- The revamped Lemur Pro offers more powerful internals and massive battery life for its Linux-based clients.
- Ultraportable-class laptop offers two screen sizes and up to 18 hours of “multi-day” battery life
- Users can also choose to skip Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, plus an optional webcam and microphone.
System 76, a Denver, Colorado-based company that focuses on selling systems with Linux preinstalled, has updated its 2020 Lemur Pro, offering major internal upgrades, multiple display options, and battery life similar to that of a MacBook Air.
At just under 1kg for the 14-inch variant and 1.34kg for the 16-inch variant, it’s also the business’s first lightest Linux laptop in the 14-inch form factor, despite including a battery rated at 18 hours between cycles.
This puts it in the same weight class as the 14-inch LG Gram and 13.3-inch Fujitsu LifeBook line, although it offers considerably beefier internals than either model.
Multi-day battery life on a Linux laptop
The Lemur Pro carries a premium price, starting at $1,999 on its website before a $76 discount takes effect, but one can quickly see why the manufacturer is pricing it closer to $2,000.
The laptop offers 32GB of non-user-upgradable LPDDR5X RAM, a base configuration of a 1TB SSD, WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and the choice between an Intel Core Ultra 5 325 or X7 358H CPU. The first is an 8-core CPU, while the second is a considerably beefier 16-core CPU that is a crucial part of its performance-focused Panther Lake offering.
Users can kick things up a notch by upgrading their storage to 4T via the website’s built-in configurator and choosing whether they want WiFi, Bluetooth, a webcam, or a microphone.
System76 claims that the Lemur Pro is aimed at students, frequent travelers, digital nomads, developers, engineers, and IT professionals, to name a few, and that some may want an air-gapped computer, while others may not need a webcam or microphone, or may consider either a security risk.
Potential buyers can also choose between a 14′ FHD+ display and a 16′ QHD+ display, although the laptop continues to offer up to 18 hours of battery life in both configurations.
Apple’s MacBook Air is also said to offer up to 18 hours of video playback and 15 hours of wireless web browsing, putting it within the same endurance range as the Linux-based Lemur Pro. In our review, we found that claim to be largely true, with 15.5 hours of battery life when browsing the web.
Carl Richell, founder and CEO of System76, praised the laptop, noting that Intel’s Panther Lake chips were a crucial part of the Lemur Pro overhaul.
While there has been no independent review confirming the Lemur Pro’s battery life claims, if they hold up, the MacBook Air M5 could have a serious and powerful contender vying for a share of its audience of developers and IT professionals at the same time Apple has decided to raise prices across the board, creating a perfect storm, even when it comes with twice the RAM offered by default.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds.
