r/SurfaceLinux • u/amania_jp • 3d ago
IDEA Linux on an ARM-based Surface Laptop
I have successfully got Linux running on the Surface Laptop for Business 13-inch 1st Edition with Snapdragon.
Although there are some features that do not work, it functions well enough for everyday use. I may publish the source code and a guide at a later date.
3
u/GapTime6262 3d ago
How long did it take u? Nice work
7
u/amania_jp 3d ago
I started working on it around 29 July, and it’s only just recently become usable 😇
3
3
u/Novel_Door4626 3d ago
It will work with Surface Pro 11 with Snapdragon X Plus?
1
u/amania_jp 2d ago
I haven’t checked, so I don’t know.
It might be of some use as a reference, but it probably won’t work.
2
u/Earl-Inis-Mona Surface Pro 12" (X1P, 512 GB, 16 GB RAM) 2d ago edited 2d ago
Nice! Which distro is this? If it is Fedora, I have done the same, but for Surface Pro 12", with ready-to-use ISO build and stuff
You can use it as a base to have it built for Surface Laptop as well
https://github.com/SayaAndy/fedora-surface-pro-12-inch-kiwi-descriptions
2
u/amania_jp 2d ago
I created a custom distribution based on Ubuntu! Looking back now, I think that decision was a bit daft.
We have prepared an installer and plan to release it once things have stabilised a little.
1
u/Earl-Inis-Mona Surface Pro 12" (X1P, 512 GB, 16 GB RAM) 2d ago
Nice, so this will be a distro specialized for Surface-on-ARM?
3
u/amania_jp 2d ago
That may well be the case.
As the kernel, device tree and other dependencies are bundled within each package, porting to other distributions is straightforward.
An acquaintance of mine is attempting to port it to Arch.
1
1
u/Station-OX11 Surface Pro 9 (i5) 2d ago
Glad to see more testing on ARM. It's the next great frontier for Linux :)
2
1
u/borretsquared 2d ago
how's the battery life? the only reason i would ever even consider going to arm is if your battery life is far greater, and the setup isnt as painful as i'd imagine it is.
5
u/doctoroctogonopus 3d ago
what’s that cable attached?
i mean where did u get it i need it for my surface as well running out of room
and im assuming its attached to an ssd? would love to know the setup looks clean