The Pinebook Pro is a low-cost, lightweight laptop that ships with Linux software. First announced in January, the Pinebook Pro is now up for pre-order for $200.

What you get for that price is a 2.8 pound laptop with a 14.1 inch full HD display, an Rockchip RK3399 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of eMMC storage (although members of the Pine64 forum who registered early can get a free 128GB upgrade).

The laptop might not exactly be a speed demon, but it has a faster processor, twice as much RAM, and more storage than the original Pinebook.

The new model also has a larger screen, a sturdier chassis, and optional support for an M.2 connector for a PCIe SSD (sold separately for $7).

Pine64 isn’t the only company that sells notebook computers pre-loaded with Linux. Purism, System76, ZaReason, and Dell have their own Linux laptops. But the Pinebook lineup are some of the cheapest (and least powerful) option.

Out of the box, the Pinebook Pro will ship with Debian, but it should also support other GNU/Linux distributions as well as Chromium OS and Android.

Another unusual feature? Privacy switches that disable the camera, mic, and wireless hardware when you hold down the F1, F2, or F3 keys for 10 seconds.

Here’s a run-down of the specs for the Pinebook Pro:

  • 14.1 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel IPS LCD display
  • Rockchip RK3399 processor (2 x ARM Cortex-A72 CPU cores, 4 x ARM Cortex-A53 CPU cores, ARM Mali-T860 MP4 graphics)
  • 4GB LPDDR4 RAM (dual channel)
  • 64GB eMMC 5.0 (or 128GB for forum members who registered before July 1st)
  • 1 x USB 3.0 Type-C (charging, data, display)
  • 1 x USB 3.0 Type-A
  • 1 x USB 2.0 Type-A
  • MicroSD card reader
  • Headphone jack
  • 802.11ac WiFi
  • Bluetooth 5.0
  • 10,000 mAh battery
  • 2MP camera
  • Magnesium Alloy chassis
  • 329mm x 220mm x 12mm (13″ x 8.7″ x 0.5″)
  • 1.26 kg (2.78 pounds)

One thing to keep in mind when buying a laptop this cheap is that not only does it come with a fairly low-power processor, but Pine64 also only offers a 30-day warranty and notes that a it doesn’t consider “small numbers (1-3) of stuck or dead pixels” to be a defect, but rather a “characteristic of LCD screens.”

In other words don’t be shocked if this $200 laptop doesn’t have the same level of quality you might expect from a $1000 model.

via CNX-Software

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4 replies on “Pinebook Pro Linux laptop goes up for pre-order for $200”

  1. “includes 64GB eMMC 5.0 (or 128GB for forum members who registered before July 1st)” — you posted this story on July 25. Thanks for getting my hopes up for no good reason! 🙂

  2. With these cheap ARM based notebooks it should be a basic feature to offer a HDMI input mode and USB HID interface, so it can be connected to other devices later in life when the ARM board inside becomes obsolete. Basically they could sell the same device without any CPU inside as a “phone dock” for the same price or more.

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