When Apple announced the transition plan from Intel CPUs to custom Arm processors for its Mac lineup at WWDC 2020, it brought to an end to the long-standing rumor mill. Undoubtedly, the move to the in-house solution also gave us what is sure to be the best Mac for a whole lot of people, especially when you consider the performance vs. efficiency factor.

To make a seamless switch, the company came up with a dynamic binary translator so that end users can run x86-native software on Apple Silicon-based Macs. But I'd argue that there's one major component of macOS that is left out and Apple should consider bringing it to the party, too. I am talking about the ability to install Microsoft Windows operating systems via Boot Camp.

I know, it's a dead horse, but I'm beating it. Apple loves the walled garden approach, which is evident from the fact that an official method of iOS app sideloading is still months away. With that said, the Mac transition to Intel processors opened up the floodgates for alternate OS lovers, thanks to the flexibility of the x86 architecture. Installing Linux distros — that too without Boot Camp — on your ultraportable MacBook Air wasn't even a pipe dream back in the Intel era.

But as powerful and user-friendly as the current virtualization-powered solutions might be, they don't really have the spirit of what I might argue is the best method of installing Windows on a Mac in a dual-boot setup. Because they're too cumbersome and not exactly fine-tuned by Apple like the Boot Camp Assistant was.

There. I said it. I really want a new iteration of Boot Camp, tailor-made for Apple Silicon Macs.

Wait, why ditch macOS on Apple hardware?

Choice, to put it simply.

The performance and battery life on offer from Apple Silicon MacBooks are second to none, so these machines will be perfect for on-the-go programming, as well as day-to-day productivity tasks. Apple's build quality is another notable attribute, which makes me easily recommend the hardware to anyone seeking suggestions for choosing the best laptop for their needs. But you know what usually prevents me from picking them as the first choice? It's the lack of dual-booting.

My parents, for instance, are hardcore Windows users. They praise the fact that Macs can run Microsoft Office, but both my mom's accounting software and my father's automotive diagnostic toolkit require Windows. The latter can even detect VMs, so I can't make them switch. A lot of my friends, on the other hand, work as software engineers and sysadmins, who prefer Linux as their primary OS. If Apple still allows dual-booting via Boot Camp Assistant, they can easily enjoy the best of both worlds.

After all, Windows on Arm is now mature enough, so Windows 11 on an Apple Silicon Mac would be a perfect combo. Pair it with Windows Subsystem for Linux and Windows Subsystem for Android, and you will have an incredible computer that can run apps for four major operating systems. ​

Google did it right, or did they?

I'm not here to praise Google for making a rational decision to offer Linux support on Chromebooks. Although not officially supported, power users can also run Windows (or macOS too, if you're fairly adamant) after installing the appropriate third-party firmware on their x86 ChromeOS devices. In case you're after Arm Chromebooks for the extra battery juice, then you will be delighted to know that the aftermarket development community is working hard to bring native Linux booting support to them as well.

All in all, Google would have been misguided to take the ability to boot other operating systems from its ChromeOS devices away now. Be that as it may, Google's offerings are nowhere near as appealing as Boot Camp, simply because the procedures are too technical and never intended for the regular users in the first place.

The only problem is Apple

For the unaware, Apple does allow booting third-party kernels on Arm Macs. It's just that the application binary interface (ABI) of every aspect of boot and firmware interaction is basically whatever macOS does, which means non-macOS operating systems need to behave like macOS as far as their communications with the rest of the platform.

Since there's no need to leverage an exploit to boot an unsigned kernel, though, one can technically reverse-engineer the booting process of Apple Silicon Macs and prepare the boot chain for other operating systems. This is exactly what the developers of the Asahi Linux project attempted and eventually came up with m1n1, an experimental Linux bootloader for Arm Macs.

Despite achieving this seemingly impossible feat, booting Windows natively on your shiny new MacBook Pro is still a daunting job. Unlike typical x86 PCs, you can't simply make a bootable USB of Windows and get on with it on an Apple Silicon device. This is because 1) the Linux boot approach isn't sufficient for the Windows kernel, and 2) Apple doesn't provide any Windows driver pack for the hardware components on Arm Macs — like it did with Boot Camp. No wonder why I resent the loss of Apple's first-party multi-boot tool on the superior new-age Arm Macs.

Time to do it right

When you get to use as many Arm PCs as we do, you start to realize that some of the popular offerings are seriously sluggish. Plenty of early Qualcomm chipsets had performance issues, and lots of recent models run into trouble due to lack of a proper upgrade path. Over the years, companies can't seem to fix it, and I'm frustrated and tired of dealing with it. The Snapdragon X Elite appears to bring noteworthy performance boost to the table, although we have yet to observe the chip's potential in different real-world scenarios.

But, given Apple's insanely good Arm Macs are already here and anyone can buy them right away without scouring through obscure marketplaces, I have a proposal.

What if Apple offers a special developer firmware solely for booting Windows on Arm Macs? It's probably a pretty messy-sounding jargon, but I think it's actually an opportunity to tap into the uncharted market segment. Think of the Mac Mini, but camouflaged as the Windows Dev Kit.

The Cupertino company can even collaborate with Microsoft and use Project Mu as a base to maintain the Windows-compliant firmware images for different Apple Silicon devices. Next, a total rewrite of Boot Camp for the firmware flashing task and a pack of essential drivers — enough to kickstart the journey.

All hail macOS!

As amazing as that all sounds, and no matter how quickly Windows/Linux enthusiasts would probably buy the Macs for configuring multi-boot after this, I don't see it happening. Apple is pretty invested in promoting macOS and the company won't miss any scope to subdue its competitors. After all, Game Porting Toolkit could be the reason you might pick a MacBook as your next gaming laptop.

So, Apple, I'm not expecting something unreal from you. My (and several other people's) requirements for running Windows on Apple Silicon Macs will hold out via VMs, as long as virtualization is sufficient for the use case. We’re just asking you, in the new spirit of giving your customers what they want, not to kill Boot Camp off for good. Rather, relaunch it with new glory alongside Windows 12 perhaps?