Alternative operating systems for 2015 MacBook Pro
Alternative operating systems for 2015 MacBook Pro
I have a 13-inch MacBook Pro from 2015, and its dual-core processor is showing signs of wear in 2023. I’m looking into alternatives like Tiny macOS or other lightweight Linux options for everyday tasks. What would be the most suitable choice?
Hardware compatibility on MacBooks for Linux is generally limited to simple tasks. You can work with almost any distro that runs on a lightweight desktop environment, such as Xubuntu, Mint XFCE, or Fedora’s XFCE spin. Expect only basic functionality and light web browsing, as the processors in these systems were quite outdated even back then.
For quick setup options, consider Mageia (XFCE), MX Linux, GhostBSD and Mint (XFCE). Devuan and Void Linux require more effort, yet offer excellent performance on lower-spec devices.
What's your storage capacity, and how much of said capacity are you using?
I agree with this experience. I recently set up Ubuntu on a 2009 Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro I received for free. It had a failing battery, no hard drive, and only about 4GB of RAM. After installing a 128GB Hynix SSD, it performed adequately for browsing the web and running the diagnostic tools for my Jaguar in Wine. I replaced the battery and increased the RAM to 8GB.
MX Linux offers a smooth installation and broad compatibility similar to Ubuntu, while providing unique benefits. 1. quicker startup, login, and shutdown times 2. applications launch faster, particularly when contrasted with Ubuntu Snaps 3. MX Linux delivers greater stability than Ubuntu (since it runs on Debian with kernel 5.10, an exceptionally reliable foundation)
I’ll need to test that out on another system first. I tend to prefer Ubuntu because I’ve been using it since around 2012 for my primary computer.