCL 3.0, enabling Proton gaming. This not only debunked the myth that Vulkan is unsuitable for Apple hardware but also contributed a high-quality driver to the open-source community, dramatically improving the Linux gaming experience on the M1 chip.
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Open Source Driver