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What are the best laptops to make Android apps?

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Dell XPS 15 vs Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon vs Apple MacBook Pro

 vs Dell XPS 13 vs System 76 Lemur vs HP Envy 13-ab016nr vs System76 Oryx Pro vs HP Spectre x360 15t vs Thinkpad T series vs Acer Aspire E5-575G-53VG

Specs

Weight

2kg (4.44 lbs)

RAM

8 / 16 / 32GB DDR4 at 2400MHz

GPU

Intel HD Graphics 630 / NVIDIA GTX 1050 with 4GB GDDR5

Ports

1 HDMI 1.4 2 USB 3.0 with PowerShare 1 Thunderbolt™ 3 (2 lanes of PCI Express Gen 3) Supports: Power In / Charging, PowerShare, Thunderbolt 3 (40Gbps Bi-Directional), 3.1 USB Gen 2 (10Gbps), VGA, HDMI, Ethernet and USB-A via Dell Adapter

CPU

Intel Core i3-7100H / Intel Core i5-7300HQ / Intel Core i7-7700HQ

Storage

500GB HDD + 32GB Flash / 1TB HDD + 32GB Flash / 256/512GB/1TB PCIe SSD

Aspect Ratio

16:9

Display

15.6-inch FHD (1920x1080) / 15.6-inch UltraSharp™ 4K Ultra HD (3840x2160) Touch display

Wireless

802.11 AC & Bluetooth 4.0

Webcam

720p

Trackpoint

No

Size

14.06 x 9.27 x 0.45-0.66-inches

Battery

56 / 97WHr

Display Size

15.6 inches

Operating System

Windows 10

SD reader

Yes

Release date for the most recent model

2017

Touchpad Size

4.1 x 3.1 inches

Screen resolution

-

3DMark Firestrike Score

-

Dimensions

-

Battery Life

-

Battery capacity

-

CPU

-

Ethernet Port

-

Screen size

-

Display Resolution

-

Card Reader

-

Hard Drive

-

OS

-

Processor

-

Memory

-

Audio

-

Graphics

-

Security

-

Camera

-

Networking

-

Input

-

Charger

-

Video Ports

-

Expansion

-

Weight

2.49 lbs / 1.13 kg

RAM

8GB/16GB LPDDR3 1866Mhz

GPU

Intel HD 620 Graphics

Ports

2x USB-C Thunderbolt 3, 2x USB 3.0, HDMI, 3.5mm headphone jack, microSD card, Native RJ45 dongle port

