Booting Linux on a Windows-on-ARM (WoA) laptop powered by Snapdragon often starts with a nice promise—battery life, quiet operation, always-on connectivity—and ends with a less glamorous reality: manual steps, trial and error, and a first boot that depends on tweaking just enough so the kernel understands the hardware in front of it.
Fedora 44 could remove a big chunk of that friction thanks to a technical proposal focused on something most people outside the ARM world rarely think about: the Device Tree.
The work is being led by Hans de Goede, a long-time Linux engineer with a deep track record in hardware enablement, and it targets a very specific goal: better out-of-the-box compatibility when running Fedora on AArch64 systems that boot via EFI—exactly the setup you typically see on modern ARM laptops, including Snapdragon-based machines that have gained momentum throughout 2025.
The bottleneck: when the kernel needs a hardware “map”
On ARM platforms, unlike the traditional PC ecosystem, the kernel often needs explicit information about the board and its components to initialize the system correctly. That “map” is provided by a DTB (Device Tree Blob).
The problem is simple: if the installer or boot media doesn’t pick the right DTB, Fedora (or any distro) may fail to boot, boot only partially, or come up with key hardware missing. In many real-world cases, users have had to step in—patching boot files, modifying the ISO, or applying workarounds so the system can locate the correct device tree.
What Fedora 44 aims to change: automatic DTB selection on AArch64 with EFI
The core change being proposed for Fedora 44 is automatic DTB selection on AArch64 systems that boot via EFI. Instead of forcing users to modify the installation image or manually select a DTB, the boot flow would identify the platform and load the correct DTB automatically.
The approach relies on a modified kernel image that bundles the pieces needed to make that work, including:
- The Stubble boot stub, designed to support this kind of DTB-aware boot flow.
- Hardware-ID → DTB mappings, so the system can match a device signature to the correct tree.
- The required DTBs embedded directly, removing the need for external “surgery” on the installer media.
The end goal is very straightforward: make that first Fedora boot on WoA feel much closer to the PC experience—select a boot device and it just… boots.
The trade-off: a slightly larger vmlinuz
Improvements like this rarely come free. The proposal notes an increase of roughly 3 MB in the size of vmlinuz. In practical terms, that’s usually an acceptable cost if it eliminates the need for manual ISO modifications and dramatically improves the “try Fedora on ARM” experience.
Why it matters: Snapdragon X Elite and Linux’s WoA moment
Interest in running Linux on WoA has grown in 2025 for two reasons: platforms are more widely available, and many users want to know whether ARM laptops can be a real alternative to x86 for daily work.
Fedora is operating in a tricky competitive space here. Ubuntu is often perceived as easier on certain ARM setups, but the broader ecosystem is still far from a world where everything “just works” across every Snapdragon laptop. That’s why reducing friction at the very first step—the boot itself—can be more impactful than it sounds. If you can’t boot cleanly, you can’t install, test, benchmark, file bugs, or contribute fixes.
The governance step: FESCo and the path to landing in Fedora 44
Because this change affects official boot behavior and installation media, it has to move through Fedora’s decision process, including review (and, if it advances, approval) by FESCo. If it’s accepted, Fedora 44 could become a notably more attractive choice for anyone who wants to try Linux on WoA without spending their first afternoon rebuilding images.
What this will—and won’t—solve
It’s important not to oversell this as “perfect Linux on Snapdragon.” Even with automatic DTB selection, there can still be limitations depending on the specific laptop: drivers, power management, suspend/resume, GPU, audio, Wi-Fi, and other device-specific details.
But it can change the most critical first impression: fewer barriers to booting, installing, reproducing issues, and providing useful feedback to improve support over time.
In other words, Fedora isn’t promising magic. It’s promising less ritual.
FAQs
What is a DTB, and why does it matter so much on ARM?
A DTB (Device Tree Blob) describes the hardware layout so the kernel knows what devices exist and how to initialize them. If the DTB doesn’t match your system, Linux may not boot or may boot with major hardware failures.
Does this mean Fedora 44 will run “out of the box” on every Snapdragon Windows-on-ARM laptop?
It should improve the initial boot experience on AArch64 systems with EFI by automatically choosing the right DTB, but it doesn’t guarantee full compatibility. Driver maturity and device-specific enablement still matter.
What is FESCo, and why is its approval important?
FESCo is Fedora’s Engineering Steering Committee. Changes that affect core system behavior—especially boot and installation—typically need its review and approval to land in a stable release.
Is a ~3 MB vmlinuz size increase a big deal?
Usually not. In most scenarios, a few megabytes is a reasonable trade if it removes manual boot/ISO modifications and makes Fedora easier to try on ARM laptops.