Dell may be the best-known Linux laptop vendor right now, but Lenovo is looking to muscle in on the pre-installed Linux machine market.
So these laptops never materialised. Whether it was an intentional miscommunication on Lenovo’s part — Ubuntu was listed as preinstall on their website, is unknown.
All of Lenovo’s refreshed ThinkPad P series laptops will be available to buy with Ubuntu 18.04 LTS preinstalled when they go on sale in the US later this month.
While Lenovo doesn’t mention Linux availability in their press release introducing the new ThinkPad P series laptops eagle-eyed Linux users spotted Linux OS options when investigating the laptop’s ‘tech specs’ on the Lenovo website.
The company says its refreshed P-series ‘portfolio’ is “…is designed to meet the ever-changing power and portability needs of modern professionals across industries – both in the office and beyond without sacrificing our legendary engineering know-how, reliability and security.”
ThinkPad P Series with Ubuntu
The Lenovo website pages for all of the updated P-series ThinkPad laptops list Ubuntu 18.04 LTS as an operating system option alongside Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Pro and Windows Pro for Workstation (latter requiring an Intel Xeon processor).
This means the Linux-toting lineup from includes the all-new Lenovo ThinkPad P1 (2nd Gen). This refreshed 15-inch workstation can be configured with a high-res 4K screen, a choice of Intel Xeon E-2276M or 9th gen Intel Core series processor (including i9), up to 64GB RAM. It comes with NVIDIA Quadro graphics.
Joining the penguin party are Lenovo ThinkPads P53, P53s, P43s, and the 17-inch ThinkPad P73. All equally configurable, all available to buy with Ubuntu 18.04 LTS pre-installed.
They’re also ‘certified’ for Red Hat Linux, too.
ThinkPad P Series: ‘P’ is For Pricey
Chances are you’re excited by the prospect of more Linux laptops, particularly from a vendor as well-known as Lenovo — but temper your enthusiasm slightly.
Prices for the update Lenovo ThinkPad P series laptops are… Well, fairly high. The cheapest model starts at $1499.
Surprised? You shouldn’t be. These are powerful, professional-grade workstations. They’re pitched at engineers and developers, people who need performance above everything else.
Affordable or not, it’s awesome to see Lenovo offering Linux at all!
Shipping Linux on high-end, premium machines like these is indicative of one thing: demand. Lenovo must be hearing from customers, from businesses, and from developers, that they want Linux — Ubuntu Linux — available out of the box.
Opting for Linux on these machines doesn’t save any money — the infamous “Windows Tax” saving rarely applies with OEM installs — but it does save time; no-one has to faff about installing Ubuntu by hand on these.
Lenovo Love
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how well Linux supports my recent cheap and cheerful Lenovo laptop purchase.
And Lenovo seem to be mildly supportive of Linux too, using the LVFS to distribute (some) firmware updates for ThinkPad laptops running Linux.
No word on whether Linux-powered P series machines will join the fun, but it’s certainly possible.