The Contenders: ThinkPads, Latitudes, EliteBooks, and the Consumer Curveballs That Almost Won

The Linux Laptop Quest: One Man’s Search for a Daily Driver That Won’t Betray Him — Part 3

By the time I reached this stage of the search, I had accepted two truths:

1. I need a 16-inch laptop.
2. I need it to play nice with Linux.

These two requirements alone eliminated roughly 80% of the laptop market, which honestly made things easier. But the remaining 20%? That’s where the real chaos began.

This is the part of the journey where I stared at spec sheets like they were ancient scrolls, watched Linux compatibility videos at 1 a.m., and whispered things like “why is this one perfect except for the display?” into the void.

Let’s talk about the contenders — the laptops that almost made it, but ultimately didn’t.

The ThinkPad T14 (Intel & AMD): The Linux Legend That Was Just Too Small

If Linux laptops had a Mount Rushmore, the ThinkPad T14 would be carved right into it. The keyboard is phenomenal. The build quality is classic ThinkPad “I could use this as a weapon and it would still boot.” And the AMD versions are basically the poster child for Linux compatibility.

Suspend works.
Wi-Fi works.
Brightness keys work.
Touchpad gestures work.
Everything works.

It’s the kind of laptop that makes you feel like a responsible adult.

But then… the size.

It’s 14 inches.
Fourteen.

And after my Chromebook experiment in Part 2, I knew — deep in my soul — that 14 inches wasn’t going to cut it. I’d be settling. I’d be telling myself “it’s fine” while secretly wishing for more screen real estate every time I opened Kdenlive.

The T14 was the perfect laptop in the wrong body.
Like a golden retriever trapped in a chihuahua’s frame.

So with great sadness (and a little dramatic sighing), I crossed it off the list.

The Dell Latitude 7440: The 2‑in‑1 Temptation That Almost Got Me

The Latitude 7440 was the closest I came to betraying my 16-inch requirement.

It’s a 2‑in‑1.
It’s beautifully built.
It’s boring in the best possible way.
And Dell’s Linux compatibility is so good it’s practically a personality trait.

I kept trying to convince myself that maybe — maybe — I could make 14 inches work if the laptop was good enough.

But every time I imagined editing video on a 14-inch screen, my eyes started pre‑emptively squinting. And the OnePlus Pad already covers my tablet needs, so the 2‑in‑1 flexibility wasn’t enough to justify the size compromise.

The 7440 was the “almost” laptop.
The one that checks every box except the one that matters most.

The Dell Latitude 5540: The Right Size, the Wrong Display

When I first saw the Latitude 5540, I thought, “Finally! A 15.6-inch business laptop that might actually work.”

And then I looked at the display specs.

Let’s just say the word “mediocre” is doing some heavy lifting here.

It’s not terrible.
It’s not unusable.
It’s just… uninspiring.

And here’s the thing: I don’t need OLED. I don’t need HDR. I don’t need 100% DCI-P3. But I do need a display that doesn’t make me feel like I’m staring through a thin layer of sadness.

I owned the Dell Latitude 5520 previously. It was a Linux champ: Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, Mint, MX… Everything just works on those Latitudes. I just wish Dell would drop in better displays.

The 5540 was close.
But not close enough.

The HP EliteBook 860 G10: The Premium Temptation My Budget Laughed At

The EliteBook 860 G10 was the “what if I just stretched the budget a little?” option.

It’s gorgeous.
It’s sturdy.
It’s big.
It’s Linux-friendly.
It’s everything I want in a laptop… except affordable.

Even refurbished, the price kept drifting north of my $500 ceiling like it had never heard of financial responsibility.

I tried to justify it.
I really did.

But every time I got close to clicking “Add to Cart,” my budget slapped my hand away like, “No. Absolutely not. Put that back.”

That’s okay too. A budget version, even with touchscreen, would be difficult to see outdoors. A high quality non touch display was impossible to find in my budget.

The EliteBook 860 G10 is the laptop equivalent of a luxury SUV: beautiful, capable, and completely unnecessary for my actual life.

The Lenovo Yoga 7i: The Consumer Curveball That Didn’t Quite Land

The Yoga 7i was the wildcard.

It’s sleek.
It’s flexible.
It’s surprisingly Linux-friendly for a consumer laptop.
And the 2‑in‑1 form factor is undeniably cool.

But once again — 14 inches.

And while the Yoga 7i is great for people who want a laptop that can also be a tablet, I already have a device for that: my OnePlus Pad. It’s lighter, brighter, and better suited for outdoor use than any laptop screen ever will be.

I know there are 16 inch models out there. They also weight four and a half pounds. No longer slim and sleek but heavy bricks with 250 nits displays. The gloss makes the screens pop. The glare kills my eyes.

The Yoga 7i was fun to look at.
But ultimately not the right fit.

The Pattern Becomes Clear

By this point, a theme had emerged:

Every laptop had a “but.”

The ThinkPad T14 was perfect… but too small.
The Latitude 7440 was tempting… but too small.
The Latitude 5540 was the right size… but the display wasn’t good enough.
The EliteBook 860 G10 was ideal… but too expensive.
The Yoga 7i was flexible… but not the right size or role.

Every contender had one fatal flaw — one thing that would annoy me every single day for the next three years.

And that’s when one laptop started rising above the rest.

Not because it was perfect.
Not because it was flashy.
But because it had fewer “buts” than everything else.

The Acer Swift Go 16.

But that’s a story for Part 4.