Hardware Specifications
Target Hardware
| Component | Specification | Driver / Module |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Apple MacBook Air 2020 (MacBookAir9,1) | — |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-1030NG7 @ 1.10GHz (Ice Lake) | intel_idle, intel_pstate |
| Graphics | Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake) | i915 |
| Security / Audio | Apple T2 Bridge & Secure Enclave | apple_bce |
| Wi-Fi | Broadcom BCM4377b | brcmfmac |
| Bluetooth | Broadcom BRCM4377 | hci_bcm4377 |
| Storage | Apple NVMe (nvme0n1) | nvme |
| Bootloader | Limine 10.8.2 | limine-entry-tool |
| Audio | Apple T2 Audio via apple-bce | PipeWire 1.6.0 |
| Swap | ZRAM 15.4G (zstd) | zram-generator |
Key Hardware Notes
Apple T2 Chip
The T2 is a custom ARM-based security chip that sits between Linux and several hardware components including:
- Keyboard and trackpad — communicated over a PCIe-to-USB bridge (
apple_bce) - Audio — T2 acts as an audio DSP; the
apple-bcedriver exposes it as a standard ALSA device - Storage — the NVMe controller is behind the T2; works transparently once booted
- Touch ID — not supported on Linux; the Secure Enclave cannot be accessed
Fan / Thermal Path
Unlike older MacBooks, the fan on the MacBook Air 2020 running kernel 6.19.x-cachyos is exposed via the ACPI APP0001:00 device, not the traditional applesmc platform driver:
/sys/devices/LNXSYSTM:00/LNXSYBUS:00/PNP0A08:00/device:1c/APP0001:00/
├── fan1_output ← current fan speed (RPM)
├── fan1_min ← minimum fan speed (2700 RPM)
└── fan1_max ← maximum fan speed (8000 RPM)This is why thermald alone doesn't control the fan correctly — it expects the applesmc path. The Thermal Setup guide covers this in detail.
apple_bce Module
apple_bce is compiled directly into the CachyOS kernel (CONFIG_APPLE_BCE=y), not as a loadable module. This means:
modprobe apple-bcewill always fail with "module not found"lsmod | grep apple_bcewill show it as active (it's always loaded)- Keyboard, trackpad, and audio work from first boot without any extra steps
Wi-Fi Firmware
The Broadcom BCM4377b requires proprietary firmware that cannot be redistributed. It must be extracted from macOS or downloaded from the arch-mact2 mirror. See Wi-Fi Firmware.
Firmware files for this hardware (board ID: fiji):
brcmfmac4377b3-pcie.apple,fiji.binbrcmfmac4377b3-pcie.apple,fiji.clm_blobbrcmfmac4377b3-pcie.apple,fiji.txcap_blobbrcmbt4377b3-apple,formosa.bin(Bluetooth)