Best "convertible" or 2-in-1 device to run Linux on?
Best "convertible" or 2-in-1 device to run Linux on?
The last device I own that doesn't run an open source operating system is an iPad. I basically use it as a laptop most of the time with a keyboard case, but I do like being able to take just the screen to use as a drawing/note-taking tablet. I treat it more like a "convertible" device rather than a tablet alone.
I'm not in a rush to replace it, iPadOS is, eh, usable, but there are things that get on my nerves often. I definitely wouldn't be upgrading to another iPad model if this one died. I'm curious on what kind of hardware is available out there with good Linux support that I can keep in mind for the future. My only requirements would be that it runs normal Linux distros (ideally Fedora) and has a pen/display that supports pressure sensitivity.
The Minisforum V3 looks pretty damn cool. There's also the Microsoft Surface devices that ironically seem popular with Linux users. Anyone have any experience with these kinds of devices? What do you think? What's your favorite device in this class?
I have Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 and I've always complained about it. However, recently I started to like it. Plasma Mobile works pretty well, after tinkering with resolution and scaling it feels like a tablet. The only issue I have is the fingerprint reader, it doesn't work. Would I recommend it? yes(ish). I still think Linux is not the best choice for tables and the default folio sucks so the laptop mode is sometimes challenging, But from the hardware point of view it's a pretty good device.
I have a Surface Go 1 with a 128gb SSD and 8gb of RAM.
I’m almost never using it as a tablet, but it runs Fedora perfectly.
I’ve installed the surface kernel on it and I only have two small problems on it:
-my Bluetooth mouse takes some time to be recognized on startup or after watching a 15 minutes video
-sometimes, without reason, the battery is depleted on startup when it was 100% as I turned the computer off correctly a day before
I wouldn’t want to give my money to Microsoft anymore, but for around 450$ in 2019 it was a great investment.
I'm running Pop! OS on a Surface Pro 5 and it works pretty much flawlessly with the Linux Surface kernel installed. That said, 99% of the time I'm using it with the keyboard attached so I haven't done much testing of it in 'tablet mode', nor with a stylus.
I recently picked up a Lenovo 7i 2-in-1 (I got the Intel Evo version due to a nice sale, but wanted AMD) and am currently dual booting with it. No issues with Ubuntu at all that I've encountered.
Probably the Minisforum V3 I reckon. From what I hear, everything works out-of-the-box, plus it's a Zen 4 Ryzen, so you get excellent graphics performance and overall compatibility with Linux.
I'm a Zen 4 user myself (Minisforum UM780 XTX with a Ryzen 7840HS - pretty much the same APU as the V3, minus the AI stuff) and I'm really happy with my Linux experience on it so far.
Also, AMD have just submitted some new Core Performance Boost (CBP) patches, so you can expect even better performance/battery with the upcoming kernel releases. This is a very exciting space to be in!
That seems to be the best there is in this category right now. Just pretty expensive.
I haven't tried it myself but the StarLite is a surface style convertible designed to run Linux, even shipping with the distribution of your choice right out of the box. And apparently it supports MPP pens. It's not in the official specs but StarLabs is selling an active pen that's "exclusively designed for the StarLite Mk V"
https://starlabs.systems/pages/starlite?shpxid=8d568063-b691-4a60-928b-f2a82c820093
I've run ChromeOS Flex on an old Surface Pro 3 and it was pretty good. However Flex doesn't support the Linux containers or Android apps. I was tempted to try Fedora on it, but ended up trading it in as that battery wasn't that reliable anymore. I think the Surface line is best option in the 2-in-1 space anymore. When I was looking at options last fall no other vendor really had anything under 13", which is just ridiculous to ever use as s tablet.
The Minisforum V3 has been killing it with reviews from pretty thorough and well-known testers. I think they just sold out the early order batch they had available though.