I'm developer and after a year on a MacBook pro I'm still missing things like i3wm. Also, touchbar of MBP is just a nuisance. On the other hand I like screen, weight and battery life of MBP, best of all laptops I've ever had, but I still want to go back home to linux.<p>I'm currently considering
1) Dell XPS 15 (but the previous one I've had had only 2-3 hours of battery life)
2) Huawei Matebook X Pro, but I prefer 15" screen to 14"
ThinkPad T480 (with a 1080ti in an external GPU enclosure for gaming at home / ML)<p>32 GB, 10+ hour battery life, 1Tb of flash storage with OPAL transparent self-encryption, WQHD main display, two USB C ports + two regular USB ports + an ethernet jack, automatic firmware updates through the package manager, and most importantly, no driver issues with the laptop and Linux whatsoever!<p>I replaced my workstation and gaming computer with this setup and am finally down to one-device nirvana.<p>Last month I knocked a full cup of coffee on the keyboard, and was relieved to discover the keyboard is completely separate and isolate from the rest of the device and is designed to be easily user replaceable -- I was able to replace the entire keyboard ($80 on Amazon) without even opening the case! The assembly is held in place by two screws on the bottom.<p>My previous laptop was a 2018 MBP, which I sold after two months due to my dislike (and distrust) of the keyboard. Couldn't be happier.
Pro tip, whatever laptop you do get, look into TLP[1]. It'll make a significant difference with battery life.<p>[1]: <a href="https://www.tecmint.com/tlp-increase-and-optimize-linux-battery-life/" rel="nofollow">https://www.tecmint.com/tlp-increase-and-optimize-linux-batt...</a>
I typically use my google pixelbook recently since it lets you run a containerized linux in a secure OS but I get it if that's not your thing.<p>- System76 laptops are generally well reviewed. The Oryx Pro looks nice<p>- I had a Dell XPS15 and hated everything about it for some reason, but<p>- I have a Dell XPS13 and I absolutely LOVE it, so that that for what its worth
MBP refugee here.<p>Lenovo T480: real-life 11 hour battery w/ the second extended battery, lighted/water-resistant/good-feel keyboard, WQHD display, up to 32 (maybe 64 unofficially) GiB of RAM, Quad-core i7, MIL-SPEC rated, still user-servicable. It's not the latest in everything but it's awesome all-around. And, if you somehow find the right channel to order from, you maybe able to order it in a magnesium (!) top-case. There maybe a way to shoehorn in 3 SSDs of different types by using a dual SSD SATA tray that RAIDs them together and presents them as SATA and the WWAN bay with a properly-keyed right-angle NGFF extender.
Pretty happy on a Thinkpad X230 over here. Cheap as dirt and upgradable/repairable. Battery life is a few hours with a fresh battery. If I got another I'd probably pick up an X1 Carbon.<p>After my last ASUS laptop I will never buy a non-business laptop again.<p>If you stick with the Mac, it's not as good as a real tiling WM but I find Amethyst helps.
I have been using Linux on many higher end HP laptops without issue. At the moment I have HP Spectre x360 15in 2016,8th gen i7 16gb RAM, 512GB SSD and 2gb mx950 Nvidia. After installing Linux Mint 19 everything worked out of the box and i get about 6-hour of battery. I have a few older HP envy series and each of them work with out issue. The only issue i have had in the past 5years is laptops with more then 2 speakers. Linux just assumes 2 speakers and you get shit sound. This is fixable with jack-reset.
Writing from a Carbon X1 6th gen right now. Ubuntu 18.04 stock, no tweaking required, all worked no problem. The best laptop I ever had.<p>Previously owned a 4th gen. 16.04, minor tweaking, also excellent laptop. Pricey, but the best you can get.
I would also recommend considering Thinkpads which often run Linux fairly well (not always, but usually.) The X1 Carbon series is generally a great option (though be mindful of which generation you're getting since it varies strongly by generation.)
I'm not sure how the current generation works, but I have very good experience with ASUS Zenbook serie (especially 16GB UX32LN - still works flawlessly). Also I can recommend 2018s XPS - works just fine with xubuntu (haven't tried other distros).
Thinkpad t480 (t480s if you need at any cost something as slim as possible) or t580. Bonus part: nothing is soldered so you can replace any minor part without problems (yes I hate any notebook which has not easily replaceable ram or ssd or, worse, battery)
I am using Asus Zenbook UX430. Everything except fingerprint works out of box. Getting 6+ hours of battery life with kubuntu 18.10 installed. Also it is decently priced.
2013 - 2015, pre facelift MacBook Pro 13. Great Linux laptop, and a nice resolution without the scaling issues you will probably run into with a 4k screen. I run arch/i3wm on mine and it runs great. I had a new MBP like yours, but 'downgraded' to a 2015 model because it runs native Linux much better, and the keyboard is much less hassle too.
I currently have a Dell XPS 15 (the model before all USB C ports) with 4k screen, nvidia, Intel quadcore. Replaced windows 10 with ubuntu 18.04, so far the best linux laptop experience I've ever had. Brightness keys work. Closing the lid suspends correctly. I probably need to look for a bath script to turn on/off the nvidia card.
I'm using a Gigabyte Aero 15X because I wanted the 8750H asap and a proper graphics card.<p>5 seconds in powertop and I'm getting 10 actual hours of proper use including heavy IDE and loads of browser tabs.<p>I had a lot of trouble in windows with drivers and the likr, so it's not a perfect machine, but in Linux it's been pretty perfect (Ubuntu and Fedora)
I run a 15" HP zBook. FWIW I configured it without discrete graphics as I don't game and it's supposed to be better for battery life.<p>If you want something more in the "thin and light" category everyone I know with a recent XPS 13 loves it.<p>Also using either TLP or PowerTOP is important; many distros don't have that out-of-the-box.
I've been using a Galago Pro for over a year now, and I can't recommend it. I thought I wouldn't mind the small battery but it's burned me a few times now. I'm hesitant to even leave it overnight in suspend mode.<p>If I could do it over I'd get an XPS 13, non touch screen.
As mentioned the X series is great.<p>The X1 Extreme<p>Pros:<p>- Up to theoretical 64 GB RAM (2 DDR4 slots)
- 15.6in screen.
- Secondary M.2 PCIe slot
- Optional 4K display.<p>Con
- Nvidia GPU
- 5-6 Hour Battery life<p>There is also the X1 which is 14 in laptop, which max memory at 16GB of ram and but has great battery life.
Your problem with the Dell was likely its Nvidia GPU. Even if you aren't using it, the Linux drivers seem to leave it "on". You have to actually unload or never load the drivers.<p>My XPS 15 gets six hours, easy on Fedora 29.
I've had a Dell Precision 5510 and now I'm using a Precision 5520. Ive run Ubuntu, but am currently running Fedora 29 on the 5520.
Fantastic machine. Best Linux on laptop experience I've ever had.
Those cheap sub-$200 Dell Inspirons run Xubuntu no problem. No non-free wlan needed and storage is easily expandable with USB 3.0. No complaints so far the experience has been smooth.
Asus Vivobooks are fine and cheap .e.g S410U and easily upgradable (taking it to 16gb cost maybe $100)<p>Everything works out the box except the fingerprint reader (maybe in 19.04)