On the off chance that you’re still reading responses to this post:

I repair electronics, everything from automotive to industrial to audio to computers and phones. Not just screwdriver work either, bga rework and microscopic trace repair. I’m speaking from years of hands in experience with lots of computers, tablets, phones, amplifiers, plcs, ecus, and anything else you can think of plus countless hours of exercise helping people figure out what to buy, weather to repair, what to change and how a failure happened.

Get the mac.

You are describing the choice as being between the linux support level and the quality of other laptops. One is constantly improving, currently only falling short of your expectations due to requiring the existence of the computers native os and requiring you to maybe compile some stuff, the other begins below your expectations and cannot meet them. No one’s gonna push a free update that fixes the fit and finish or shitty trackpad of a computer.

Get the hardware you need.

Also, macs are secretly extremely repairable. People don’t like that they can’t just get in there and fuck around with a jewelers screwdriver and guitar pick, but it’s easy to find a qualified shop around you to fix whatever’s wrong with the computer. There’s always tons of replacement parts available, first party support docs (for shops that can prove they are real businesses) and third party info of all kinds.

FYI, 14” is sort of the new 13.3”. A lot of newer 14” laptops are the about size of an older 13.3” laptop, but just have less bezel.

Same situation as with 16” vs 15.6”.

I was thinking framework but looks like your already on that path.

FW13 seems to check all the boxes. Speakers are not great but usable, and I heard they improved them with the new keyboard that rattles less.

Maybe a Starbook from Starlabs? https://starlabs.systems/pages/starbook

Or a V54 from NovaCustom?: https://novacustom.com/product/v54-series/

Or a Jupiter Pro from Juno Computers?: https://junocomputers.com/product/jupiter-14-pro-v3/

Or InfinityBook Pro 14 from Tuxedo?: https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/en/TUXEDO-InfinityBook-Pro-14-Gen9-INTEL.tuxedo

None of them are ticking every box but worth a look.

My issue is that I can’t find ANYTHING on the PC market that is as slick or full featured as a MacBook Air (minus its limited ports).

Hi. Typing this on M2 Air, running Gentoo. 👋

The limited ports drive me crazy too, but what’s maybe EVEN MORE frustrating, is the glossiness of the screen. It is not that good to be used outside, especially because it is dust and finger print magnet. I’m constantly wiping the screen. One thing that smudges the display seems to be the fact that some parts of the base touches the display when the lid is closed. Bad design, or I may just have a faulty specimen. The touchpad is needlessly big, but isn’t really a problem. My wrist can’t bend so that I could move my finger easily from corner to corner. :D Touchpad haptic stuff is nice when dragging. Keyboard is… meh. Nothing special. Then there’s the money problem. You have to spend ridiculous amounts of money to jump off from the base model. I have 256GB/8GB model. The least I should have accepted is 16Gigs of RAM. I got this Air for only for 300 euros (luck was involved), so a money well spent to get to know current Apple HW. But still… I feel I barely made a good deal (because my last laptop was Matebook D with the same amount of RAM and 1TB NVMe SSD). I’ll keep using this until I cannot cope with the amount of RAM anymore.

Battery life, performance and passively cooled CPU are the main highlights. Oh and the DAC can drive high impedance heaphones (I have Beyerdynamic DT-770 250 Ohm). I’m most disappointed to the display. The LCD under the glass is fine, but the glass itself is just horrible design. From now on: I choose only matte displays.

I think you’re much better off with Framework. I think that’ll be eventually my choice too.

Modern web browsing…requires a lot of processing power.

It definitely doesn’t. What it does require is a bit of RAM, which Apple intentionally sold in insufficient quantities for thousands of dollars, and judging by local classified boards, that’s almost exclusively what everyone bought.

Intel 13th+ gen CPU, with passmark points over 17,000 on multi-threading.

AMD is and has been the superior processor for quite some time now, both in speed and efficiency.

