The Kubuntu Focus is a premium notebook with a 16.1 inch display, an Intel Core i7-9750H hexa-core processor, and NVIDIA RTX graphics. But the most unusual feature is that rather than Windows, it ships with Kubuntu — a version of Ubuntu Linux with the KDE desktop environment.

First announced in December, the Kubuntu Focus is now available for purchase, and it should ship in early February.

The notebook has also received a bit of a price cut — rather than starting at $2300 as originally planned, there’s now a more affordable entry-level model with a $1800 price tag.

The Kubuntu Focus is the first computer to be officially branded as a Kubuntu device — the Kubuntu Council, Tuxedo Computers, and MindShareManagement worked on the project together.

While the starting price is still pretty high, the laptop does have some pretty strong specs, including:

  • Display: 16.1 inch, 1080p matte 144 Hz IPS
  • External displays: Up to 3 (HDMI 2.0, USB-C, and Mini DisplayPort 1.4)
  • Memory: Up to 64GB of DDR4-2666 memory
  • Storage: 2 x NVMe + 1 2.5″ drive bay
  • Connectivity: Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0
  • Ports: 2 x USB 3.1 Type-C, 2 x USB 3.0 Type-A, HDMI 2.0, Mini DisplayPort, Ethernet, 2x 3.5mm audio, SD card reader

The Kubuntu Focus measures about 15″ x 9.9″ x 0.8″ and weighs about 4.6 pounds, and the notebook has a glass touchpad and a backlit keyboard with RGB lighting and 3mm key travel.

An $1800 entry-level model comes with 16GB of RAM, 250GB of storage, and NVIDIA RTX 2060 graphics. But you can configure the laptop with up to RTX 2080 graphics, up to 64GB of RAM, and up to 8TB of storage (2 x 2TB Samsung Evo Plus NVMe SSDs + a 4TB Samsung Evo 860 SSD).

According to the Kubuntu Focus website, the software has been tuned to improve performance and battery life on the laptop — although the team still says you’ll only get around 3.5 hours of battery life using the Kubuntu Focus laptop.

If you don’t care about buying an official Kubuntu laptop that comes pre-loaded with software optimized for the system, the hardware is actually made by Taiwenese manufacturer Clevo — it’s a Clevo 960 series system, which is the same ODM design used for the similarly-priced System76 Oryx Pro and Tuxedo XP1610 laptops.

via Phoronix

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3 replies on “Kubuntu Focus Linux laptop now available (for $1800 and up)”

  1. Hello,

    I have a Microsoft shelf, very unhappy with it. There is no cd drive so I’m dependent on Microsoft just to get through a word document and most of the times its unreliable. Would like to know if Linux offers a laptop that is compatible with Word and has a cd drive.

    thanks,

    Bob V.

  2. Liliputing, 16″ and 4.6 lbs?
    but in seriousness, it’s an interesting laptop. I’d love to hear later how well it sells; I have a hard time picturing their customer, but I hope it works.

  3. “Fro” I always wanted FRO software

    “software optimized fro the system,….”

Comments are closed.