Been trying to find a good tablet for productivity and recreation. Something that can be used for programming (Not web), and something that can play DRM content.
Ideally, something under $1000.
I’ve already looked at the Librem 11 and am considering it, but I want to know other (ideally, cheaper) options available.
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idk about op, but if i asked about a good linux tablet, i would mean the hardware not the software
for me a good linux tablet means i can take my favorite linux distro, install it without big hassle and have a good performing computer with all components working afterwards
while good performing can be interpretable
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if the hardware is not working with the linux kernel, its bad hardware
gnome not opening the keyboard when i focus an input, has nothing to do with the hardware
One caution on older Surface Pros: They are generally not serviceable, and when the batteries eventually go, you will have to replace the device. The 9th gen and later may be better. I am dealing with this right now in a 2017/5th gen Surface Pro. While it’s nice hardware (as a user), apparently the battery is glued-in in such a way that you cannot replace it without destroying the tablet. I’m currently looking to replace it with either a Lenovo ThinkPad X12 detachable or a Dell Latitude 7320 detachable, both of which are similar but (purportedly) much more repairable.
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I have a Surface Pro 4 (I think from 2015) and the battery life now is awful. I might be able to get an hour or two depending on the performance mode, I usually just plug it in while using it now. If I forget to plug it in between uses, it will definitely be dead the next time I go to use it.
Plus it’s starting to feel pretty slow. I do still have Windows on it, perhaps installing Linux would help make it faster but it sounds like it takes some work to get everything working properly so I haven’t bothered.
imo android and iOS tablets are not even in the same league because they lack tiling WMs. I also think that transparent windows are a pretty important feature although I won’t be surprised if you could find some hacky solution on android. I guess my priorities are different then.
Have you taken a look at the pinetab? Its probably the most Dev oriented Linux tablet. Librem-11 might be the only Linux native x86 tabket but if you don’t mind flashing a new OS a refurbished/used microsoft surface would be cheap and powerful. (Need the linux-surface kernal for all functionality)
I wouldn’t recommend the Pinetab2 at this time. It isn’t fully functional.
I am interested in this as well. I currently have an iPad Pro and while I won’t be upgrading right now, I have been looking in the space for the future. I’d prefer something more powerful than and M1/M2 iPad to even consider switching. I haven’t seen much in the tablet space that is not Apple orAndroid, but while being performant. I saw that Minisforum has announced the V3, but it isn’t out yet. Has an AMD 8840u, 14" 165hz display. Looks promising, but I’d be worried about battery life.
I wouldn’t get the Librem 11, I don’t trust purism after the librem 5.
It’s Linux-based hardware, so any OS could be installed easily. And, unlike the phone, it’s basically a computer – one of their laptops, which have been fine. I would guess it wouldn’t have some of the same challenges as a phone.
he’s talking about their (purism/librem) inability to deliver hardware
Some Microsoft surface models can run surface-linux pretty well
Don’t know how these are now, but my buddy had a Surface Pro 4, and that thing made me regret buying what i had at the time. Ran like a dream, especially considering the form factor. Very unexpected
Have an SP4 now, running Nobara KDE, because I’m too lazy to install the surface Linux kernel on a different distro. It’s pretty great. I bought a cheap one, and it has some issues unrelated to Linux. In fact it runs a lot better and the hardware issues are alleviated slightly after removing windows.
Long story short, would highly recommend buying a not borked Surface and slapping Linux on it.Ublue has variants with the surface kernel by default. Really, just use their hacky stuff instead of getting all the errors on your device.
I am sure their gaming focused bazzite variant has a surface version. Ublue fedora is way more secure than Nobara. Fedora doesnt support Apparmor by default, so SELinux will be more secure. There are tons of things wrong with nobara, and the performance increase is really not important (TheLinuxExp tested it and its like 5%)
Fair enough, I hadn’t known about Ublue. Give it a go tonight. That said, running Nobara, I’ve not had any unexpected errors. And it’s not like I actually do anything that puts any of my info to exposure on my SP4. No email, banking, messaging, don’t even log into my Firefox account. I basically use it for retro gaming, reading manga, and not a whole lot else tbh.
Having a device just for fun stuff… is interesting. The threat is not big but it is always possible. And in my honest opinion, after having broken every other distro model, rpm-ostree is just awesome.
Does Nobara have surface kernel built in?!?? This is news to me, might reinstall due to this.
Sure does pal! There’s a non-surface version, but as far as I know it’s the only distro that includes it stock. And on my SP4 it’s been absolutely butter smooth.
