Significant strides are being made towards making the FreeBSD operating system more powerful and efficient for laptop users. With financial support from leading companies such as Dell, AMD, and Framework, FreeBSD developers are focused on improving power management capabilities as well as making advancements in WiFi technology. These efforts are intended to make FreeBSD a more attractive choice for laptops by 2025.
The results of this development work, which took place under the auspices of the FreeBSD Foundation, are described in the February 2025 progress report, which is now available to the general public.
According to the report, over the past few months, developers have been developing a new "acpi_spmc" power management driver. This driver improves sleep modes by using low power states such as s0ix and s2idle, which can increase the battery life of laptops.
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Significant progress has also been made in WiFi technology. The Intel IWLWIFI driver has been integrated with the AX2xx and BExxx chipsets to improve WiFi 4 (802.11n) and WiFi 5 (802.11ac) connectivity capabilities. These updates provide users with a faster and more stable wireless experience.
In addition, work is ongoing to expand wireless hardware support on FreeBSD systems using the Linux KPI (kernel programming interface) to increase compatibility with Linux WiFi drivers. This development is a step forward in making FreeBSD a more accessible and versatile operating system for laptop users.
With these new features and improvements, FreeBSD is emerging as a strong alternative for use on laptops, making it an attractive option for both open-source enthusiasts and tech professionals.