Would it be fair to describe the upcoming Pinebook Pro as the most anticipated Linux laptop due for release this year?
If not it soon might be, because a brand-new video of the $199 14-inch notebook has appeared on YouTube — and things are looking great!
The Pinebook Pro is made out of an magnesium alloy, which is major material leap versus the original Pinebook which was entirely plastic.
Another improvement, the new model can handle 4K video playback which, thanks to the included USB Type-C port, means you can watch pixel-popping parades of pop-culture on an external 4K monitor. The Pinebook Pro’s own display is only 1080p.
Versus the original model the Pinebook Pro boasts hardware-accelerated 4K video and 3D graphics, twice the amount of RAM, more storage (plus upgradeable) and a hugely improved display, keyboard and touchpad.
Pinebook Pro Update
Although things are looking good right now, it’s not quite ready for the prime-time just yet.
Sound doesn’t currently work on the Pinebook Pro’s motherboard, and there are on-going issues around suspend and resume (a classic Linux issue, if ever there was one).
Release date still unknown
So when can you buy one?
Well, there’s still no firm release date for the Pinebook Pro — but it should be soon. Pine64 is a company proficient in getting things up, ready and (importantly) shipped.
Although posts like this one may hype the device it’s important that no-one set their expectations too highly. Do not expect performance of a Dell XPS 13 in a machine priced cheaper than most Chromebooks!
No word on precisely which version of Ubuntu will be offered for this device or whether it’ll come pre-installed — if anyone from Pinebook is reading this, do ping us with details — but I’d like to imagine it’d ship Ubuntu 18.04.1 (with its newer kernel and graphics stack) and a more modest desktop environment like MATE.
For further background or advice on the Pine64 Pro, the board which sits at the heart of the new laptop, do pop on over on the /r/pine64 sub-reddit.