Purism Librem 13 v3 Laptop Review

[Redaktion]

The Librem 13 is a privacy-focused Linux laptop from Purism, a boutique Linux OEM. While the device looks beautiful at first glance, software limitations and hardware bugs cripple the laptop and keep us from recommending it.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Purism-Librem-13-v3-Laptop-Review.375496.0.html

[Konstantinos]

"sudo apt-get install microsoft-office"     ...     mycroft office what?? what the f*ck is that package? I have never heard of this package...  :o

Is this GPL?

[Ciaran]

CPU temperature under load not given.

Energy management mentions poor energy management on Linux. A small comparison table of energy management on Windows vs Pure OS vs perhaps a mainstream free OS (such as can be found on Phoronix) would have been interesting.

Otherwise, a comprehensive test. That's why I like notebookcheck.

[Tech Haberdashery]

"sudo apt-get install microsoft-office"     ...     mycroft office what?? what the f*ck is that package? I have never heard of this package...  :o

Is this GPL?

I'm glad someone said it, I was wondering the same. Without any context, this looks like someone was adding frivolous lines to Tilix to make a more dramatic in the screen capture. Aside from running it on a VM/WINE/CrossOver/PlayOnLinux I don't know how else it would run on the system. Even then, you can't install it via apt-get on the terminal can you?

[PA]

You missed the point of the product completely congrats! Its hardware is old because that's the latest hardware that can be hacked to be privacy compliant since manufacturers don't cooperate. It's target is the users who hold their privacy paramount not yet another US taxpayer who'll be another screwed statistic by the next Cambridge Analytica scandal and forgot about it next day. The "modern" hardware are extremely useful tracking devices land when it comes to security they're sieves not shields. $1400 is an acceptable price for a devices that's only but only yours.

[Sam Medley]

Review author here.

@Tech Haberdashery & @Konstantinos:
Yes, you cannot normally install Microsoft Office on Linux, via the terminal or otherwise, without some kind of compatibility layer. That was put in here for those not familiar with Linux to show that some applications they may be familiar with are unavailable on Linux. I understand that was probably not the best example to use (Open Office and Libreoffice are comparable products), but the purpose was to illustrate to those familiar with Windows that Linux won't have the same applications they're used to seeing/using.
I can understand how shocking/stupid that looks to Linux users. It was for Windows users interested in what a Linux laptop has to offer.

@Ciaran:
While we would have loved to directly analyze/compare CPU temps under load, since the Librem 13 runs Linux, we could not use our standard set of software tools to benchmark it. Linux does have ways of measuring system load, but it wouldn't be a direct apples-to-apples comparison. The software used on Linux to put the CPU under extended load might work differently than what we've used on prior Windows laptops. In the interest of giving a fair comparison, we unfortunately had to nix a few of our regular review items to eliminate any oddities due to OS/kernel/software differences.

@PA:
I understand your reasoning that newer hardware may be susceptible to heretofore unseen vulnerabilities. I don't doubt this; however, I would like to know where you're getting this information as I'd like to look into it myself.
That said, the Skylake platform is somewhat infamous for its vulnerabilities (remember Spectre, Meltdown, and the issues with IME?). Skylake is still seeing security issues pop up (re: PortSmash). While some security issues can be mitigated by flashing a new BIOS like coreboot, some of the issues are inherent to the Skylake chipset itself.
By your reasoning, why not get an even older computer like a ThinkPad T420? Or go even further back to the ThinkPad T60? Both of these have proven to be decent Linux laptops. They still have security flaws that are either unpatchable or will never be resolved by Intel.
The point I'm making is this - there is no such thing as a truly secure laptop system. There will always be flaws. I laud Purism for their mission in providing software and hardware that puts user security and privacy first, but I don't think they did enough to justify the $1400 price tag considering the lackluster specifications. With a bit of hunting and a little computer know-how, someone could get an XPS 13 with the same Skylake CPU, 8 GB of RAM, and 256 GB of NVMe storage for about $800-1000 and then install coreboot and PureOS on it for free.
That's why I was so critical of the price - the target audience for this will already be fairly familiar with how Linux works and how to install a distro. So why shouldn't they get a comparable Windows PC, wipe everything, and install PureOS themselves? It could be done at half the cost for the Librem 13.

[not PA]

Dear Sam Medley,

Please educate yourself on the topic, you can find information on the manufacturer's page just click "Why purism?" and scroll down.

puri.sm/learn/intel-me/

puri.sm/learn/avoiding-intel-amt/

puri.sm/posts/deep-dive-into-intel-me-disablement/

puri.sm/posts/measuring-the-intel-me-to-create-a-more-secure-computer/

puri.sm/learn/freedom-roadmap/

puri.sm/posts/purism-patches-meltdown-and-spectre-variant-2-both-included-in-all-new-librem-laptops/

If you read carefully, you will see the amount of effort put into their machines and that currently there are no competitors to Purism if you want BOTH security AND performance.

Sure you could flash coreboot on a laptop with hardware killswitches and "pre-management engine" era CPU but performance would be lacking.
Also you could flash coreboot+ME_cleaner on a supported laptop that is at least a 6-year-old brick ( up to Ivybridge, see: coreboot.org/status/board-status.html ) but that would require high level knowledge and tools to do it, and you wouldn't have official support and warranty.

On the other side, you could install PureOS distribution on a modern laptop but it would still lack security compared to Purism laptops because of the AMT, ME and no hardware kill switches.

[lime]

Why wasn't the PWM frequency able to be tested? That was the one thing I was hoping to find out in this review :(

[LocoCoyote]

"Sudo apt-get install xyz" not sudo install apt-get xyz.....do this much?

[Mathew goldstein]

Thunderbolt 3 is insecure. Since these computers are intended to enhance security it is unlikely they will add support for Thunderbolt 3.

[dumbfuck]

All that work, and the trackpad sucks?! Sheesh

[commenter]

In a weird way, that you apparently didn't understand what this product was when you reviewed it, and just compared it to normal laptops, makes the review useful, actually.  Reviews of it normally compare it to the other devices that do the same thing- pretty much, decade-old Thinkpads that require a lot of pretty home-made modification.  To compare it to regular laptops gives an interesting perspective.  That you apparently got through a full review process without even realizing that it wasn't a regular laptop seems like pretty high praise.  It's like if you were reviewing a car that ran only on solar power, without realizing it, and your conclusion was that it was fine except the shift sticks a bit...

The links PA gave explain what it is.  You need to post an update to the review though.