CPU

-

Storage

512GB/1TB SSD

Aspect Ratio

-

Display

-

Wireless

-

Webcam

-

Trackpoint

-

Size

-

Battery

-

Display Size

-

Operating System

-

SD reader

-

Release date for the most recent model

-

Touchpad Size

-

Screen resolution

1920x1080 or 2560x1440

3DMark Firestrike Score

1001

Dimensions

WxDxH: 12.74" x 8.55" x 0.63" / 323.5mm x 217.1mm x 15.95mm

Battery Life

15.5 hr MobileMark 2014

Battery capacity

57Wh

CPU

Up to 8th Generation Intel Core i7

Ethernet Port

Dedicated Ethernet Port via ThinkPad Ethernet Extension Cable

Screen size

-

Display Resolution

-

Card Reader

-

Hard Drive

-

OS

-

Processor

-

Memory

-

Audio

-

Graphics

-

Security

-

Camera

-

Networking

-

Input

-

Charger

-

Video Ports

-

Expansion

-

Weight

3.02lbs

RAM

8/16GB

GPU

Apple M1 8 core

Ports

2/4 Thunderbolt 3 Ports, Headphone jack

CPU

-

Storage

-

Aspect Ratio

16:10

Display

13.3 in 2560x1600 IPS

Wireless

802.11 a/b/g/n/ac & Bluetooth 4.0

Webcam

720p

Trackpoint

No

Size

-

Battery

-

Display Size

-

Operating System

-

SD reader

-

Release date for the most recent model

-

Touchpad Size

-

Screen resolution

-

3DMark Firestrike Score

-

Dimensions

-

Battery Life

-

Battery capacity

-

CPU

-

Ethernet Port

-

Screen size

13.3inch / 15.4inch

Display Resolution

2880x1800 for the 15" version, 2560x1600 for the 13" version

Card Reader

-

Hard Drive

-

OS

-

Processor

-

Memory

-

Audio

-

Graphics

-

Security

-

Camera

-

Networking

-

Input

-

Charger

-

Video Ports

-

Expansion

-

Weight

2.7 lbs

RAM

8 GB/16GB

GPU

Intel UHD Graphics 620

Ports

2xUSB3 & 1xDisplayPort

CPU

8th-generation Intel quad-core i5-8250U or i7-8550U processor

Storage

128GB/256GB/1TB SSD

Aspect Ratio

16:9

Display

-

Wireless

802.11 n & Bluetooth 3.0

Webcam

720p

Trackpoint

No

Size

-

Battery

-

Display Size

-

Operating System

-

SD reader

-

Release date for the most recent model

-

Touchpad Size

-

Screen resolution

UHD, FHD

3DMark Firestrike Score

-

Dimensions

-

Battery Life

-

Battery capacity

-

CPU

-

Ethernet Port

-

Screen size

13.3"

Display Resolution

-

Card Reader

No

Hard Drive

-

OS

-

Processor

-

Memory

-

Audio

-

Graphics

-

Security

-

Camera

-

Networking

-

Input

-

Charger

-

Video Ports

-

Expansion

-

Weight

3.6lbs

RAM

32 GB

GPU

Intel 520 HD

Ports

-

CPU

Intel Core i7-8550U

Storage

-

Aspect Ratio

-

Display

-

Wireless

-

Webcam

-

Trackpoint

-

Size

13.38 x 9.5 x 0.89 inches

Battery

-

Display Size

-

Operating System

-

SD reader

-

Release date for the most recent model

-

Touchpad Size

-

Screen resolution

1080p

3DMark Firestrike Score

-

Dimensions

-

Battery Life

-

Battery capacity

-

CPU

-

Ethernet Port

-

Screen size

14.1inch

Display Resolution

-

Card Reader

-

Hard Drive

Up to 4TB SSD or up to 4TB HDD

OS

-

Processor

-

Memory

-

Audio

-

Graphics

-

Security

-

Camera

-

Networking

-

Input

-

Charger

-

Video Ports

-

Expansion

-

Weight

-

RAM

16GB

GPU

Intel HD Graphics 520

Ports

3 x USB 3.0 (1 x HP USB Boost), 1 x HDMI, 1 x headphone/microphone combo, 1 x multi-format SD card reader

CPU

7th Generation Intel Core i5-7200U

Storage

512GB SSD

Aspect Ratio

-

Display

-

Wireless

-

Webcam

-

Trackpoint

-

Size

-

Battery

-

Display Size

-

Operating System

-

SD reader

-

Release date for the most recent model

-

Touchpad Size

-

Screen resolution

1080p

3DMark Firestrike Score

810

Dimensions

-

Battery Life

-

Battery capacity

-

CPU

-

Ethernet Port

-

Screen size

13.3inch

Display Resolution

-

Card Reader

-

Hard Drive

-

OS

-

Processor

-

Memory

-

Audio

-

Graphics

-

Security

-

Camera

-

Networking

-

Input

-

Charger

-

Video Ports

-

Expansion

-

Weight

Dependent on display size 15″: 4.37 lbs (1.98 kg) 17″: 6.61 lbs (2.99 kg) Base weight. Varies on configuration

RAM

-

GPU

-

Ports

-

CPU

-

Storage

Dependent on display size 15″: 1× M.2, 1× 2.5″ 7mm height drive. Up to 5 TB total 17″: 2× M.2, 1× 2.5″ 7mm height drive. Up to 6 TB total

Aspect Ratio

-

Display

15.6″ or 17.3″ 1920×1080 144 Hz refresh rate or 3840×2160 4K HiDPI, Matte Finish

Wireless

-

Webcam

-

Trackpoint

-

Size

-

Battery

Dependent on Display 15″: Embedded 4 Cells Polymer battery pack– 55Wh 17″: Embedded 4 cells Polymer battery pack 66Wh

Display Size

-

Operating System

-

SD reader

-

Release date for the most recent model

-

Touchpad Size

-

Screen resolution

-

3DMark Firestrike Score

-

Dimensions

Dependent on display size 15″: 14.96″ × 9.92″ × 0.73″ (37.99 × 25.19 × 1.85 cm) 17″: 16.48″ × 11.30″ × 0.98″ (41.86 × 28.70 × 2.49 cm)

Battery Life

-

Battery capacity

-

CPU

-

Ethernet Port

-

Screen size

-

Display Resolution

-

Card Reader

-

Hard Drive

-

OS

Pop!_OS 18.04 LTS (64-bit) or Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (64-bit)