Intel GPU

Well…you are severely limiting your options there. I’ve never even seen Intel mobile GPUs, personally.

I need a (supported) fingerprint reader!

Yeah that’s gonna be very tough also.

Below a $1800 price tag. That’s the price I can get with a MacBook Air for all that.

You’re looking for a niche product, which, if it even exists, will have niche pricing.

I spent the whole weekend trying to find that mythical PC laptop, and I can’t. I’m frustrated.

Unless you’re willing to make compromises somewhere, I don’t think you’re going to.

I can tell you I recently got a Lenovo Yoga Pro, and it rivals Apple in terms of build quality. It has the best laptop keyboard I’ve ever used, by a longshot.

I was in a very similar situation when shopping for my current laptop so here are my thoughts: I set out looking for a lightweight and relatively powerful 13" Linux laptop and ended up with an M4 MacBook Air. Despite what a lot of people wanna say, the MacBook Air is one of the best deals you can get for an ultrabook, especially on these newer generations, as others I’ve looked at struggle to compete in performance per watt while at the same price point and with lower build quality. Seems to me that with the requirements you’ve listed, you will have to compromise on a few things if you want the advantages of running Linux.

The FW13, best fit I can think of, is a wonderful machine, you will probably have a good time with it, but it certainly does not have as good of a build quality, battery life nor UX refinement as a MacBook. The difference isn’t massive but it is there. These are common compromises when you buy into more ethical tech.

Yup. At this point, I’d just want to run Linux like normal on modern MacBook. Man my m1 MacBook Air is still a beast and with all good hardware.

Unfortunately I believe Apple hardware is unsurpassed when it comes to solid builds, care into details, functionalities and beautiful appearances.

I’ve been using Linux for over 20 years, never had problems making my desktops look good and work fine with the right cases and components, but laptops? meh

Only once in 20 years I found one that I like aesthetically and has all the compatible hardware (full Intel only), I got it at half the price because they weren’t making it anymore…

I really like my Framework 16 laptop. I’ve been using it for about a year now. The modular ports and easily upgradeable design were a major selling point for me. Video workflows work well via Kdenlive and ffmpeg, but you can also install Davinci Resolve with some additional configuration. I purchased the GPU upgrade (https://frame.work/products/16-graphics-module-amd-radeon-rx-7700s) and a handful of different port modules. My only dislikes are that it can get really hot from time to time and the GPU fans are pretty loud when they kick on. A coworker of mine has a Framework 13 laptop and seemed very satisfied with it. Best of luck in your search!

Dell XPS 13 checks all your boxes except good speakers.

I have the XPS 15 9510 model. Intel 13th gen i7, backlit keyboard, great trackpad, sleek design. It came with 16GB ram but I replaced with 32.

I bought it “refurb” on eBay last May SPECIFICALLY because I wanted the most Mac-like PC. Running Arch Linux from day one and it’s been rock solid and super fast. The speakers aren’t great and the mic is pretty bad. But I usually use headphones or external speakers when docked.

I honestly am very happy with it and it was only like $550.

I spent a bunch of time before this comparing new computers; between Thinkbooks, Framework, Tuxedo, XPS. In the end I decided what I wanted didn’t require it to be new. I was only concerned about degraded battery but I can replace that myself when the time comes.

I don’t want to plug the seller but they’re constantly selling these on eBay so you’ll probably see them if you search.

Side note I disabled the NVIDIA GPU and only use the Intel iGPU which has saved a lot of battery.

2025 is the year of the Linux laptop

Apple hardware may piss off in my world, glad it works for you but claiming some universal UX superiority is very silly.

I can’t stand the keyboard layout, the touchpad, the case shape, the crummy ports, I really dislike it all.

Admit you’re very picky and just want Apple because it fits your specific desires; that is fine.

You can confirm a Framework 13 with an Intel Ultra 7 155h (passmark score of over 21k) with 32GB Ram and 1TB of storage for under $1500.