Virtual Ubuntu on Apple Silicon

I figured out how I can run Ubuntu 24.04 Noble Numbat (LTS) on an Apple Silicon Mac for free with UTM Virtual Machines while also having hardware accelerated graphics.

Virtualization on Apple Silicon

I often looked for a way to use a virtual Linux Desktop installation on an Apple Silicon Mac with acceptable performance. When introduced in 2020, Apple Silicon posed a challenge in this regard because due to its new architecture there were not many options available. Parallels was the first to offer proper virtualization support for other operating systems. I remember checking out Mass Effect 2 in a virtual Windows machine on my M1 MacBook Pro a few years ago. It was impressive to run smoothly while a bit more than decade before that the game was more demanding. However, Parallels is costly with about a hundred bucks a year which is way too much if you really do not need it for work or get it paid by your employer therefore. I just wanted to experiment and not buy a whole new computer for distro hopping. There also appeared the UTM Virtual Machines app at some point which made virtualization on Apple Silicon much more affordable with about a 10 Euro one time purchase.

Problems with Graphics

One issue across all distributions I tried was always getting graphics to work smoothly or at all. Some distributions never even showed up on the black screen without changing the graphics device. I researched on the web and people were recommending this and that graphics device but nothing really helped in the end to have the responsive experience I already new from pre-Apple Silicon times with Virtual Box and guest additions on various operating systems with various guest systems.

Daily ARM Builds to the Rescue

Due to the #UnplugTrump trend I was thinking about a bit more of independence in terms of technology I use. Especially since development on and for the Apple platforms is my job, it is not like I can just throw out all I have and exchange it against something else within a month. But this sounds more drastic than it is. To some extend it also is just the usual and nerdy tinker urge. I just cannot keep my hands of Linux. And I just want to look around whether it even would be feasible. For example: I would never ever trade Pixelmator for GIMP. It used to be my choice two decades ago on desktop Linux but by now it is no longer.

On another day of superficial and quick research, I stumbled over the hint to the daily Ubuntu Desktop builds again which also include ARM64 images. I never really tried it before because something in my brain goes off when reading “daily” that it interprets it automatically as “unstable” or “in development”, do not even bother to try. This time I did and I am delighted.

Installing ARM Ubuntu with virtualized and not emulated hardware in UTM Virtual Machines on Apple Silicon is a whole different experience of performance.

Status Quo

Now I am using the 64 bit ARM build of Ubuntu 24.04 LTS in a virtual machine and it runs smoothly at 5120x2880 (16:9) with 200% scaling. Well, at least smoothly to what I have experienced so far in virtual machines. The Host is a 2024 MacBook Air with an M3 chip. And Ubuntu is delightful to look at on an Apple Studio Display.

It is nice to know that now I have a convenient option to use Ubuntu Desktop with the latest Apple hardware I already own and without the need to buy dedicated hardware or through out a lot of money for Parallels just to experiment.