Lightweight linux laptops for hackers (request access if you'd like to make changes)

5 min read Original article ↗

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screen diagonalx resy resaspect ratioscreen heightscreen areamega- pixelsdpiweigh (kg)height / weightCPUGPUbattery hrs (linux max w/ wifi)battery / weightlinux mouse scorelinux ioport scoremax RAMmax SSDrmable batteryrmable ssdwebcamlinux ext monitors# MIMO antennasmouse buttonsnotes

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LG Gram 15 (1st gen)15.6192010801.787.651042.071410.987.80i5/i766.12-11825600720p121poor trackpad; some users report physical flimsiness

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Thinkpad X1 Nano13216013501.606.89762.921960.9577.20i71313.5830161024-1-1720p22just two thunderbolt ports, one taken for charging -> will need an awakward hub in most situations

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M1 Macbook Air13.3256016001.607.05804.102270.987.19m1m11414.29720pLinux support in alpha

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LG Gram 16 202116256016001.608.481154.101891.197.13i7-1165G71210.0812161025720p2

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Macbook Retina12230414401.606.36653.322260.926.911010.87-1-11651200720p121Keyboard is reportedly very bad. Only one USB 3 port (!?!) for charging, ext monitors, keyboards, etc

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LG Gram 15Z95P15.6192010801.787.651042.071411.1326.76i7-1195G71715.02720p

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X1 Carbon gen 10 (2022)14288018001.607.42885.182431.126.62i7-1260P0.003220481080p f/2.023https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-ThinkPad-X1-Carbon-G10-ThinkPad-X1-Yoga-G7-Better-webcams-OLED-and-improved-cooling-for-Alder-Lake-P28.585205.0.html

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X1 Carbon gen 9 (2021)14384024001.607.42889.223231.136.57i7-1195G71210.62322048720p23

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Samsung Galaxy Chromebook13.3384021601.786.52768.293311.036.33i5 / i787.77101625600720p21Battery is reportedly bad, 4.5 hrs at 50% brightness with typical workloads...

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ThinkPad X1 Carbon gen 7 (2019)14384021601.786.86848.293151.096.301816.5132162048-1-1720p223

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Google Pixelbook 12.3240016001.506.82703.842351.16.20i5 / i7109.09101651200720pChromeOS now includes crostini linux VMs without enabling dev mode and turning off hardware security features, though IO performance on them is quite bad, and there are lots of rough edges

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Vaio pro 1313.3192010801.786.52762.071661.066.1565.66028512-1-1720p121reportedly terrible wifi: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Sony-Vaio-Pro-13-SVP-1321C5ER-Ultrabook.98624.0.html

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ThinkPad X1 Carbon gen 5 (2017)14256014401.786.86843.692101.136.071210.623216256-1-1720p221

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Google Pixelbook Go13.3384021601.786.52768.293311.095.98m3 / i5 / i7109.17101651200720pChromeOS now includes crostini linux VMs without enabling dev mode and turning off hardware security features, though IO performance on them is quite bad, and there are lots of rough edges

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XPS 13 (9300)13.4384024001.607.10819.223381.25.92i5/i7 10thg1210.00322048-10720p221

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Samsung Notebook 915.5192010801.787.601032.071421.35.85nvidia 940mx107.692825600720p321

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huawei matebook pro x13.9300020001.507.71896.002591.335.80i7-8550U / i5GeForce MX150 2GB / i62096.77-1016512-1-1720p21https://old.reddit.com/r/Huawei/comments/8ofckj/matebook_pro_x_battery_life_with_linux/

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Framework laptop13.5225615041.507.49843.392011.35.7612th gen i7+86.1511642048111080p4?1Upgradeable! Swappable ports, but only 4 of them 🤷

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thinkpad x1 carbon 2016 (gen 4)14256014401.786.86843.692101.25.7210.58.7501161024-1-1720p223

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samsung series 9 NP900X3C-A04US13.316009001.786.52761.441381.165.6254.31014256-10720p121

