You Can Spend Up to $11,944 on Purism's Librem 16 Linux Laptop
Ever since successfully crowdfunding over $500k for the Librem 15, Purism has become a recognized hardware manufacturer catering to privacy and Linux enthusiasts.
The company is registered as a Social Purpose Corporation, dedicating its existence to upholding the privacy, security, and freedom of its users, even when that conflicts with maximizing shareholder profit.
That philosophy carries through their lineup of offerings like the Liberty Phone, the Librem series of phones, and Post Quantum Cryptography hardware.
Just recently, they announced the Librem 16 laptop, positioned as the direct successor to the Librem 15 and an upgrade over the Librem 14 in both performance and expandability.
📝 Librem 16: Key Specifications
At the heart of the Librem 16 sits a 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13620H, which is a 10-core, 16-threaded chip. Its performance cores turbo up to 4.9GHz, while the efficiency cores cap out at 3.6GHz. Sadly, there's no discrete GPU onboard, just Intel's integrated UHD Graphics handling display duties.
Memory tops out at 64GB, split across two DDR4 SO-DIMM slots. Storage comes from two M.2 bays that handle both NVMe and SATA drives, for a maximum of 16TB.
PureOS is the Linux distribution of choice here. It is Purism's own Debian-based distro that has endorsement from the Free Software Foundation, and there's no telemetry or advertisements involved.
Firmware leans in the same direction, with the Librem 16 featuring coreboot and a disabled Intel Management Engine. Then there are the two kill switches; one cuts the camera and mic, the other cuts wireless and Bluetooth; both can be flipped off manually.
The rest of the specs include:
- Display: 16-inch, 1920x1200 (16:10 aspect ratio).
- Ports: 2x USB-C (USB 3.2 Gen 2, DisplayPort Alt Mode, USB-PD up to 100W), 2x USB-A (USB 3.2 Gen 1), 1x HDMI 2.0, 1x memory card reader, and a 3.5mm combo audio jack.
- Dimensions: 360 x 26 x 240mm (W x H x L), 1.8kg.
- Connectivity: 1x Gigabit Ethernet over RJ45, Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 with two antennas, and Bluetooth.
- Battery: A single 3-cell, 54.2Wh pack rated at 11.55V and 4.7Ah
Get Yours
The Librem 16 is sold in three pre-configured tiers, plus a build-your-own option for anyone who wants to tailor the specs to their needs.
- The Base model is the entry point at $2,899, with 16GB of RAM and 500GB of storage.
- The Plus model bumps that to 32GB of RAM and 2TB of storage for $4,199.
- The Max model with 64GB of RAM and 16TB of storage across two 8TB drives tops the range at $9,799.
If none of those fit, the build-your-own option starts at $2,870 and lets you configure memory, both storage slots, the wireless card, anti-interdiction service, and warranty length individually.
Push every option to its highest value, and the final tally lands at a whopping $11,944.
Anyhow, every configuration ships within 10 business days, with optional anti-interdiction service ($249) and an extended 3-year warranty ($399) available as add-ons.
Linux preloaded laptops have never been cheaper. And Purism has a privacy at hardware level angle so these laptops are not affordable by general public (like me).
Source: It's FOSS