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.

Support Liliputing

Liliputing's primary sources of revenue are advertising and affiliate links (if you click the "Shop" button at the top of the page and buy something on Amazon, for example, we'll get a small commission).

But there are several ways you can support the site directly even if you're using an ad blocker* and hate online shopping.

Contribute to our Patreon campaign

or...

Contribute via PayPal

* If you are using an ad blocker like uBlock Origin and seeing a pop-up message at the bottom of the screen, we have a guide that may help you disable it.

Subscribe to Liliputing via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 9,457 other subscribers