Star Labs, hardware vendor with some really lovely looking laptops with first-class Linux support have announced the StarBook Mk VI with Ryzen 7 or Intel 12th Gen.
Writing in an email they said " With an upgrade to 12th Generation Intel® Core® processors, we thought it was only fitting to create the next generation of StarBook" and that to ensure it was worth the wait they also worked on a bunch of other upgrades to this new model that include:
- Fingerprint reader
- Improved speakers
- Heavily upgraded webcam
- Upgraded sound card
- Better microphones
- Improved oleophobic coating
- Improved footpads
Some specifications:
Screen | 14-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit matte display with IPS technology 1920x1080 resolution at 157 pixels per inch 16:9 aspect ratio |
Processor | 1.50GHz 10-core Intel® Core® i3-1220P Turbo Boost up to 4.40GHz, with 12MB Cache 10 Cores, 12 Threads, 28W TDP, 64W PL2 Configurable to: 2.10GHz 12-core Intel® Core® i7-1260P Turbo Boost up to 4.70GHz, with 18MB Cache 12 Cores, 16 Threads, 28W TDP, 64W PL2 Configurable to: 1.90GHz 8-core AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800U Boost clock up to 4.40GHz, with 16MB L3 Cache 8 Cores, 16 Threads, 25W TDP, 45W PL2 |
Firmware | AMI Aptio V or coreboot |
RAM | 8GB of 3200MHz DDR4 memory Configurable up to 64GB G.Skill Ripjaws |
Ports | Left Side USB Type C with Power Delivery 3.0 HDMI USB Type A DC Charging Jack Right Side Micro SD Memory Card Reader USB 3.0 USB 2.0 3.5mm Combination Jack |
You can order it with your choice of Linux (or Windows 10) including: Ubuntu 20.04.3 LTS (64-bit) or later, elementary OS 6 (64-bit) or later, Linux Mint 20.2 (64-bit) or later, Manjaro 21.0 (64-bit) or later, MX Linux AHS 19.4 (64-bit) or later, Zorin OS 16 (64-bit) or later.
For models currently in production (sold out), they give you a 5% discount if you pre-order. Pricing usually £1,062.00 with a current discount to £1,008.90.
Meanwhile, they're also working on the bigger StarFighter laptop which will be a 15.6" beast that has a 4K IPS matte display and 45W Intel / AMD processors. It will be their biggest and most expensive unit yet, with Star Labs mostly targetting low-mid ring previously.
Ditching the USB 2.0 and replacing it with USB-C so that both sides of the laptop are balanced would be better. Even the big companies seem to design unbalanced USB ports. Often two USB-C on the same side with one or two USB-A on the other.
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