Years after Apple stopped selling them, a set of 2018 and 2019 MacBook Pro models may soon run Linux with markedly better battery life. Patches posted this week to the kernel mailing list tackle a stubborn power drain that has plagued these Intel-based laptops.
The work targets Apple’s GMUX hardware. This component switches between the integrated Intel graphics and the discrete AMD GPU. Without proper support, Linux boots with the AMD chip active. The result wastes power even during light tasks.
Phoronix first reported the patches on August 12, 2026. Developer Andre Eikmeyer submitted the series. It addresses roughly 12 watts of unnecessary consumption on the MacBookPro15,1 model. That figure comes straight from testing. Idle draw sits around 24 watts when the discrete GPU stays powered. Switch to integrated graphics at boot, and the waste disappears. But until now the discrete chip refused to wake again.
“The MacBookPro15,1 normally starts Linux with the discrete GPU as primary,” Eikmeyer wrote in the patch cover letter. “On the machines tested here that results in roughly 24 W idle power draw, about 12 W of which is attributable to the otherwise unused discrete GPU. Selecting the integrated GPU at boot avoids that cost, but the discrete GPU cannot currently return after GMUX powers it down, so usable hybrid graphics and suspend are not available.”
His changes fill gaps across three drivers: apple-gmux, amdgpu, and the HDA audio controller. With the integrated GPU set as primary, the discrete unit now moves cleanly between powered-off and powered-on states. Offloading work via DRI_PRIME works. External monitors over Thunderbolt and USB-C function too. The patches restore full runtime suspend and resume cycles.
Testing ran for three weeks on both 2018 and 2019 revisions of the MacBookPro15,1. Repeated GPU wake-ups caused no issues. System suspend and resume passed. A range of external displays connected without trouble. “It is a huge step forward in terms of usability, convenience and battery life for everyone who tested,” Eikmeyer added. Short. Direct. The kind of statement that lands in kernel reviews.
But this story stretches back further. Owners of these T2-equipped Macs have fought for decent Linux support since the machines launched. The T2 security chip complicated storage access, audio, keyboard, and more. Projects like t2linux stepped in. They maintain patched kernels and packages for Fedora, Arch, and others. Their site lists the 2018 MacBook Pro with four Thunderbolt ports alongside 2019 and 2020 variants as supported hardware. Yet power management stayed incomplete.
A March 2026 blog post detailed real-world use. On a 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro with the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M, the author saw hybrid graphics default to the discrete chip. Fans spun up and down. Heat built during suspend. Crashes followed reboots. The same post praised a 2018 MacBook Air for lighter tasks but noted the Pro’s thermals and stability problems. Those observations match the 12-watt penalty now targeted. See the full account at Linh Pham’s blog.
Apple itself has moved on. macOS support for these Intel models ends with security updates that will eventually stop. Ventura already receives limited patches. Owners face a choice. Stick with an aging, increasingly vulnerable macOS installation. Or switch to Linux. The new patches tilt that calculation. Better battery means longer sessions away from the charger. Hybrid graphics unlock occasional demanding workloads without constant high power draw.
Of course challenges remain. The patches sit in review. They must clear the usual scrutiny on the dri-devel list before merging. Even after that, distributions need time to pick them up. T2-specific tweaks for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Touch Bar, and fan control live outside mainline. Users still rely on community kernels from t2linux.org. And the 2016-2019 Touch Bar models have always demanded extra effort. One 2026 guide warned against them for easy Linux installs, pointing instead to older 2012-2015 units that need nothing more than an SSD swap.
Still. Progress accumulates. Asahi Linux pushes Apple silicon support forward on M-series Macs. Mainline gains for older Intel hardware arrive more slowly. These GMUX fixes represent one of those deliberate, careful steps. They don’t promise miracles. They fix a measurable defect. Twelve watts. That difference adds hours to battery estimates on a laptop whose original cells have likely degraded after eight years.
Industry watchers note the pattern. Linux often catches up to proprietary hardware years later. Sometimes the hardware reaches end-of-life first. Here the timing works. Enough enthusiasts still run these MacBook Pros. Enough developers own them. Eikmeyer’s three-week test on two revisions suggests serious intent. The series touches core power lifecycle code. Success here could inform similar work on other hybrid setups.
Power. Performance. Compatibility. The usual trade-offs. Yet for a specific group of users the equation just improved. A nearly decade-old premium laptop gains new relevance. Not through marketing. Through patches. Through mailing-list review. Through the slow, steady machinery of open-source development.
And that matters. Because when Apple drops support, the machines don’t vanish. They migrate. To Linux. To Windows. To secondary roles. Anything that extends their service life reduces electronic waste. Anything that makes Linux feel native on the hardware broadens its appeal. These patches do both. Quietly. Effectively.
Reviewers will examine the code. Testers will try the series. If all goes well, the changes could land in the 6.13 or 6.14 cycle. Distributions that ship t2linux kernels may backport them sooner. For owners of these specific MacBook Pros, the wait has been long. The reward looks tangible. Lower idle power. Working suspend. Real hybrid graphics. A second life, measured in watts saved and hours gained.