The MBP is the best laptop hardware that exists on the market, by far. Why wouldn't someone who prefers Linux over macOS want to run Linux on it?
The existence of other ARM laptops is irrelevant; the reason MBPs are so good has little to do with ARM. Yes x86 makes the processor frontend more complicated but this doesn't make a big enough difference to come close to accounting for how much better the MBP is than its competitors. I would guess the biggest factors are Apple's ability to buy the entire run of TSMC's best process node, and the fact that they have a high level of competence at designing CPU cores and other hardware. The instruction set the core uses is just not that important in comparison.
>The MBP is the best laptop hardware that exists on the market, by far.
Really?
What is so great about a locked down hardware, locked down software machine, that phones home to Apple all the time?
The only reason to get Macs is if you have a niche case of needing long battery life (most people don't, even if they say they do), but this is where the other ARM laptops are gonna also be good, without all the proprietary crap.
The existence of other ARM laptops is irrelevant; the reason MBPs are so good has little to do with ARM. Yes x86 makes the processor frontend more complicated but this doesn't make a big enough difference to come close to accounting for how much better the MBP is than its competitors. I would guess the biggest factors are Apple's ability to buy the entire run of TSMC's best process node, and the fact that they have a high level of competence at designing CPU cores and other hardware. The instruction set the core uses is just not that important in comparison.