What are the best Linux laptops? This is a question that might seem easy to answer, but it really depends on your needs. If you need a laptop for programming or video editing then you will need something different than if you just want to browse Facebook. Hopefully, this article can help guide you in the right direction!
Don’t just choose a model that just pretends to run Linux on a Linux laptop. Rather, the real thing is needed. Sure, many big-name Linux machine producers aren’t. But you can install any Linux distro on a Windows system if the specifications are correct. However, the installation process for Linux is cumbersome for novices. Fortunately a few less-known manufacturers produce wonderful Linux computers. These computers have a Linux Distro prefabricated. You don’t have to search for driver support and specs to work. We have both laptops from some big names and smaller players in this list. And don’t forget your needs. And don’t forget your needs.
After all, it’s not the best Linux laptop that doesn’t fit your needs. Okay, talk enough. In 2021, let us reach our top 10 Linux Laptop REAL-DEALS.
Table of Contents
Top 10 Linux laptops
#1 Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (8th Generation)
Last year, by announcing Linux laptops, Lenovo shocked the Linux community. It was one of the first major companies to immerse themselves in the Linux ecosystem. And the outcome is not surprising!
ThinkPad X1 Carbon, Lenovo’s first foray, easily earns our top place on the best Linux laptop. This is a premium lightweight laptop at a mid-range price, using an advanced Fedora 32 OS.
The 10th gene Intels i5 or i7 chip is the highlight of this model. In addition, it supports LPDDR3 RAM up to 16GB and SSD up to 1TB. This is more than sufficient power to satisfy business users. You would expect a Thinkpad to have a Keyboard, a face recognition, a fingerprint reader, and other bells & whistles. Leading in class and high-end!
Lenovo claims that this laptop can last for 19 hours, but we feel that this is a little bit of a strain. Expect the battery to last about 12-13 hours, above all when you run Fedora. It’s even better today than many laptops.
Our only deception is that the screen bezels are slightly larger. We hope that the next upgrade will shrink a little. For now, Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (8th generation) is your first choice if you’d like to go to a prominent laptop manufacturer.
#2. Tuxedo Pulse 14 Gen 1
The Tuxedo Pulse 14 is a Linux laptop that easily accesses and displays with a Thinkpad. Subtle black Magnesium chassis is superb and is strikingly lightweight. This model does not look (or feel) cheap, even if it is very affordable.
This AMD Ryzen 7 4800H (12MB Cache) processor is specifically designed for the German manufacturer. Other important specs support Samsung RAM 64Gb CCL2 and Samsung 970 EVO Plus up to 2TB (NVMe PCIe). The full HD IPS display ranges 100% sRGB of the color gamut, like our top selections.
So, when it comes to performance, there is no wonder this machine is shining. It handles all the containers that can be operated without any sign of a slowdown. Nor do any heat-ups! Whether you want a heavy collection, the processing of data, the simultaneous execution of multiple threads or any computer work, Pulse 14 will never be deceived.
A weak battery is the only thing that isn’t so good. We have almost five hours with just half the cores at slow speeds. Moreover, the display also had to be switched off. A switch to OpenSUSE takes software-sensitive time to become familiar. All this, however, gets a pass because of its outstanding performance and ultra-light construction. Tuxedo Pulse 14 is definitely one of the best Linux laptops if you’re on the market for a powerhouse.
Buy here: TuxedoComputers
#3. System76 Serval WS
The size of laptops has always been a big limit. How many times do you find a laptop with a desktop-like performance? Perhaps once a year? Enter Serval WS of System76! This ghost is a laptop like that. It cracks a laptop chassis with desktop processors.
This thing is enormous, of course. It is thicker and heavier than lappies (1.28 inches high) (5.95lbs). This makes it more appropriate than your travel companion as a workstation for the table. The additional bulk, however, somehow visualizes the pure power within that beast.
Customization is the main feature of this system. If you like, you can configure it. You can go to Ryzen 9 Pro 3900 from AMD’s 3rd gene for CPU. The NVIDIA GTX 1660 Ti and the NVIDIA RTX 2070 are available at the GPU front.
