this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2024
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submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 

I'm looking for an Apple MacBook Air M2 alternative that could run Linux.

I need something fanless, super lightweight with very long battery life. The only apps I use are Shotcut video editor, Chrome and Firefox.

Any advice?

Is it a good idea to get a MacBook Air m2 and use something like Asahi Linux or should I wait for arm linux laptops to become available.

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[–] [email protected] 37 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (10 children)

The thinkpad-x13s-snapdragon is fanless and uses a qualcomm snapdragon processor, so an ARM like the macs use but lower performance. Batttery life is reputedly in the 20+ hour range.

Caveats:

  • kinda pricey, 1K
  • this arm chip is slow compared to macs.
  • out of the mainstream so better do your homework on whether linux is well supported.

Laptops based on the snapdragon elite processors will come out this year, and performance should be comparable to the Mx macs. So maybe better to wait. Although, those may be considerably more expensive, and who knows what linux support will be like, especially at first.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago (6 children)
[–] [email protected] -4 points 7 months ago (4 children)

My budget for laptops has always been <$350. Why are you willing to spend so much on a laptop?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

If it's a revenue generating machine, the impact of 10 or 20% improvement in day to day could recoup the additional cost in a few months or a year.

Similarly, for someone who travels a lot, having a useful battery life of 8-10 hours of internet+video playback allows a work routine that is worry free wrt charging and this allows tighter travel schedules.

Ofc, this isn't the case every time, but this creates anchor effect on several segments of the market. This also doesn't include the extra cost of "luxury" aka thin and light or small bezels.

350 USD is perfectly fine if you don't need a ton of battery life or color accurate screen or multimedia or multicore workloads. If you need any of this, most of the options get pricier than 700 USD. It's not uncommon to have to shell out 1500 USD or more for the desired specs.

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