Can A Linux Laptop Replace My Macbook? This One Is Off To A Good Start

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Tuxedo Computers InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen 9 is disposable now connected nan charismatic tract for astir $1,137.
• This laptop outperformed my expectations successful each way, pinch a powerful CPU and a gorgeous display.
• It's manufactured successful Europe, truthful usage be aware erstwhile selecting your keyboard during nan bid process.

I emotion a bully laptop aliases desktop that comes pre-installed pinch Linux. It's moreover amended erstwhile said hardware is adjacent parts beauty and power. When German institution Tuxedo Computers sent maine a caller InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen 9 to review, I knew it would beryllium thing special.

I was not fto down.

The institution useful pinch respective ODMs (Original Design Manufacturers) to create, design, and create laptops. Tuxedo Computers is perpetually successful interaction pinch those ODMs to measure customizations successful position of chassis, color, different show panels, keyboards, cooling, CPU/GPU options, and more.

Also: 8 ways each Linux distro could make things a batch easier for newbies

Also, nan Tuxedo Computers package engineers are successful changeless interaction pinch nan ODMs to get entree to tech archiving truthful they tin accommodate existing drivers aliases constitute caller ones to make nan laptops arsenic compatible arsenic possible. Tuxedo Computers tin beryllium shipped pinch either Tuxedo OS (the default), aliases you tin take from Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Lubuntu, or Xubuntu, each of which I've written about.

You tin besides bid nan laptop without an OS and build it pinch a civilization logo (instead of nan default Tuxedo Computers logo).

My experience

When I first pulled nan laptop retired of nan box, I didn't announcement nan point that would travel maine up most: nan keyboard. The laptop I received had nan German QWERTZ keyboard layout, thing I'd ne'er used. During setup, I switched it to QWERTY, which turned retired good arsenic agelong arsenic I ignored nan letters connected nan keyboard and typed arsenic normal. For example, nan Y cardinal was wherever nan Z cardinal would usually be.

Also: 5 ways to hole bad font rendering successful LibreOffice - and why it's moreover an issue

Speaking of keyboards, nan InfinityBook Pro Gen 9 keyboard isn't really thing special. It useful well, and while it's surely not for illustration nan dreaded MacBook butterfly keys, it's nary Ultimate Hacking Keyboard. The keys are silent and person bully action. I'd telephone this a Goldilocks keyboard: not excessively soft aliases excessively hard; they're conscionable right.

The Penguin cardinal is simply a bully touch.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

As acold arsenic nan trackpad is concerned, that's different story. From my perspective, Apple has created nan golden modular by which each trackpads are compared, and though nan InfinityBook Pro Gen 9 trackpad mightiness not beryllium astatine that level, it's 1 of nan amended trackpads I've knowledgeable connected a Linux laptop. It's soft and reactive, pinch some a beingness click and a tap-to-click that's enabled by default. 

The adjacent rumor was nan default resolution. Out of nan box, nan laptop opted for nan highest solution possible, which made everything measurement excessively mini for my aging eyes. Everything was cleanable aft a speedy alteration to a 1920 x 1080 resolution.

Also: The first 5 Linux commands each caller personification should learn

Tuxedo OS uses nan KDE Plasma desktop, which besides helps boost capacity to awesome levels. The laptop handled everything I threw astatine it without blinking an eye. You besides get nan Tuxedo Control Center, wherever you tin get an at-a-glance look astatine strategy performance, arsenic good arsenic nan expertise to quickly move powerfulness profiles (from Default, Cool and Breezy, Powersave extreme, Tuxedo defaults, aliases a user-created civilization profile).

The Tuxedo Control Center is an outstanding app for managing your laptop.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

The point that really struck maine nan astir about this laptop was really polished it was. Yes, it's Clevo hardware, but Tuxedo Computers has done a awesome occupation of making it their ain merchandise and ensuring everything useful seamlessly.

The InfinityBook Pro Gen 9 besides weighs astir 3.09 pounds, which is astir .09 pounds much than my MacBook Pro 13", truthful it's bully and light, making it a portable option. 

Also: This Linux distro combines nan champion parts of Windows and MacOS - and it's gorgeous

As acold arsenic nan display, it's beautiful. Images are crisp and person afloat support for nan sRGB colour gamut, truthful you cognize they're going to beryllium accurate. The champion portion astir nan show is nan matte anti-glare coating. This is 1 of nan fewer times wherever I've really noticed nan operation of matte and anti-glare really making a large difference. 

ZDNET's buying advice

I'm not gonna lie; nan Tuxedo Computers InfinityBook Gen 9 is 1 of nan champion Linux laptops I've ever tested. It's arsenic beautiful arsenic it is high-performing, and pinch 1 of nan champion displays I've seen connected a Linux laptop, this will beryllium 1 of those reappraisal units that I do not want to nonstop back. Just moving nan cursor astir puts a grin connected my look because it's conscionable truthful soft and easy to spot from immoderate angle.

If you've been successful nan marketplace for a laptop pinch Linux pre-installed, Tuxedo Computers' InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen 9 is simply a coagulated choice. Just remember, if you do acquisition 1 (and you hail from nan United States), move nan default keyboard to a QWERTY layout; otherwise, you could get tripped up erstwhile typing.

Also: I yet recovered a mini PC pinch a striking creation (and nan powerfulness to backmost it up)

Tuxedo Computers InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen 9 tech specs

• Omnia Display: Glare-free 3K (2880 X 1800) pinch a 16:10 ratio, a 120 Hz refresh rate, and 400 nits brightness
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS (8 cores, 16 threads, 5.1 GHz max, and 24MB cache)
• GPU: AMD Radeon 780 M (12 GPU cores and a max timepiece velocity of 2.7 GHz)
• RAM: 16GB DDR5 5600 MHz
• Storage: 500GB Samsung 980 VNMe PCIe 3.0
• Default keyboard: German DE QWERTZ
• Battery: 80Wh Lithium Polymer pinch up to 17 hours idle, 13 hours video playback, and 9 hours web surfing
• Ports: Left side: Kensington Security Slot, USB-A 2.0, USB-C 3.2 Gen2 (10 GBit/s | DisplayPort 1.4 | Power Delivery DC-In*), and a 2-in-1 audio (headphone + mic). Right side: Card scholar (SD/SDHC/SDXC), 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen1. Back broadside - HDMI 2.0b (HDCP 2.3), USB4 (40 GBit/s | DisplayPort 2.1 | Power Delivery DC-In* | DC-Out: max. 15 watts (5 V / 3 A)), RJ45 Port 1 Gbit (LAN).
• Webcam privateness slider
• Price: Starting astatine $1,057 from Tuxedo Computers