I pre-ordered my 13" with an i7 in late 2021. As a long-time Linux user, the experience has been very plug-and-play with the installation, and everything has been working as expected.
During these years, I ended up opening the laptop multiple times:
- upgraded the monitor hinges: this was a major annoyance when travelling.
- went through support to get the mobo repaired/swapped as one of the ports broke for whatever reason
- ended up moving to AMD mobo, while increasing RAM and SSD simultaneously.
- I bought the Coolermaster case for the i7.
Overall, all of the above happened as advertised. I enjoyed putting my hands on it, and to be honest, the engineering quality that went into it still impresses me.
There are a number of issues that I still find below grade but don't really bother me:
- the speakers are definitely not great, I saw there is an upgrade available for them, will look into it, still not my primary use.
- the original monitor was glossy, so ended up with an anti-glare screen cover. I now see that you can also have a matte version and one with bigger resolution, never been an issue, but interesting to see.
- the fingerprint scanner is a bit jiffy, but I figure this is mostly a linux issue.
- the battery was a major downside at the beginning under the i7, but right now I don't see it being an issue, at least under AMD: I get a good amount of hours and playing a movie on battery is something I can do without issues, draining just a few percent off it. (I'm currently running tuned and tuned-ppd if you want to know).
I'm very happy with it mostly, if not exclusively due to its upgradability and linux support. I only wish there was more competition in this sector.
Yeah I totally forgot, the screen was unbearably glossy. I got a photodon anti-glare display protector and that solved the issue. Huge quality of life improvement. The glossiness of the screen is criminal.
Comments
I pre-ordered my 13" with an i7 in late 2021. As a long-time Linux user, the experience has been very plug-and-play with the installation, and everything has been working as expected.
During these years, I ended up opening the laptop multiple times: - upgraded the monitor hinges: this was a major annoyance when travelling. - went through support to get the mobo repaired/swapped as one of the ports broke for whatever reason - ended up moving to AMD mobo, while increasing RAM and SSD simultaneously. - I bought the Coolermaster case for the i7.
Overall, all of the above happened as advertised. I enjoyed putting my hands on it, and to be honest, the engineering quality that went into it still impresses me.
There are a number of issues that I still find below grade but don't really bother me: - the speakers are definitely not great, I saw there is an upgrade available for them, will look into it, still not my primary use. - the original monitor was glossy, so ended up with an anti-glare screen cover. I now see that you can also have a matte version and one with bigger resolution, never been an issue, but interesting to see. - the fingerprint scanner is a bit jiffy, but I figure this is mostly a linux issue. - the battery was a major downside at the beginning under the i7, but right now I don't see it being an issue, at least under AMD: I get a good amount of hours and playing a movie on battery is something I can do without issues, draining just a few percent off it. (I'm currently running tuned and tuned-ppd if you want to know).
I'm very happy with it mostly, if not exclusively due to its upgradability and linux support. I only wish there was more competition in this sector.
Yeah I totally forgot, the screen was unbearably glossy. I got a photodon anti-glare display protector and that solved the issue. Huge quality of life improvement. The glossiness of the screen is criminal.