In addition, up to 64Gb of dual channel DDR4 and up to 8TB of SATA or NVMe storage are supported by System76 Serval WS. Choose from the screen of 15 to 17 inches. This gives you all the property you might need to display.
In addition, this laptop comes with default Ubuntu installed. You can boot Windows 10 dually as well if you like. It is an unbelievable developmental and occasional gaming machine. But be careful; it’s not fit for travel.
Buy Here: System76
#4. Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition 2020
For developers and energy users looking for the best Linux laptop, the Dell XPS 13 Developer’s Edition 2020 is the ultimate option. It is a small medium laptop with Ubuntu 20.04 LTS OS (the first of Dell).
The latester model features an Intel® CoreTM i5-201135G7 Processor, an online 16 GB 4267MHz LPDDR4x, 2TBGB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive and a variety of displays to choose from. The latest version is available on request. The laptop has a bright silver exterior in platinum that feels quite decent and a black interior contrasting. So it is lightweight but long-lasting.
Yeah, Dell’s Infinity edge class-leading screen. The bezels around the display are much thinner, so you can work or play with much more immovable screen. The functionality of touch screen is built into the screen as well. BIOS updates are the best part about this laptop. Native to Ubuntu 20.04, notifies any updates to BIOS. You get a popup message from the fwupd service once an update is available.
Interestingly, when Dell announced it had up to 32Gb of RAM supported, making all Linux enthusiasts very happy who are working on multiple Linux containers. However, no plans to sell it again in the future have been discontinued.
Nevertheless, Dell XPS 13 Developing Edition 2020 is a perfect system for IT professionals, developers and managers. A $1143 basic cost, considering laptop specs, offers great value for money.
#5. Purism Librem 14
The Librem 14 is the safest Linux laptop available on the market today. It uses a 14-inch 1080p IPS display to build on the success of the Librem 13. But because of much smaller bezels it can fit into the same footprint. Purism Librem 14 is an excellent travel partner with its security features.
It consists of an Intel i7-10710U chip with a six center (12 threads), 8GB of RAM, and a SATA M.2 SSD of 250GB. Moreover, it operates on the sandboxing application PureOS, a Linux version that is noted for security. So everywhere you get HTTPS. Moreover, default ad blocking and tracking protection are configured. Multiple USB-A 3.1 and USB-C 3.1 ports are available in conjunction with HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, 3.5mm audio and peripheral SDCard reader.
Unique hardware kill switches are one of the main drawbacks of Purism laptops. The kill switches disconnect the camera, microphone, wireless and Bluetooth connections physically if necessary. This model is moving them upwards. It is thus easier to see, without bending your head, the condition of a particular kill switch.
The BIOS is also open source. For security booting, the laptop uses PureBoot and allows a user to sign his OS self. There’s no Secure Boot, however, unfortunately. The LibremKey, a USB security token with encryption, key management and simple manipulation, is also supported. Therefore, Library 14 is where you get the most bang for bucks if safety is your main concern.
Buy Here: Purism
#6. System76 Galago Pro
System76 recently upgraded its already popular Galago Pro with the latest Tiger Lake chips of Intel 11th generation. Laptops equipped with Tiger Lake show much better performance, especially in the graphics department, than previous Comet Lake chapsets.
The update, however, is free. The latest Galago Pro is a little bit costly than the last model. A fully developed model costs about $2400. As of today. However, system76 continues to sell all the newest hardware on fascinating Linux machines.
Either Intel Core i5 1134G7 or an i7 1165G7 chip can be used for this medium machine. The DDR4-3200 RAM and a 2TB SSD are also up to 64 GB. The Intel Iris Xe Card is available for graphics, but you can also pay 150 bucks extra to pay the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650.
This is a custom laptop with Pop! OS 20.10 or 20.04 LTS operating systems out of the box, as are all System76. For computer professionals and software developers, it is a powerful and reliable Linux distro. On the other hand, Ubuntu enthusiasts can instead choose Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.
Buy Here: System76
#7. Lenovo ThinkPad P53 Mobile Workstation
Last year’s second Lenovo laptop was the mobile workstation Thinkpad P53. This is an extraordinarily robust hardware. It wouldn’t be too far to call it forward-looking. And whether you’re a gamer, video producer or any other creator of content is great to use. And it feels great The Ubuntu 18.04 LTS or Windows versions also offer the possibility.
