The Kubuntu Focus family of Linux laptops is growing.
A 3rd-gen Kubuntu Focus M2 laptop with a 15.6 inch display, 45-watt Intel Core i7-11800H Tiger Lake processor, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30-series graphics is now available for $1945 and up. But if you’re in the market for something smaller and/or cheaper, the Kubuntu team also introduced the 14 inch Kubuntu Focus Xe this summer. It sells for $895 and up.
Both laptop ship with Kubuntu 20.04 LTS software pre-installed. It’s an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution that features the KDE desktop environment rather than the GNOME-based user experience you’d get from a standard Ubuntu installation.
Kubuntu Focus M2 3rd-gen
The entry-level configuration of this high-performance laptop features Intel’s 8-core, 16-thread Core i7-11800H processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 graphics, 16GB of DDR4-3200 RAM, and a 250GB SSD.
But you can configure the system with up to RTX 3080 graphics, 64GB of RAM, and 4TB of storage (there’s room for two SSDs).
Standard features include a 15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel IPS LCD display with a 144 Hz refresh rate and a matte anti-glare coating, a 73 Wh battery, a 1MP webcam, support for WIFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and ports including:
- 1 x Thunderbolt 4
- 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
- 1 x HDMI
- 1 x Mini DisplayPort
- 1 x Gigabit Ethernet
- 1 x 3.5mm mic or S/PDIF port
- 1 x 3.5mm headphone/mic jack
- 1 x DC power input
The laptop has a backlit keyboard with a number pad, stereo speakers, and an aluminum alloy chassis that measures 14.1″ x 9.4″ x .78″ and the system weighs about 4.4 pounds.
If the price seems high, you can also save some money by picking up a 2nd-gen model instead, which features a 10th-gen Intel Core i7-108750H processor, NVIDA GeForce RTX 3060 or RTX 3070 graphics, and DDR4-2933 MHz RAM. Prices for Kubuntu Focus M2 Gen 2 start at $1645.
Interestingly, the 2nd-gen model has an SD card reader, while the newer Gen 3 version does not.
Kubuntu Focus Xe
This 14 inch laptop is designed for folks looking for a thin and light mobile computing device rather than a workstation-class computer. But it still has some pretty decent specs even for the $895 entry-level configuration, including a 1920 x 1080 pixel matte IPS LCD display with a 120 Hz refresh rate and a 28-watt Intel Tiger Lake-U quad-core, eight-thread processor with Iris Xe graphics.
The starting price will get you a model with an Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 250GB of storage, but the Kubuntu Focus Xe is available with up to a Core i7-1165G7 chip, 64GB of graphics, and 2TB of storage.
Memory and storage should are also user upgradeable, since they come in DDR4-3200 SODIMM and M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe Gen4x4 modules, respectively.
The laptop has a 49 Wh battery, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, a 1MP webcam (with a physical privacy shutter) and ports including:
- 1 x Thunderbolt 4
- 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (no video out or power input)
- 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
- 1 x HDMI 1.4b
- 1 x 3.5mm mic/headphone
- 1 x Gigabit Ethernet
- 1 x SDXC card reader
Other features include a backlit keyboard, stereo speakers, and a chassis with an aluminum top and keybaord deck, and a plastic bottom. The Kubuntu Focus Xe measures 12.8″ x 8.9″ x .69″ x and weighs 3.2 pounds.