Processor

8th Gen Intel® Core i7-8750H, 2.2 up to 4.1 GHz – 9 MB cache – 6 cores – 12 threads

Memory

Up to 32 GB dual-channel DDR4 @ 2666 MHz

Audio

Stereo Speakers, Stereo Mic, Headphone Jack, Mic Jack, S/PDIF

Graphics

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or 1070

Security

Disabled ME, Kensington® Lock

Camera

1080p HD Webcam

Networking

Gigabit Ethernet, Intel® Wireless-AC WiFi, Bluetooth

Input

Multitouch Touchpad, Multi-Color Backlit Chicklet Keyboard

Charger

Dependent on graphics and display size 15″: 150 Watts, AC-in 100–240V, 50–60Hz 17″ + 1060 GPU: 200 Watts, AC-in 100~240V, 50~60Hz 17″ + 1070 GPU: 230 Watts, AC-in 100~240V, 50~60Hz

Video Ports

1× HDMI output port (with HDCP), 2× DisplayPort 1.3

Expansion

Dependent on display size 15″: 2× USB 3.1 Type-C, 3× USB 3.1 Type-A, SD Card Reader 17″: 1× USB 3.1 Type-C with Thunderbolt 3, 2× USB 3.1 Type-A, 2× USB 3.0, SD Card Reader

Weight

2.89 lb

RAM

8GB

GPU

Intel Graphics 620

Ports

2xUSB-C, 1xUSB-A

CPU

8th Generation Intel Core i7

Storage

256GB SSD

Aspect Ratio

16:9

Display

-

Wireless

-

Webcam

-

Trackpoint

-

Size

-

Battery

-

Display Size

-

Operating System

-

SD reader

-

Release date for the most recent model

-

Touchpad Size

-

Screen resolution

UHD

3DMark Firestrike Score

920

Dimensions

-

Battery Life

-

Battery capacity

-

CPU

-

Ethernet Port

-

Screen size

15.6inch

Display Resolution

-

Card Reader

-

Hard Drive

-

OS

-

Processor

-

Memory

-

Audio

-

Graphics

-

Security

-

Camera

-

Networking

-

Input

-

Charger

-

Video Ports

-

Expansion

-

Weight

3 - 5 lbs

RAM

4 - 32 GB

GPU

-

Ports

-

CPU

i3 - i7

Storage

-

Aspect Ratio

-

Display

-

Wireless

-

Webcam

-

Trackpoint

-

Size

-

Battery

-

Display Size

-

Operating System

-

SD reader

-

Release date for the most recent model

-

Touchpad Size

-

Screen resolution

-

3DMark Firestrike Score

-

Dimensions

-

Battery Life

-

Battery capacity

-

CPU

-

Ethernet Port

-

Screen size

-

Display Resolution

-

Card Reader

-

Hard Drive

-

OS

-

Processor

-

Memory

-

Audio

-

Graphics

-

Security

-

Camera

-

Networking

-

Input

-

Charger

-

Video Ports

-

Expansion

-

Weight

-

RAM

-

GPU

-

Ports

-

CPU

-

Storage

-

Aspect Ratio

-

Display

-

Wireless

-

Webcam

-

Trackpoint

-

Size

-

Battery

-

Display Size

-

Operating System

-

SD reader

-

Release date for the most recent model

-

Touchpad Size

-

Screen resolution

-

3DMark Firestrike Score

-

Dimensions

-

Battery Life

-

Battery capacity

-

CPU

-

Ethernet Port

-

Screen size

-

Display Resolution

-

Card Reader

-

Hard Drive

-

OS

-

Processor

-

Memory

-

Audio

-

Graphics

-

Security

-

Camera

-

Networking

-

Input

-

Charger

-

Video Ports

-

Expansion

-

Pros + Cons

Pro
 Can run most modern games

Being an excellent all-rounder, it can be used as a gaming laptop for games that are not exceptionally demanding, like Overwatch or Dota 2. Unless you’re using the cheapest model, you can expect a reasonable 60 frames per second for almost all modern games, provided that you’re willing to lower the game’s settings.
Comment

Pro
 Solid keyboard and trackpad

The keyboard and trackpad are reliable and solid all-around. The keyboard is responsive but is not super “clicky”, rather a bit soft. It has a white backlight on black keys that illuminates them at night. The touchpad is rather large while having no buttons. Despite this, the XPS 15 can reliably distinguish between the left and right clicks which are done on the trackpad itself.
Comment

