Linux 6.15 will support the Touch Bar on Apple Silicon MacBooks!

#Apple #Silicon #MacBook #MacBookPro #TouchBar #Linux #Kernel #LinuxKernel #Computers #Laptops #TechNews #TechUpdates

https://officialaptivi.wordpress.com/2025/04/06/linux-6-15-will-support-apple-z2-touch-bar/

Linux 6.15 will support Apple Z2 Touch Bar

Linux 6.15 is growing up with more and more improvements and support for more devices, including Apple MacBook laptops with the Z2 Touch Bar. This is for the Apple Silicon devices that rely on the Z2 protocol to make the Touch Bar work on macOS, but Linux 6.15 will have support for the Touch Bar in such devices.

The apple_z2 driver was merged to the kernel prior to the first release candidate. This driver enables Linux to utilize the Apple Touch Bar in MacBooks that use the Silicon hardware using the Z2 protocol. It was developed by the Asahi Linux developers as they’re enhancing the experience of Linux desktop in such devices.

When this Linux version gets released to the public, which should happen after several release candidates, users with MacBook laptops with the Touch Bar will be able to use it in Linux distributions.

As an aside, we expect that Linux 6.15 RC1 will be out today, provided that everything goes fine during development. This is so that curious people and advanced users will be able to test this version of Linux.

Things that were obvious design mistakes from #Apple:
- #TouchBar (not the technology, but the implementation)
- Removing #MagSafe (people like the convenience of not killing their laptop over tripping cables)
- Re-adding MagSafe (without actually addressing the problem that you need a whole new cable to just deliver power)
- Square alignment of arrow keys (does this even need a comment?)
- Removing the escape key (it's not just nerds)
- #TouchID button that can't visually tell you that it wants your attention (believe it or not, but some people have no effing clue what to do when the TouchID popup pops up)
- The contrast of #DarkMode on #OSX calendars (eternal shit show of trying to read purple text on a slightly darker purple background)
- Everything related to #EmojiPicker (the way it's been buggy for years, the slowness, the non functional fuzzy search, the 3! distinct and horrible ways it works, ...)
- #iMessage as a whole (anyone who is a tiny bit critical can't stand this piece of UX hell)

"And Genie, for my last wish, I would like Apple to create a Magic Keyboard with both the function key row and the Touch bar."