The Kubuntu Focus M2 is a 4.4 pound laptop that ships with the Kubuntu GNU/Linux distribution pre-installed. First launched in October, the 4.4 pound notebook has a 15.6 inch, 144 Hz full HD matte display, an Intel Core i7-10875H octa-core processor and NVIDIA graphics.
When the notebook launched last year it was available with NVIDIA RTX 20 GPUs, but now you can configure the system with up to RTX 3080 graphics.
Entry-level configurations are also getting a price drop.
Prices start at $1795 for a “base” model with RTX 3060 graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 250GB of storage. That’s the same price that a base model sold for last year. But now you can also drop some specs below the base level.
That means for $1345 you can pick up a Kubuntu Focus M2 laptop with 8GB of RAM, 250GB of storage and NVIDIA RTX 2060 graphics. That’s a sale price though, and it’s possible that it’s a limited-time deal that will only be available for as long as the laptop’s makers have that GPU in stock.
The Kubuntu Focus is also available with up to 64GB of RAM, up to 4TB of storage, and NVIDIA’s most powerful graphics solution available for laptops. Just note that you’ll end up spending a whopping $4535 to get a model with those specs.
All models of the laptop has a 73 Wh battery, dual M.2 2280 slots for PCIe solid state drives, an M.2230 slot for a wireless and, and ports including:
- 1 x Thunderbolt 3
- 1 x HDMI
- 1 x Mini DisplayPort 1.4
- 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
- 1 x mic & S/PDIF audio jack
- 1 x headphone/mic jack
- 1 x Gigabit Ethernet port
- 1 x microSDXC card reader
The system supports up to three external 4K displays thanks to its Thunderbolt, DisplayPort, and HDMI ports.
Thank you @Brad for taking a good look at the product and the order form and then reporting it so well. Your assessments are very much correct and your writing is clear and direct. The RTX 2060 model is a great deal right now, and it compares well with the 3060 for raster graphics (although it falls behind in compute and RT). It’s also a great desktop replacement.
@penguinx86 We are considering offering an Intel XE model starting around $750 but with many of the same hardware and software optimizations. Please let us know if you are interested!
I think it’s great that they offer a Linux laptop without the lame Gnome 3 desktop environment. This looks like a good laptop, but $1345 after the price drop is still too pricey for my budget. I don’t understand why most Linux laptops have to cost over $1000.
Compared to other Linux laptops, I guess the Kubuntu Focus M2 pricing isn’t too bad. The ability to customize these laptops probably adds to the cost. It’s not a generic $200 Chromebook or $400 Windows laptop off the shelf at Walmart. Of course a custom order with quad core processor, 16gb of DDR4 RAM, high end graphics, and choice of 512gb of NVMe storage will add to the cost.
For example, the System76 Galgo Pro starts at $999
https://system76.com/laptops/galago
The Dell XPS 13 with Ubuntu starts at $1039
https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/dell-laptops-and-notebooks/new-xps-13-developer-edition/spd/xps-13-9310-laptop/ctox139w10p2c3000u
And the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon with Fedora costs over $2000
https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-x1/X1-Carbon-Gen-8-/p/20U9CTO1WWENUS2/customize