Pro
 Optional password-free-sign-in via a fingerprint reader

For an additional $25 it’s possible to enjoy a password-free-sign-in by having a fingerprint reader. It will keep your laptop safe while still providing convenient access to it.
Comment

Pro
 Operates well on a Linux system

All essential things, like network connectivity, ports and sound, work right “out-of-the-box” with a Linux operating system. There is a compatibility issue on the new 9560 model with its graphics card but the laptop is still very usable with its integrated Intel graphics card.
Comment

Pro
 Slick design

The whole design is quite stylish. The aluminium chassis provides a very clean look while the black carbon fiber palm rest with an almost borderless display cements it as a visually modern laptop. All of this is made with a premium build quality.
Comment

Pro
 Good battery life if you pick the 1080p display

Models with the 1080p screen last about 10 hours with general usage. Naturally, if more intensive tasks are involved, the battery will be drained faster.
Comment

Pro
 Very well-rounded laptop

The cheapest configuration is a great choice for general non-intensive use - things like internet browsing, watching movies and similar tasks. Whereas the more expensive configurations are gradually more capable of intensive tasks, like video editing or gaming. It’s not as good as a specialized computer built for a specific purpose, like a video editing laptop with an enormous RAM size or a gaming laptop with a superior graphics card, but it’s a very well-rounded, reliable laptop.
Comment

Pro
 Amazing display

Two display choices are available for the XPS 15, an Ultra HD touchscreen or a Full HD non-touch screen. Both screens have a very wide array of colors as they cover approximately 100% of sRGB color space. The viewing angle is around 170 degrees. However, at 45 degrees, slight color change can be noticed. With around 350 nit output for brightness, it’s a viable choice for outdoor usage. All of this makes it an amazing display.
Comment

Con
 Awkward webcam location

The webcam is located under the screen instead of on top. It means that your face will be shown from a lower angle which can seem a bit weird. It also means that your fingers can partially obstruct the webcam while you’re typing.
Comment

Con
 Battery doesn’t hold long with the Ultra HD screen

If you’re choosing the configuration with an Ultra HD screen, expect a very short battery life of around 6 hours for general usage. With more intensive tasks it's even less than that.
Comment

Con
 Noisy fans

The laptop is very quiet during idle and light usage but when there is some workload, the fans get quite loud and distracting.
Comment

Con
 9560 model's GPU has compatibility issues on Linux

The new 9560 model has some trouble accepting its GTX 1050 Ti video card while running a Linux operating system. Fortunately, the integrated Intel graphics card is capable enough to substitute it. The manufacturers are probably aware of the issue and will, most likely, release an update for it.
Comment

Con
 Some ghosting in games

The display is not intended for gaming purposes so it can produce an effect called “ghosting”. Ghosting is when the pixels are not able to change their colors fast enough, so the color of the preceding frame can still be slightly seen on the next frame. This causes a blurring effect. Note that it only happens on high framerates coupled with fast objects.
Comment

Con
 Palmrest collects sweat

The palm rest is made from carbon fiber which attracts fingerprints and sweat. After some time it gets kind of unpleasant to touch and needs to be cleaned.
Comment

Con
 Audible coil whine

Coil whine can be heard when it’s generally quiet and the fans are not running. Audible when the laptop is connected to the power supply. The manufacturers have acknowledged it as a problem and, if possible, will push out an update which should eliminate it. Until then, it’s still a gripe.
Comment

Pro
 Great build quality

The Carbon X1 is a very light and durable laptop. It has the characteristic raven-black finishing of other Thinkpads on top of a carbon-fiber reinforced chassis. The carbon fiber increases the overall durability of the laptop, making it a great fit for people who travel a lot since it can withstand a lot of physical damages.
Comment

Pro
 Very portable

At around 2lbs this is a very light laptop. Especially when you compare it to other Thinkpads. It's light enough to carry in one hand and when it's carried in a backpack it's easy to forget that you are carrying a laptop because of how light it is.
Comment

Pro
 Excellent typing experience

Like most Thinkpads, the X1 Carbon has an excellent keyboard as well. The keys have about 1.8mm of travel and provide great tactile feedback. Their gently curved keys also make it very easy to target without looking at them. The keyboard also has optional backlighting which can be turned on or off with a simple key press.
Comment