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samsung series 9 NP900X3E-A02US13.3192010801.786.52762.071661.165.6254.31014128-10720p111http://blog.jospoortvliet.com/2012/09/linux-and-samsung-series-9-np900x3c.html

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Vaio Z 201213.1192010801.786.42732.071681.165.5465.17028512720p121

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ASUS Zenbook UX305FA-ASM113.3192010801.786.52762.071.25.430.008256720p

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toshiba z3013.313667681.786.52761.051181.25.4386.671216512-1-1720p121

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thinkpad x1 carbon 201414256014401.786.86843.692101.275.4086.30018512-1-1720p221mouse requires lots of conf file hacking in linux http://who-t.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/xorg-synaptics-support-for-lenovo-t440.html nipple mouse much much worse than previous thinkpads

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thinkpad x1 carbon 201514256014401.786.86843.692101.35.2810.58.08018512-1-1720p223keyboard & tpad slightly less crazy than 2014 model, unsure about nipple mouse

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macbook air 1111.613667681.785.68571.051351.085.264.54.17-1081000-1-1720p11waaay too shortscreen

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macbook air 1313.314409001.607.05801.301281.355.2296.67-108512-1-1720p21http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1269168

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samsung chromebook11.613667681.785.68571.051351.15.176.55.9101216-1-1720p011https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton/issues/310 https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton/issues/68‎
linux chroots are extremely easy to install on this cheap, light ARM device, but there are some gotchas

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Macbook pro 13" 2017 (no touch bar)13.3256016001.607.05804.102271.375.15intel i7 dual 2.5GHzintel iris plus graphics 640107.30161024720p

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Dell XPS 13 201513.3320018001.786.52765.762761.275.132015.75018256-1-1720p121ships with Ubuntu! https://konklone.com/post/im-blogging-again-about-linux

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thinkpad x1 carbon 20131416009001.786.86841.441311.355.0875.19218256-1-1720p123possibly too shortscreen? 7 hours battery seems realistic: http://askubuntu.com/questions/286490/thinkpad-x1-carbon-terrible-battery-life-on-raring

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System76 Galago13.3320018001.786.52765.762761.35.02intel i7-7500Intel Graphics 6200.00326144720pComes with Ubuntu 16.04 preinstalled

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Dell XPS 13 201613.3320018001.786.52765.762761.35.020.00161024720pPeople overwriting the default Ubuntu installation report a lot of problems. Dell also has released a number of firmware patches for the laptop that are only installable through windows. https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dell_XPS_13_(2016)
The webcam is at the bottom. Fix: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006JH8T3S?tag=laptop-magazine-20

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HP Chromebook X212.3240016001.506.82703.842351.394.91intel m3 2.6Ghzintel hd 61512.58.991043200720p22touch screen, stylus, converts to tablet, runs ChromeOS w/ Android apps

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Razer Blade Stealth13.3320018001.786.52765.762761.334.90intel i7-7500 2.7GHzIntel Graphics 6200.00161024720p

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ThinkPad T460s14256014401.786.86843.692101.44.9042.86201024720p0.2-0.3 kg heavier than the carbon, but cheaper. Unfortunately the battery life is really bad on linux.

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thinkpad x61s (very old)12.110247681.337.26700.791061.54.845.53.67324
11720p113

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toshiba kirabook13.3256014401.786.52763.692211.354.834.53.330-128256-1720p121

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thinkpad x240s12.5192010801.786.13672.071761.284.792015.633216720p23?much too shortscreen, linux battery unverified

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Thinkpad x27012.5192010801.786.13672.071761.34.711612.3116512720p

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Chuwi 12.312.3273618241.506.82704.992671.454.71N34505.53.7911664/192720p1

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samsung ativ book 913.3320018001.786.52765.762761.394.69107.19018256-10720p121

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Yoga 2 Pro13.3320018001.786.52765.762761.394.6964.328512-1-1720p12

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chromebook pixel 212.85256017001.517.11764.352391.524.68127.891-11664-1-2720p121

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macbook pro 1313.3256016001.607.05804.102271.574.490.00-10161024-1-1720p31

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samsung series 9 NP900X4C-A03US1516009001.787.35961.441221.644.480.00018256-10720p121

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Acer Chromebook C72011.613667681.785.68571.051351.274.480.00232720p$199 - DC Celeron, 2/4GB, 16GB SSD (upgradable, but voids warranty). Comes with ChromeOS, but runs Ubuntu nicely without binary drivers.

