A group of developers wants to give one second life for iPads older. The target? Bring Linux on iPads no longer supported by Apple. This is no small challenge when you consider that Apple designs its products to be incompatible with operating systems other than its own.
The project is an initiative of Konrad Dybcio and quaack723, two developers excited about the Linux ecosystem. The two teamed up to boot Linux 5.18 on an old iPad Air. The distribution only works on tablets with Apple A7 and A8 processor.
Konrad Dybcio and quaack723 chose to use the postmarketOS distro, which is based on Alpine Linux. It is compatible with: iPad Air, iPad Air 2 and some generations of iPad Mini. The goal is to bring Linux to every processor-based device Apple A7 or Apple A8 The list would also include the iPhone 5S, which is no longer supported by Apple, as well as the original HomePod.
The development process is still very immature and there will be a lot of work to be done. For example, the developers have not yet managed to get some of the more basic aspects working, such as Bluetooth connectivity or the USB port. However, it is an exercise in style. A test of strength to show that it is also possible to revolutionize Apple devices: the A7 and A8 chips are not particularly powerful and the tablets in question have very little GB of RAM. In other words, they cannot replace a real computer.
Source: Lega Nerd