Pro
 Great battery life

The battery supports over 10 hours of light activity like web browsing, watching videos and editing documents. This can be doubled to 20 hours by swapping in the extended, 6-cell battery, which can be hot swapped without turning off the laptop since it also has an internal 4-cell battery.
Comment

Con
 Missing an Ethernet port

The X1 Carbon is missing an Ethernet port, so people who prefer having that option as well are forced to use Wifi only.
Comment

Con
 Extended dual battery adds weight

6-cell extended battery adds 0.4 pounds to take this ultrabook's weight far above that of the ultrabook standard (<3 pounds).
Comment

Pro
 Built-in support for Amazon Alexa

The 2018 model of the X1 Carbon has far-field microphones built-in to work with Amazon Alexa. This will allow you to give commands to Alexa from across the room.
Comment

Con
 It's expensive

Compared to other ultrabooks such as the Dell XPS 13, the MacBook Pro is very expensive. For the latest (as of Dec 2017) MacBook Pro and Dell XPS 13 with dual-core i5 Processor, 8GB RAM, 256 SSD, the prices are $1.2k for the Dell XPS 13 and $1.5k for the MacBook Pro.
Comment

Con
 You can't upgrade the internal RAM

RAM is soldered in, so you can't upgrade it.
Comment

Con
 It's missing the ESC key

There is no physical function or escape keys as they have been replaced by a touchscreen, so for example, if you're a big Vim user and don't want to change your habits, the MacBook might be a poor choice.
Comment

Con
 You need dongles or a dock to connect USB-A devices

There are no USB-A ports, so you'll need a dongle or a dock to use things like webcams.
Comment

Pro
 OSX offers a great dev environment

Android Studio has the best out of the box experience on OSX. Linux suffers from lack of resources (compared to other platforms) due to it not being as popular of a dev platform for Android development and Windows has some Unix/Windows mismatches.
Comment

Pro
 Lots of RAM to handle emulators

Since much of the time will be spent running emulators, RAM is important. All 2015 MBPs come with 16GB of RAM that should handle most of what you throw at it and be enough for the next couple of years.
Comment

Pro
 SSD spins emulators up quickly

With read speeds at 3.1Gbps and write speeds at around 4.7Gbps, the SSD used in the Macbook Pro is the best in the market by far. This doesn't just mean opening/saving files is quicker, but it also has a pretty huge impact on general application performance.
Comment

Pro
 Great performance

The MacBook pro offers great performance both for day-to-day stuff and more niche graphic-related activities. The latest model also has had an update in hardware specs where both the CPU and GPU have been upgraded to their respective latest generations. The 16GB to 32GB help with performance as well and the SSD speeds are unmatched in the laptop market which also helps with general performance.
Comment

Pro
 The OS is exceptionally easy to use

Macbooks are famous for working out of the box. The default operating system (macOS) is also exceptionally easy to use even for people who have never used it before. Most people will not need to customize or change anything since all the apps just work out of the box. The people who like to customize things and tinker with their systems will also find it pretty easy to do so, considering the fact that macOS is a Unix and allows varying degrees of control to users.
Comment

Pro
 Amazing build quality

The MacBook Pro has an all-aluminum body that looks great and is sturdy enough that worries of accidentally damaging are mostly alleviated. It has a robust lid, well-spaced back-lit keyboard with speakers on each side of the keyboard and an excellent button-less trackpad.
Comment

Pro
 Great online customer service

Dell's customer service is one of the best in the industry. Especially the online customer service website. There you will find frequently asked questions which usually solve 90% of issues, if that's not enough, there's a live chat with a customer service representative, who are usually very helpful and very understanding about every issue that may arise.
Comment

Pro
 Decent speakers

The Dell XPS 13 has above average speakers for a laptop, they get very loud but at max volume tend to distort the music a little too much.
Comment

Pro
 Great build quality

The body has a slick and elegant design. It's a mix of aluminum, carbon fiber and magnesium which hardly ever flexes even when held with one hand.
Comment

Pro
 One of the best Windows trackpads available

The Dell's trackpad is one of the best Windows trackpads available. It has smooth and precise tracking and even supports three-finger gestures similar to the Macbook's.
Comment

Pro
 Great keyboard

The keyboard is high quality, feels great to type on and isn't too mushy or too shallow. Even though there's nothing very special about the keyboard, it's as good of a keyboard as you could want.
Comment

Pro
 Toggleable and customizable keyboard backlighting

Users can turn on or off the backlighting of the keyboard as well as adjust the brightness.
Comment

