Canonical kernel engineer Juerg Haefliger has shared an exciting update on supporting Ubuntu on the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s (Gen 1) laptop.

The 13-inch Lenovo ThinkPad X13s is an ARM laptop powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx (gen3) processor with Adreno 690 GPU, 16 GB RAM, a 256 GB SSD, and claimed ~28 battery life. It runs Windows 11 Pro for ARM by default.

Last year a quasi-official (albeit experimental) Ubuntu 23.10 install image was released for this device, prepped by Juerg and the engineering effort he’d made to support Ubuntu on the device. A custom ISO was made available to download from the Ubuntu CD image server.

But an installer image for the latest Ubuntu 24.04 LTS release is not yet available, leading some to ask if the fruits of that effort have gone to waste.

Thankfully not, as Juerg explains:

“The goal was to have official support in Noble but that plan unfortunately didn’t materialize primarily due to lack of resources. The community (read me :)) is still working on adding support to Noble even though it might not end up being an officially supported platform.”

Differences in Ubuntu 24.04 support for the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s (Gen 1) include:

  • linux-laptop kernel removed (upstream kernel now supports this device)
  • X13s configuration now provided by ubuntu-x13s-settings package

In the mean time Juerg suggests using the existing Ubuntu 23.10 ISO to install the distro, followed by a manual upgrade to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. The new configuration package has to be installed from a PPA as it’s not (yet) included in the noble archives.

Similarly, issues remain. The web cam doesn’t (yet) work; speaker audio is low OOTB (can be fixed by adjusting levels in alsamixer); there’s no hibernation or low-power suspend; and support for TPM and fingerprint reader is TBC.

But the core essentials are already in place which is encouraging as performant ARM laptops become more common, more mainstream, and more viable for every day use.

—Not to knock the likes of cheap Mediatek Chromebooks, the Linux-powered PineBook or, for those with longer memories, the ARM-powered Ubuntu netbook eCafe released in 2011, but Apple Silicon shows that ARM is ready for the prime-time.

Anyway, that’s the state of Ubuntu 24.04 support for this device. Does it leave you eager to experience Ubuntu on an ARM laptop?

Buy a Lenovo ThinkPad X13s

While this device is no longer the newest or fastest model, it remains an exciting, and arguably necessary, vanguard. It’s one of the few mainstream ARM laptops outside of Apple Silicon (by way of Asahi) to offer Ubuntu support.

You can — edit: could; it’s no longer available — buy the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s on Amazon US for less than $500. If you’re happy to shop around and buy refurbished via places like eBay etc you can find it cheaper still.

However, if you’re not actively looking for an ARM laptop then I’d advise caution. Don’t jump in unawares. Hardware support on ARM laptops isn’t as universal as it is in the ‘one ISO fits all’ Intel/AMD world, plus app compatibly on ARM varies.

Right now, you can get more bang for your buck and an easier life by continuing to use an AMD or Intel laptop.