Pinebook Pro, the $199 Linux Laptop, Gets Keyboard & Bluetooth Spec Bumps

Pine64, the company behind a range of popular single-board computers, have shared some more details on the upcoming PineBook Pro Linux laptop.

There’s still no firm release date for the 14-inch ARM-based laptop, nor a finalized price (they’re aiming for $199) but there are a few notable spec upgrades to talk about.

Pinebook Pro June Update

New Keyboard options

The Pinebook Pro features a full-size keyboard — which on end-user models will be available in a choice of ISO or ANSI layout.

Don’t know what those terms mean? I didn’t until I Googled it. Broadly speaking if you don’t know the difference you probably don’t care which one you end up with!

But if you’re American, or really particular about the size of the enter key (yes, that’s the main difference) then news of ANSI option should be welcome.

Bluetooth-ier

An extra choice in keyboard layout isn’t the only change to the Pinebook Pro since its initial announcement back at the start of the year.

The 14-inch notebook was going to ship with a Bluetooth/Wi-Fi module offering Bluetooth 4.1 but that’s been upgraded. The PineBook Pro now offers Bluetooth 5 out of the box.

The updated version of the useful wireless spec is fully backwards compatible with older devices, but offers a few performance improvements in low-energy mode.

On the topic of connectivity, I will remind you that there’s no Ethernet on-board the laptop. Pine64 will offer a compatible USB 3 or USB Type C to Ethernet adapter on their store.

No Branding

The Pinebook Pro will not carry any Pinebook branding (something that the first generation model did).

How come? Well, they’re not cutting corners; they say its what their users want, adding that customers can ‘decorate it [themselves] using stickers or keep it smooth and black’.

Although this is a nice move on Pine64’s part, it’s also a little sad. The company is busting their posteriors on all this tech, so it’d be nice to see their efforts rewarded with a bit of awareness.

More to come

Pine say the laptop has some “awesome features coming that we haven’t talked about yet” — more on these are expected next month.

PineTab Storage Bump

As well as working on the PineBook Pro the fine Pine64 folks are also working on a $79 Linux-based tablet with detachable keyboard: the PineTab.

And, like its clam-shell cousin, it too is getting an upgrade of over what was originally planned.

The PineTab will now ship with 64GB eMMC (up from 32GB). It’ll also boast an M.2 adapter for user expansion and connectivity options…