Pro
 Latest generation hardware

The XPS 13 was recently updated with all the latest generation hardware which means that it won't become outdated any time soon.
Comment

Pro
 Stunning display

Before buying you can choose between the 4K UHD- or full HD-resolution touch displays or a full HD non-touch one. However, Linux compatibility for super high resolution displays can be spotty at times, so you might be better off sticking with the full HD if you plan on running Linux. Display quality is very good as far as viewing angles, brightness and color reproduction go. It also has a very small bevel so the screen goes more or less edge-to-edge. It also has an output of 400 nit, putting it in the "really bright" category as far as displays go. As for color reproduction, XPS 13's display produces an impressive 107.2 percent of the sRGB color gamut.
Comment

Pro
 Toggleable and customizable keyboard backlighting

Users can turn on or off the backlighting of the keyboard as well as adjust the brightness.
Comment

Pro
 Uses an SSD for faster operations on disk

Using an SSD greatly increases performance for every I/O operation, especially compared to laptops that use an HDD. The laptop will boot faster, programs that need to read and write to disk will run faster and scripts will compile much faster than on an HDD.
Comment

Pro
 Great Linux support

You can configure the XPS 13 to come with Linux out of the box. Even if you pick the Windows version, the XPS 13 has Linux drivers for all of its features and most users have reported that the whole process of installing a Linux distribution on a Dell XPS 13 is very simple.
Comment

Pro
 Plenty of RAM for all programming needs

Building software typically takes more resources than running the final product, having a lot of RAM helps building big complex applications faster.
Comment

Con
 The battery does not last as long as advertised

The laptop never performs to the promised 11-15 hours, average usage is around 7-8 hours.
Comment

Con
 Phone support from Dell Customer Service could be better

Phone support is very slow. Customers have reported waiting for up to 15 minutes to get connected to someone who will be able to help solve their issue.
Comment

Con
 Not a great choice for people who use their laptops to game as well

The Dell's integrated graphics are very poor for gaming and you won't be able to play graphics intensive games on it at all. A latest-generation AAA game will run at about 20 FPS with lowest settings. While a less graphics-intensive game such as Dota 2 for example will run at 30 FPS with lowest settings.
Comment

Con
 The touchscreen reflects light making it hard to see unless the lighting on the display is properly set

The screen for the touch-screen model is glossy instead of matte (non-touch screen). For what is a Linux notebook this does not make a lot of sense since most Linux users are the more tech savy who program. A glossy screen is more for multimedia, something Linux is not really known for excelling in.
Comment

Con
 Webcam located in an odd place

Due to the narrow bezel of the infinity display, Dell moved the webcam to the bottom left corner. This results in an odd viewing angle and the webcam getting blocked while typing.
Comment

Con
 The battery wears out quickly

After some use, the battery continues to fall at an alarming rate, to only 5-6 hours after a couple of months.
Comment

Con
 Spongy keyboard

The keyboard feels a bit spongy and also does not have a lot of travel to the keys. When bottoming out there is no feel of completion.
Comment

Pro
 Great performance

The "medium" build of Lemur (8GB of RAM, i7 CPU) can do most activities just fine. Whether that activity is developing Android applications, writing documents, or editing a 4K video with Kdenlive, the Lemur will not have any problems with lag or overheating.
Comment

Pro
 Portable

At about 3.6lbs, it's a relatively lightweight laptop that can be easily carried around.
Comment

Pro
 Base model is pretty cheap

For $599 this is the cheapest model System 76 sells, who are one of the few companies that sell laptops with Linux installed by default.
Comment

Pro
 Ubuntu just works out of the box

System76 machines come with Ubuntu 16.04 LTS pre-installed with all drivers and necessary software ready to go. For Ubuntu users there's no need to install their distro of choice from scratch.
Comment

Pro
 Choice of version of Ubuntu

System 76 allows the user to choose between the LTS release of Ubuntu and the latest release as the installed OS of the shipped device.. While installing a new version of the OS is done easily at home, it is convenient to see that System 76 will do it for you.
Comment

Pro
 Comes with free lifetime software support

Officially System76 provides free lifetime support for Ubuntu. And they will also try to provide unofficial support for other distros to the best of their abilities.
Comment

Con
 Poor build quality

Like with most System76 products, the build quality for the Lemur is rather poor, especially when you compare it with other laptops at this price point. The plastic feels a bit cheap and flimsy and is not as durable as other laptops.
Comment

