Lenovo also owns the Motorola phone brand, and they're going to adopt/allow GrapheneOS. I think they know how to grab customers right now, and I honestly like it.
this post was submitted on 05 Mar 2026
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They're usually also well supported on Linux, and even sell them with Ubuntu and Fedora pre-installed. Generally not a terrible brand.
Is that a good idea for a non tech person* with no Linux experience who absolutely needs to send documents successfully to others the first time without delay or should I just wait until my degree is finished and I am less dependent on document interoperability and have fewer absolute deadlines?
- My level of technical knowledge is here: if a program or usb device isn’t functioning, I know to check the driver, but I always have to look up what the device manager is called. On the other hand, I am capable of looking things up and following simple instructions, which has to count for something.
You're exactly at the perfect level to start getting your feet wet without losing productive time (as long as you don't go on a distro-hop frenzy 🤣).
Weirdly enough, you're way ahead of 99% of the tech-using population worldwide.
You're as prepared as anyone ever is. Getting good with a search engine is the best preparation.
Also, if that fails? Most distros have a forum where you can ask for help and actually get it.
Document interoperability? LibreOffice works well, and you can save in all the same formats as MS Office and more.
The learning curve is mostly what the new tools and programs are called. But so much stuff actually works better over there in Linux land - VLC, Krita, Blender, Audacity, much more.
Try things in a Virtual Machine! If you really can't give up some of your windows tools, you can try dual-booting, but Windows Update doesn't always play nice with another OS on the machine.
Also, don't forget creating a bootable USB stick with the distros you think you'd like. Rufus or balena etcher should get you there, just figure out what distros you think you'd like to try out, as sometimes it can be easier to set those up than create a vm, plus you might be able to notice any obvious issues running natively.
If your computer has 4+ cores/threads and 8GB or more of ram, I'd set up a virtual machine to test it out.
Linux itself works just fine for anything, but it's different. There's a learning curve and you might find that the thing you need to do immediately has a different process than what you're used to, or needs some setting up first. There's also always formatting differences between word and libreoffice writer (same can be said for different versions of word), and some higher level excel things that aren't easy or not possible in calc.
your level of technical knowledge is so far beyond the average person's that it's insane. the idea of 'my computer has a problem, i'm going to google what the popup says' simply does not occur to so, so many people.
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You can try out most Linux software immediately on Windows, so you know what you're in for. LibreOffice and GIMP work in Windows, but that isn't really true the other way around with Office and Photoshop. Your mileage may vary when it comes to tolerating these alternatives.
Depends. If you use Google docs or the browser version of Office 365 (or whatever it's called now) you'll be fine. If you want to use an offline document editor, you'll need to be technical enough to understand the difference between file formats like doc, odf and pdf.
If you receive a doc file, edit it in LibreOffice and send it back, the recipient might complain that the layout has shifted slightly.
If you need to be absolutely sure the recipient gets the document layed out exactly as you created it and they don't need to edit it, exporting to pdf is a good option.
If you need to send or receive Excel/spreadsheet files you might have a bad time, I think. Though interoperability there may have improved since the last time I tried that sort of thing.
Before switching to Linux, download the Windows/Mac version of LibreOffice or OnlyOffice and see if it suits your needs. If not, it should be possible to run Office 365 on Linux using Wine or Winboat. However, Wine might not work or require too much tinkering for the average noob. Winboat should be more foolproof, but will increase the startup time of the application because you're running it inside a Windows VM.
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Didn't they have some huge controversy for having spyware pre-installed or something like that a few years ago? Doesn't take away from the direction they're moving in now, though! Hopefully they continue to move in this more pro-consumer direction.
I presume you are referring to the SuperFish scandal in 2015.
Ubuntu? Yeah. It's pretty much the only distro I will recommend against using (the Ubuntu spins are usually fine though). They offer Fedora as well though. And it's still way better than Winblows.
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They were also the first OEM to support steam deck on their handheld (beside Valve).
What’s the price of this compared to a comparable (feature-wise) laptop? Just curious what the repairability premium is.
