Do not confuse the tracks. Omarchy M is the longer bet on bare-metal Apple Silicon (Asahi-class, M1/M2 first). Separately, the convergent Apple Silicon preview path — the one you try before anything is “release” — just opened more doors.
Preview 3a: M3 joins, with limits
Per the September 30 catch-up, Preview 3a turns on M3 Macs that Preview had refused two days earlier. The installer now accepts every M1, M2, and M3 Mac (dozens of models) except the M3 Ultra Mac Studio. M4 and newer are still refused. It is still a preview, not a release — expect to reinstall; nothing upgrades a preview into a shipping image.
M3 graphics currently run without GPU acceleration, so the desktop is slower. Testing coverage was thin when that note landed — one tester on an M3 MacBook Air, a couple of M1/M2 Pros beforehand. Also new in that preview window: a single password unlocks the disk, logs you in, and is root’s, with no separate recovery key. Do not lose it. Core packages were still signed with a test key the Omarchy keyring does not trust.
That single shared password model is convenient and sharp-edged. Preview images also signed packages with a test key your normal Omarchy keyring will not trust. Put those together and you get a clear policy for me: fun for screenshots and agent experiments, not for SSH keys, password managers, or anything that talks to production. When GPU acceleration lands on M3 and packages move off the test key, the conversation changes. Until then, Preview 3a is a lab.
Windows folks got their own trial security pass the same week — Try Omarchy 0.6.2’s quick-start SSH fix — which is a reminder that “try” images ship with defaults aimed at delight, not hardened multi-user fleets. Apple Silicon preview is the same class of software. Enjoy it. Do not confuse it with Omarchy M’s first-class install targets.
What I would actually do
If you want “keep the Mac, lose macOS” as a daily driver, watch Omarchy M and the Asahi path for M1/M2. If you want to poke at Quattro on newer chips without repartitioning your life, the preview / Try Omarchy lane is the sandbox — just treat Preview 3a like a lab image. Backup first. Do not put production keys on it. When GPU accel and signed packages catch up, revisit.
Happy hacking.
References & Further Reading
- Sudo Agent – Preview 3a / M3 notes – Primary writeup naming Preview 3a and M3 limits.
- Omarchy News – Introducing Omarchy M – Distinct bare-metal Apple Silicon team/path.
- Try Omarchy – Official try-without-repartition entry point.
- GitHub – omacom/try-omarchy releases – Signed macOS app releases.
- Omarchy Linux – Apple Silicon routes – UTM / Try Omarchy / omarchy-mac landscape.
- Omarchy – Project home.