I'm using a Dell XPS 13 pre-loaded with Ubuntu now. I had to order it by telephone because the option to configure it with 32GB of RAM and Ubuntu wasn't available on their website (in this respect Dell really sucks with their localized web shop, but at least you can contact them within the EU), but no hassle with customs and shipping, and warrantee isn't limited to the US standard of one year by default, but the EU mandated standard of two years. If it breaks down, I can get a replacement within a week; that's just impossible with overseas commerce.
I got this one in July 2021 though, so Dell probably changed everything again. This is an XPS 13 9310 (BN93209C) with 32 GB RAM onboard and Ubuntu Linux 20.04 (current LTS) pre-installed.
Having that code — BN93209C — to give to the telephone operator helped, although I don't know if it is still useful now. Dell seems to be really into limiting their offerings depending on the country you are in.
I bought a System76 Thelio desktop running Ubuntu in July, and I am typing on it now. I am very happy with it. One nice thing about it is I know the various parts of the system will have decent drivers for Linux. I did get an Nvidia 12 GB GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card with it - that is one area (Nvidia) where support could potentially be problematic, but I have had no problems thus far. The upgrade to Ubuntu 21.10 went smoothly. I also bought a 27" inch monitor with it, and working from home, it beats my old 19" inch monitor by a long shot, especially if I am doing git merges or something.
The first System76 laptop I bought was in 2014, and I have helped other people buy them, and I feel they have gotten better over time - the machines are better.
I like how much of the system is open, if I want to change something I can just drop down and do it - to the desktop layer, to the userspace level, to the kernel level. People have caveats, and I have run into them, but workplaces have had me run Windows or MacOS, and those systems have caveats as well. The ability to be able to look at the code and change it is something I like.
- Many reports of spotty QC in their machines
- Display panel being 16:9 instead of 16:10 or something taller
- Uninspiring design
- Mediocre specs for price
- Barrel power connector instead of USB-PD
I <3 System76
This is also the reason why I'm sceptical ordering things like the "Framework Laptop". If it's a hobby expense it's an alright expense and risk, but for productivity, I need assurances, and part of that assurance comes from a track record, which not all niche vendors have (with me).
My System76 laptop came with a year of warranty I think, and I never used it. I think there were 2 and 3 year extensions available when purchasing, but I never buy the warranty for anything. However, 3 years after I purchased it I emailed support for a software question and got a great response from them and they spent a good amount of back-and-forth (emails) time helping me diagnose the issue and resolving it, even outside of the service window. That's just my experience, YMMV.
I also think it's funny to call something a "developer laptop" as if you can't code on nearly any old piece of junk. If you do something very specialized like graphics or neural net ML perhaps, but then you're probably looking to get a workstation rather than a laptop.