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Macbook pro 15" 201715.4288018001.608.161075.182211.834.46intel i7 quad 2.8 GHzRadeon Pro 555/5600.00162048720p

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thinkpad t440s14192010801.786.86842.071571.584.3453.1623125121-1720p223

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thinkpad 25 (anniversary edition)14192010801.786.86842.071571.64.29i7nvia 940MX74.38331651211720p123nice retro keyboard, nvidia gpu, lots of ports. Still 16:9 though :(

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Lenovo X1 Extreme15.6384021601.787.651048.292821.84.25intel i7 8th gen 4.3ghznvidia gtx 1050 ti158.3312641024-1-1720p423

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thinkpad t431s1416009001.786.86841.441311.644.1931.833212256-1-1720p223

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Purism Librem 15 (w/battery)15192010801.787.35961.84.09i7-6500U, dual core 3.1 GHzIntel HD Graphics 5207.54.1716614411720pComes with PureOS pre-installed (Debianvariant configured for privacy). Physical switch to mic, camera, wifi

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tpad x230, 6 cell12.513667681.786.13671.051251.54.0864.00321651211720p233much too shortscreenJust get a secondary screen you panzy ass.

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macbook pro 1515.4288018001.608.161075.182212.024.040.00-1016768-1-1720p31

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thinkpad yoga
chromebook C63015.6384021601.787.651048.292821.94.0394.74028128-1-1720p221

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thinkpad t410s+battery (old)1414409001.607.42881.3012123.7152.5033816011720p233

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Pine64 Pinebook 14"1413667681.786.86840.323.43ARM Cortex A53, Quad-core, 64-bit @ 1.2GHz?264 (eMMC module)??720p1?2Summary: cheap, lightweight Raspberry Pi 1.5 performance in a fairly sleek laptop package, plus a bit more RAM, plus a keyboard+LCD screen, minus video decoding. It's SLOW. Best for word processing/lightweight coding(/robotics?) use cases, or you may be disappointed. This is not a good Youtube/Internet browsing machine. I would've bought a used Thinkpad, but I needed something thin & light.
- Cheap and cheerful. You get a bit more than what you pay for, and it's acceptable for basic text processing. Total price + shipping + extortion customs fees and VAT = 140 GBP, which is decent.
- Keyboard - quirky but can be gotten used to. Main complaint is wonky spacebar.
- Touchpad - decent, but buttons occasionally can get stuck if you bend the case near them. Don't do that, but it's easy to fix if you do. Not precise enough for Linux-style middle-click emulation to work.
- Default OS shipped is quite well put-together, software wise.
- Micro SD slot - yes, bootable. Alternate distro SD images are provided.
- CPU architecture - Aarch64. In practice, proprietary "native Linux ARM" binaries may not work, or require more effort to get running.
- No logo on the outer case, only an unobtrusive logo underneath the LCD.
- Bluetooth - flaky. Couldn't set up my BT headphones (KitSound Arcade).
- Backlight - sometimes flickery, depending on brightness setting. 100%, close to 0% and a handful of other settings are stable, rest will flicker annoyingly.
- Runtime - 6h or so with WiFi off and brightness turned all the way down. +/- 2h.
- Takes ages to charge, I think at least 2-4h from zero to full. Plug it in overnight.
- Video support - flaky, at best, if any. Should have HW 1080p decode, but I've given up. Supposedly a common problem with PINE* series devices.

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