When comparing System 76 Lemur vs Microsoft Surface Pro 4, the Slant community recommends Microsoft Surface Pro 4 for most people. In the question“What are the best laptops for programmers who travel/digital nomads?” Microsoft Surface Pro 4 is ranked 5th while System 76 Lemur is ranked 8th. The most important reason people chose Microsoft Surface Pro 4 is:
The (included) Surface Pen has a very interesting set of features - it allows for 1024 points of pressure, has an eraser on top, and when you click the eraser it will open Cortana (Microsoft's new voice assistant). It's magnetized, so it will stick to the left side of the Surface. The Surface achieves all of this via its new N-trig technology (replacing the Wacom technology found in older generation models). There's also palm rejection technology, so whenever the pen tip it close to the screen is will ignore all finger or palm touches.
Specs
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Pros
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.
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.
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.
Pro Portable
At about 3.6lbs, it's a relatively lightweight laptop that can be easily carried around.
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.
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.
Pro Great pen support
The (included) Surface Pen has a very interesting set of features - it allows for 1024 points of pressure, has an eraser on top, and when you click the eraser it will open Cortana (Microsoft's new voice assistant). It's magnetized, so it will stick to the left side of the Surface. The Surface achieves all of this via its new N-trig technology (replacing the Wacom technology found in older generation models). There's also palm rejection technology, so whenever the pen tip it close to the screen is will ignore all finger or palm touches.
Pro Laptop-level specs
The Surface Pro 4 comes in configurations from core M up to a core i7. RAM starts at 4GB, and goes to 16GB. Storage caps out at 256GB of SSD storage, which should be enough for most users. These are all specs that can be found in most laptops - even beating out some budget-midrange desktop options.
Pro Good expandability options
The Surface has a USB 3.0 port that can be used for a mouse to be plugged in, or you can plug in a USB hub or Microsoft's own Surface Dock, which has 4 USB 3.0 ports, audio output, Gigabit Ethernet, and two HD video ports. The Surface Dock allows for as much expandability (or more) as most laptops out there. There's also a SD card slot if you need more storage (current SD card sizes range up to 200GB, although this won't be as fast as the internal SSD speeds).
Cons
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.
Con Terrible battery life
Even when just web browsing, the battery will last five hours tops.
Con Screen brightness doesn't go low
Even at minimal brightness, the screen is too bright to comfortably use at night.
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.
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.
Con Expensive
You can find a computer with similar specs for about half the price of the Surface Pro 4. You are paying a premium for the high-end build quality, for the engineering required to manufacture a fully portable computer, as well as for the high resolution touchscreen.
Con Lack of touch-focused apps
Windows has traditionally been a mouse-and-keyboard operating system. Finally, third party apps are starting to become more touch friendly, although it's a long, slow process. The Windows Store still lacks many big titles, which means the only option is to download the regular Windows version of most apps, which are rarely touch-friendly.