The new AMD Ryzen-based laptop comes with KDE Neon preinstalled, but will juice the Linux hardware market?
The KDE project has announced the availability of the Slimbook 4 laptop, in partnership with the Linux laptop manufacturer Slimbook. The new laptop features an AMD Ryzen 7 5700U processor.
KDE Slimbook 4 Promises “More Raw Power”
KDE announced the availability of the new laptop on Twitter:
The KDE Slimbook line is manufactured by the Valencia, Spain-based Grupo Odín. The laptops are available with a 14-inch or 15.6-inch screen. The smaller model sells for 999.95 euros ($1025) and the 15.6-inch model sells for 1049 euros ($1075). A portion of the proceeds is donated to KDE development.
KDE Slimbook 4 Tech Specs
The laptops are powered by AMD Ryzen 7 5700U processor with eight cores. They use USB-C for charging and power, like many other modern laptops. There are two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0 port, an HDMI port, and a wired Ethernet jack. For storage, the laptops come equipped with a 250 GB SSD and 8 GB of RAM as standard. SSDs of up to 2 TB and up to 64 GB of RAM are optional upgrades. Both devices ship with the KDE Neon Linux distribution.
KDE Slimbook 4 Represents Growth of Linux Hardware
The announcement of the new laptops shows how the dedicated Linux devices marketplace is growing. Since most mainstream computers ship with Windows or macOS, the lack of availability of preinstalled Linux computers has been a barrier to desktop Linux adoption. These Linux devices still represent a small part of the PC market, but if they compete with more established players, other manufacturers will take notice if these computers sell well.
Dell and Lenovo already offer Linux on select devices targeted toward developers, but they may offer preinstalled Linux machines to more mainstream consumers in the future. The Arch Linux-powered portable Steam Deck gaming handheld console also uses KDE for the default desktop.
KDE Slimbook 4 Could Boost Linux Preinstall Market
The KDE Slimbook 4 Line could give a boost to the niche Linux preinstalled market. While it’s easy to install Linux on a standard laptop, serious users might want to consider a preinstalled Linux computer for their next purchase.