Con
 US keyboards only

System76 only manufactures laptops with US (American English) keyboard layout. As most other language specific keyboard layouts use a larger number of keys, this is a clear disadvantage to customers from other countries.
Comment

Con
 Screen brightness doesn't go low

Even at minimal brightness, the screen is too bright to comfortably use at night.
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Con
 Limited hinge angle

The hinge only opens to around 120 degrees. This is suitable for desk work. However, on a lap, it could be limiting.
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Con
 Terrible battery life

Even when just web browsing, the battery will last five hours tops.
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Pro
 People who usually use their laptop on a desk will feel very comfortable with this

The Envy 13 has a hinge on the back which gives the laptop a slight extra boost in keyboard height. This puts the keyboard at a much more comfortable typing position and reduces RSI and finger-fatigue from extensive periods of typing.
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Pro
 Extremely portable

The HP Envy 13 is one of the thinnest laptops on the market at just 12.9mm thick. This detail, coupled with the fact that it weighs just above 1.3kg make the Envy 13 one of the lightest and most portable laptops on the market.
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Pro
 Good performance for the price

The HP Envy 13 offers good performance for its price. It can handle up to 16 Chrome tabs open simultaneously without even a bit of lag. Daily mainstream activities such as web browsing, editing files and even development work can be done on this laptop without any particular issues.
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Con
 Poor battery life

The Envy 13 has a relatively poor battery life. You may get about 9 hours out of it if you use it for general web browsing and some productivity work, but anything more than that (watching videos, light gaming) and you will start noticing that the battery life is considerably lower.
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Con
 The touchpad may be unreliable

Sometimes while dragging the cursor to select text, the touchpad will not interpret the input correctly and may start zooming in or zooming out.
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Con
 No touchscreen version

HP does not provide a touchscreen version of this laptop.
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Pro
 Great Linux support

All System76 laptops come with Linux out of the box. The Oryx Pro comes with either Ubuntu 16.04 LTS or Ubuntu 16.10. But that does not mean that other Linux distributions are not supported, quite the contrary. Most Linux distros should work without any major problems with the Oryx pro and most (if not all) drivers are available.
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Pro
 Very customizable

Before buying the System76 Oryx Pro from the System76 website, you get to customize almost every aspect of the laptop as far as specs go. The price depends on what you choose to put inside your laptop and prices vary from $1475 for the basic version to $7000 for a laptop with a 17.3" Matte IPS Display, a GTX 1070, 6th Gen i7 CPU, 64GB RAM, and two SSDs of 5TB and 4TB respectively.
Comment

Pro
 Good keyboard

The keyboard is very nice, it's not amazing by any means but quite comfortable to work with. The keys are pretty thick, thicker than what you may find in laptops today and with a nice springiness to them. The keyboard also supports multicolor backlighting.
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Pro
 Amazing overall performance

The default 6th generation i7 Processor coupled with the 16GB of RAM (even better with the versions with 32GB and 64GB) make for an absolutely amazing machine. It has a dedicated SSD for the OS only which massively increases startup time and for anything else you can choose up to two SSDs or HDDs of varying sizes. The Oryx Pro is perfectly capable of doing some heavy-lifting including 4K video editing and gaming at highest settings without a hitch.
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Pro
 Good speakers

One of the bonuses of having a larger body is that you get to use good speakers instead of some small ones stuck underneath the laptop. They are also angled toward the user and the sound is crisp and loud enough, even though it lacks some bass.
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Pro
 Good display

Has a 1080p matte display with an optional IPS matte display version. With great colors and brightness and almost no eye strain even when it's used for extended periods.
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Pro
 Good for gaming

The Oryx Pro is probably the best Laptop with Linux support out of the box that is great for gaming as well. This is mostly because of the NVIDIA graphics cards. It comes by default with the GTX 1060 but for $289 more, you can add a GTX 1070 instead. The default 8GB of RAM is good for gaming but the 16GB RAM is ideal.
Comment

Con
 Customer service could be much better

System76's technical support is pretty bad. When there's a problem that should be solved by them, they usually resort to sending replacement parts instead or blaming third-parties (even if those third-parties are not at fault) of something that they should be fixing.
Comment

Con
 Very heavy and bulky

Weighing at 5.5lbs for the 15.6" version it's relatively heavy and it's one inch thicker than the XPS 13. But the extra space is not put to waste, considering how it has an Ethernet port, SD card slot, 2 Mini DisplayPrts, HDMI port, 2 USB 3.1 Type-C ports, 3 USB 3.0 Type-A ports and headphone and mic jacks. The GTX 1070 version also includes a headphone amplifier. However, the power brick that comes with the charger is ridiculously large at 2lbs which understandably adds to the weight of the laptop since most of the time you have to carry both with you.
Comment

