The lightest Linux laptop ever just launched, and it challenges the MacBook Air for battery life | Daily Reports Online
- Revamped Lemur Pro offers more powerful internals and a massive battery life win for its Linux-based customers
- Ultraportable-class laptop offers two screen sizes and up to 18 hours of ‘multi-day’ battery life
- Users can also choose to skip Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, in addition to an optional webcam and microphone
System 76, a Denver, Colorado-based company which focuses on selling systems with Linux preinstalled, has refreshed its 2020 Lemur Pro, offering major internal upgrades, multiple display options, and battery life that parallels that of a MacBook Air.
At just under 1 kg for the 14-inch variant and 1.34kg for the 16-inch variant, it is also the lightest Linux-first laptop in the business in the 14-inch form factor, despite packing a battery with a rated 18 hours of life between cycles.
This puts it in the same weight class as the 14-inch LG Gram and the 13.3-inch Fujitsu LifeBook lineup, even as it offers considerably beefier internals than either model.
Multi-day battery life on a Linux laptop
The Lemur Pro is priced at a premium, starting at $1,999 on its website before a $76 discount kicks in, but one can quickly see why the manufacturer is pricing it near $2,000.
The laptop offers 32GB of non-user-upgradeable LPDDR5X RAM, a base configuration of a 1TB SSD, WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and a choice between an Intel Core Ultra 5 325 or X7 358H CPU. The former is an 8-core CPU, while the latter is a considerably beefier 16-core CPU that is a crucial part of its performance-centric Panther Lake offerings.
Users can kick things up a notch by upgrading their storage to 4T via the website’s built-in configurator and choosing whether they want WiFi, Bluetooth, a webcam, or a microphone.
System76 states that the Lemur Pro caters to students, frequent travelers, digital nomads, developers, engineers, and IT professionals, to name a few, and that some may want an airgapped computer, while others may have no need for a webcam or microphone, or may consider either a security risk.
Potential buyers can also choose between a 14′ FHD+ display and a 16′ QHD+ display, even as the laptop continues to offer up to 18 hours of battery life in both configurations.
Apple’s own MacBook Air is also said to offer up to 18 hours of video playback and 15 hours of wireless web browsing, putting it within the same endurance range as the Linux-based Lemur Pro. In our review, we found that the claim largely holds, with 15.5 hours of battery life when browsing the web.
Carl Richell, the founder and CEO of System76, praised the laptop while noting that Intel’s Panther Lake chips were a crucial part of the Lemur Pro’s overhaul.
While there has been no independent review confirming the Lemur Pro’s battery life claims, if they hold, the MacBook Air M5 might just have a serious, powerful contender vying for a chunk of its developer and IT professional audience at the same time Apple has decided to raise prices across the board, making for a perfect storm, even as it comes with twice the RAM on offer by default.
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