When you open it you first notice the bezels on the screen that are comic over-sized. Has it been too much? We’re going to leave you that. But bigger bezels strengthen the durability of the panel. Thinkpad P53 will certainly not receive any Thinness Prizes on the flip-side.
A complete desktop replacement is the ThinkPad P53. It has a beautiful 15.6-inch 4K resolution screen, HDR and 100% DCI-P3 color. The laptop can be strengthened with the I7-9750H, Nvidia Quadro T1000 or a T2000, fast SSD and extensive memory according to your needs.
Thinkpad P53 is one of the best laptops for Linux if a normal lappy cannot meet your needs, and due to portability problems a regular desktop is out of the computer. It offers desktop performance, strength in terms of military and battery capacity for expedition.
#8. DELL Inspiron 15 3000
It’s free, one of the biggest attractions of Linux. As cost-effective as a laptop is for a suitable combo. And the good news is that Dell now sells an Ubuntu edition that comes with an operating system pre-installed version. DELL Inspiron 15 3000 is Linux’ best laptop for a budget when writing this article.
Obviously, this involves sacrificing hardware and overall efficiencies, particularly in areas where the processor and memory are involved, just like all budget laptops. This laptop has a low Intel Celeron chip and its 8GB of RAM won’t be great for heavy multipurpose operations.
Yet, its OS Ubuntu uses low end hardware to play nicely. And with a Windows OS in the toe you can easily boot for two. Although the SSD’s size is just 128 GB, it’s a faster model of M.2 NVMe. This helps to maintain the speed at which different applications are started and loaded.
The 1080, which is a rare occurrence at this price range, is housed in the plastic frame. Not to mention, the full-sized USB ports, an Ethernet port, an SD reader and an HDMI out port are available. The Inspiron 15 3000 is not a powerhouse with that said. Nevertheless, those who want a Linux budget laptop for basic tasks will enjoy it a lot.
9. Asus Chromebook Flip c434
While Pixelbooks from Google are nice, lightweight, and fast, Linux does not have enough support. You hang up, often need to reboot, and cannot replace Linux fully. That’s why we have gone to Asus Chromebook Flip c434, and support for Linux hasn’t deceived.
The aluminum construction reminds us of the MacBook Air and looks high quality. The same is true of the keyboard, which is a true highlight. You feel good to type, good and strong without flex. It feels good. Better, certainly, than Mac. The 14″ screen is also fabulous in 13 inches shape.
It’s a highly affordable and inexpensive machine running Ubuntu alongside the Chrome OS. Therefore, without any dual boot, you can share files between the two OS. It is only a single GUI computer. Both OS are on the boot-up, and the one you like can be selected.
Another big plus is to use an Android Touch-Screen tablet with a Chromebook as a Linux laptop if you want to. In total, Asus Chromebook Flip c434 is an excellent budget choice for users. It’s also our first choice in 2021 for the best Chromebooks (Link Chromebooks article).
#10. HP Dragonfly Elite
Finally, on our list we have an unconventional player. This 2 in 1 HP flagship of the first generation is usually not your first thought when looking for the best Linux laptop. It comes pre-loaded with Windows 10 OS, but with Ubuntu 19.10, and other Linux distros it does exceptionally well.
It takes 10 minutes for the installation to take place. However, you will have a fully functional Linux laptop when you pass this time and the post-installation confirmatory restart is over. Everything works without fuss or messing around the touchscreen, keyboard function keys, stylus, touchpads, displays and the WIFI.
Thanks to its eight-genre Core i7, 16GB of RAM, and wide SSD storage, it’s an excellent performer. The chassis is an exceptionally portable light weight magnesium alloy. Furthermore, the ultra-light 13.3 inch touch screen will flip back to provide you with a choice from tent to tablet.
The exorbitant cost is perhaps the greatest hurdle to overcome here. HP Elite’s not coming at cheap dragonfly. However, it’s a premium laptop with premium capabilities which runs Linux untouched. However, there is no option to dual boot. This allows a secure, secure Linux distribution to replace your existing Windows OS.