That would be a sweet replacement for an iPad. Is there a distro that gives a more tablet experience?
Anything that offers gnome should be touch ready 😇 I’d go for openSuse TW with gnome
Nice, thank you!
Fedoras kernel doesnt run well on surface and to my knowledge phosh is not well maintained
Bummer. This seemed like a good solution
Try ublue silverblue surface images
Thanks! I don’t currently have a Surface. But this is opening up an interesting alternative to getting another iPad once my current one dies
I was not even able to test onscreen keyboards on KDE as there seems to be no way to force it. didnt try on GNOME. It may be able to work as an ipad replacement, but not always.
Last phosh release was 3 days ago and it should work with any distro on wayland
I’ve got a SP8 which I’ve been running PopOS on since the start of the year. The cameras don’t work but this isn’t a deal-breaker for me, it runs smoothly and is perfect for my needs as a media consumption device (music, movies, comics) with some browsing. There were some issues I had on installation but nothing that couldn’t be resolved. Many thanks to the Linux surface team!
I threw Ubuntu LTS on an old Surface 3 and it worked without having to use the Surface-linux kernal.
My dads been using it for a year and Gnome works super well with the touchscreen.
Surface Go 1 running Fedora for me. It runs perfectly even if booting from a USB to install Linux can be tricky and the Bluetooth is slow to puck up my mouse on startup.
It’s linked by usb-c to a monitor for when I’m home.
I’ve been pretty happy with my Pixel Tablet running GrapheneOS. I don’t know everything you’re hoping to do, so maybe Android won’t work for you. However, I’ve been using Plex, Newpipe, Termux, Roon, and other apps, and it’s working well for me.
The stand still works as a speaker when connected as well, which is nice.
I think they’re looking for a gnu/linux tablet and not linux/android tablet
It’s not out yet, but there is a kickstarter from German company Volla, coming in the next few days for a 12" tablet running a Mediatek soc that will be capable of running Ubuntu Touch - for which you can use UT native apps, webapps, some Linux desktop apps via their “Libertine” container, and some Android apps via “Waydroid.” And Volla has an excellent track record of delivering on their product promises - in contrast to Purism.
I have a Surface Pro 9 and it runs like a charm. I would recommend it even if it is a little pricey
I thought about buying a Starlite by Starlabs. It looked pretty cool, but I just don’t need a tablet.
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It does look cool, but it’s quite expensive for what it is.
Welcome to Lemmy!
I purchased the Star Labs Starlite and am hyped. It holds long and is x86.
I wanted to have a convertable to also draw which makes it perfect for me and making me write this comment. Maybe its irrelevant to you. Starlabs also has a normal Laptop I think but I have no experience with both.
Currently with my chromebook duet 3 I can’t really code without making it freeze or unable to execute code because its ARM.
https://pine64.org/devices/pinetab2
https://pine64.org/devices/pinetab-v
For the tinkerers of course
Well, I picked up a Lenovo Duet 3i for fairly cheap so I could run FreeCAD on a device in my wood shop. It’s an Intel machine, one of those that the keyboard snaps off of. I’ve got Fedora Gnome on it, and it’s not too bad. The biggest issue I have with it is sometimes it comes out of suspend in portrait mode, and there’s no getting it into landscape mode with the keyboard attached, so you have to detach it, tip it a couple times, and it’s back.
It’s an x86 laptop, software is pretty compatible. You might go for a Yoga rather than the Duet if you’re looking for programming; the tablet flop hinge plus kickstand is a bit more of an afterthought than I’d like for coding.
Check out the “Screen Rotate” gnome extension (by shyzus). It adds a button in the gnome quick settings menu that allows you to disable auto rotate, and has the option to add a button to manually switch between portrait or landscape rotation.
That’s one of the biggest things I hate about Gnome, it aims to be as unfinished and feature barren as it can be while still booting to a desktop, and you’re supposed to install the rest of it from third parties.
Minisforum just announced their V3 which is a Windows tablet with amazing looking specs. I would wait until people confirm if everything works on Linux, but it’s an option to consider.
Any info on pricing yet? This is one I’d consider too, if it doesn’t cost a fortune.
If you don’t mind waiting a few months to get it delivered, the StarLite V sounds like it will be a great device (I’m currently waiting for mine).
take a look at FydeTab
That thing looks like an MS surface.
Yeah, but unlike the Surface this is made to work with Linux and Android custom ROMs
