Dell
Dell extends its love of Linux to the Dell XPS 13 Plus. The Developer Edition of the laptop is Ubuntu 22.04 LTS certified, Canonical announced today. That means the laptop will be sold with the latest version of Ubuntu from August, and owners of the XPS 13 Plus Developer Edition can download Ubuntu 22.04 LTS today (even if they bought it with Windows 11) for guaranteed performance.
The XPS 13 Plus Developer Edition is the first 22.04 LTS certified laptop and joins only a few Raspberry Pi devices in certification. However, Dell has been certifying some of its XPS laptops, as well as other machines, for Ubuntu for generations. HP and Lenovo also have Ubuntu certified systems.
Of course, Ubuntu certification means that all components “work as expected,” as Canonical’s announcement put it today. Furthermore, the Ubuntu LTS certification means that the device will have a minimum of 10 years of support. The Ubuntu release cycle page states that LTS (Long Term Support) releases include 10 years of “Base Package” maintenance and security updates.
“Certified devices also contain specific software or drivers that differ from the standard distribution where necessary. These are defined in a metapackage that automatically [installs] the optimal configuretie of packages, drivers, and kernel to deliver the best experience on that device,” Canonical’s announcement said.
“These changes represent the factory images used by partners such as Dell, but will also be upstreamed to the main Ubuntu distribution so that certified devices have the correctiate meta package even when users Install Ubuntu yourself.”
Ubuntu 22.04, announced in April, brings a new version of the Gnome 42 Linux desktop environment that promises “iImproved desktop performance with triple buffering, more control over… power management settings,” said Canonical. Other changes include new workspace layouts and touchpad gestures and more customization options, such as cross-desksuper dark style.
Since 2013, Dell’s Developer Edition laptops have been aimed at programmers, and the XPS 13 Plus Developer Edition represents the 10th generation.
Dell’s XPS 13 Plus generally features a visibly redesigned machine, including a MacBook-esque capacitive touch strip that replaces the function row and other tricks to allow using a 28W instead of 15W CPU. The XPS 13 Plus Developer Edition laptop goes up to an Intel Core i7-1280P with six performance cores (1.8-4.8GHz), eight efficient cores (1.3-3.6GHz), and 20 threads.
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