Con
 No 4K option

It lacks the option to have a 4K display. While not a deal breaker, it's a shame that a laptop with a display as good as Oryx Pro's does not have a 4K option which would also be a great plus for gamers.
Comment

Pro
 Excellent performance

Performance of course depends on the configuration, but a medium-powered configuration with 8GB RAM and i7 provides an excellent performance. Multitasking is a breeze and the laptop doesn't stutter or lag even with 20 Chrome tabs open simultaneously. The SSD is also extremely fast and is able to copy 40GB of data in about 2 seconds. Gaming performance is decent as well, managing to hit 40FPS with Dirt 3 on medium settings.
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Pro
 Good keyboard

HP put a lot of effort in the creation of this keyboard and it shows. With 60 gram actuation weight and a travel length of 1.3mm, typing on the Spectre x360 is a great experience, reminiscent of typing on a mechanical keyboard.
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Pro
 Great, colorful display

The Spectre x360 has a great glossy Full-HD screen to complement its amazing design. At 317 nits, the screen is pretty bright and it has a decent color range as well, covering 101.7 percent of the sRGB color spectrum.
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Pro
 Long battery life

For simple activities such as web browsing and editing files, the HP Spectre clocks in at around 11 hours of autonomous battery life.
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Pro
 Great design

The HP Spectre x360 has an all-aluminum body that gives it a very premium feel. The edges are all smooth and polished which provide a great highlight accent to the laptop.
Comment

Con
 Can easily trap heat and overheat

The extremely thin chassis is a drawback as far as heat management goes. Even a relatively simple activity like streaming HD videos will overheat the laptop and put the internal heat at about 105 degrees Fahrenheit which is 10 degrees higher than the 95 degrees "comfortable" threshold.
Comment

Con
 Has some bloatware

While it's less than HP usually has, there are still apps like Netflix, The Weather Channel, Hearts Deluxe, Connected Photo etc.
Comment

Pro
 Good keyboard

Comment

Pro
 Easy to upgrade hardware

Upgrade the RAM and HDD as you wish.
Comment

Pro
 Stable

Comment

Con
 Lenovo installs their software on clean Windows installs by using rootkit-like methods

Lenovo has BIOS overwrite Windows system files when the computer is booting up.
Comment

Con
 Computers may have man-in-the-middle adware installed

Lenovo is shipping computers preinstalled with man-in-the-middle adware called Superfish. It's a web proxy that can hijack any web session, including encrypted/https sessions. And since the root certificate is the same for everyone with private key present on the machine that's now publicly known, anyone can spoof any site to people using Lenovo laptops. Currently, it affects IE and Chrome browsers with Chrome expected to push an update that will block the certificate soon. Uninstalling Superfish won't remove the certificate. Lenovo are standing by their choice to install adware. Please refer to https://support.lenovo.com/nl/en/product_security/superfish Lenovo has stopped the use of Superfish, also the Thinkpad Series was never affected by it.
Comment

Pro
 Good display

Most laptops in this price range come with a 1366×768 screen, but the E5 has a 1920x1080 screen.
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Pro
 Decent for gaming

The E5 has an nVidia 940 MX dedicated graphics card so you'll be able to play modern games on low/medium settings.
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Pro
 Good Linux support

There is a little bit of work to do to get the Wi-Fi working properly and update the BiOS, but other than that the Acer E5 works perfectly well in Linux.
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Pro
 Amazing performance for this price range

The E5 has fantastic performance for the price. For $500 you get only a slightly worse CPU (around 20% performance loss) than the $1400 Macbook Pro, a dedicated GPU that's better than either of the graphics of the Macbook/Dell and 8 GB of RAM.
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Pro
 Great value for money

The E5-575G-53VG has a speedy processor, plenty of memory, a solid-state drive, and a dedicated graphics card which make it perform much better than laptops in this price range.
Comment

Con
 Mushy keyboard

The keyboard in general feels cheap and mushy during use.
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Con
 Build quality is not top notch

It's all plastic, so isn't as sturdy or aesthetically pleasing as laptops with metal or carbon fiber finishes.
Comment

Con
 Sound distortion in high volumes

When the volume is cranked up the sound gets distorted a lot.
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