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In six years I have burnt through two Lenovo ThinkPads. In the first the USB C charging port malfunctioned, and it turns out the charging port is soldered directly to the motherboard so they had to replace the whole thing. Ever since I got it back from repairs it enters into kernel panics all the time, no matter which distro I install.
I was in the middle of writing my thesis so I had no time for repairs when it broke, so I ordered mysef a new ThinkPad. I had to choose between pre-assembled models, and I wanted a high resolution display, a good processor, and some other things. I got one with not quite as much RAM as I really needed, and found out when I wanted to upgrade that they had rendered upgrading RAM completely impossible in that model of ThinkPad. It wasn't even one of the new slim ones, but a pretty traditional bulky one. Complete bullshit.
Both of these laptops are recent enough that had they not sucked I would still be using them years from now. I'm happy Lenovo appear to be changing their ways, but I wouldn't touch another ThinkPad with a stick after my experiences with them.
Currently I'm using a Framework 13. Hopefully it'll last me decades.
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Ooh yes baby! As an early Framework adopter who's repaired it already a few times, including a solder job on the board, I am happy to see it. I am getting increasingly angsty about where Framework would go in the future as its VCs crank up the profit knob. Having the biggest real manufacturer in the world introduce an alternative is fantastic. With that said, it also depends on Lenovo actually making parts direct-for-purchase available at decent prices. Without that, repairability serves just as marketing wank.
E: Is that a magnesium body plate?
An advantage that Framework still has is their upgradeability.
Fact.
But to be honest, the strength of the body of the Framework is pretty weak. Drops and more pressure result in permanent bending. I've already replaced one bottom. So if one wants a physically durable machine that can be thrown around, upgradeability might be okay to give up.
Is that a magnesium body plate?
As is tradition for thinkpads.
I thought they went away from it for their latest gens.
Oh my. It seems you're right.
Its nice to see the return of the classics!
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I'll never buy a ThinkPad again after the T16 Gen 1 that I have at work. That thing was overheating from day one, absolutely terrible for a 3000€ business laptop.
Besides Lenovo's shitty BIOS issues (which they have tried to fix about five times in the last 3 years), sometimes boot-up still takes a minute to get past the Lenovo logo.
I don't even have a lemon or anything, several coworkers have also complained about the same issues. One got so angry he smacked the laptop a few times on his table out of frustration (no actual damage) and forced IT to give him a different more powerful model with better cooling.
My most recent ThinkPad also overheated an insane amount at whatever use I could put it through, and the fan was constantly running full speed. It was like that from day one, and there was no dust or anything, it was just a terrible machine.
Yeah, the fan control was a mess too, like you clicked the mouse once and that stupid thing randomly ramped up, then immediately ramped down again. Any time you actually used the CPU it overheated anyway.
I'm actually switching to a desktop PC now at work, that's how sick I got of this laptop (:
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Return of socketed mobile CPUs when?
Won't laptop manufacturers need to get CPU manufacturers to produce socketed mobile CPUs again?
I don't think that would be very profitable. Spending lots of money negotiating with the CPU company just for a very small fraction of customers.
Should most electronics come with no servicability at all, because most customers are not gorillas breaking products for no good reason?
The road to enshittification is paved with people telling you to just use the popular thing everyone else, calling removable media "e-waste", or even suggesting you to just buy a pair of Raycons if you don't want to pay for electrostatic headphones and an audiophile external DAC.
That's nice you can replace the charging port without reflowing the motherboard now.
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Ripper job on Lenovo's part; I'd give them flack for using LPCAMM2 instead of SODIMM but honestly, it is ultimately the better choice for laptops and it's totally cool to see it instead of soldered RAM.
Ideally they'd bring back the old keyboard layout based on the T25, but that's more or less nitpicking at this point. The Powerbridge battery system would be cool to see make a comeback and a swappable WIFI module would be cool (they kinda brush is off in the article but I think replacing and upgrading the WIFI module would be a nice thing).
My personal problem are the speakers; although ever since getting my hands on an M1 Pro MacBook I'm kinda spoiled in that regard.
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They make them that way so ram could eventually go in?