A Linux powerhouse for $1,699

System76's Pangolin Pro is a 16-inch AMD laptop with a Ryzen 7 chip, strong battery life, and enough ports to ditch the dongle bag. WIRED rates it 8 out of 10.

Overkill, and worth it

Two months of daily use made the case: it's more machine than most people need, but the value is real if you want a portable, large-screen Linux computer.

“it's great value with plenty of power”

Linux hardware is spoiled now

Beyond specialists like System76, Kubuntu Focus, and Tuxedo, Lenovo, Dell, and Framework all certify laptops for Linux. That crowds the field and raises the bar.

No driver hunting allowed

In 2026, nobody should spend hours on Reddit getting a laptop to boot Linux. Across two months of testing, the reviewer hit zero hardware, firmware, or software problems.

“no one should have to hunt down drivers or spend hours reading Reddit”

Printers, of all things

It printed to all four test printers on the first try. The only machine that fought back over printing was a MacBook Air.

“the only machine that's given me printing problems so far is my wife's MacBook Air”

Big, but not a brick

At 14 by 10 inches and 3.6 pounds, it's noticeably bigger than a Framework 13 without being a chore to carry. The body is a plain, functional slab of metal.

The screen finally grew up

A 16-inch 2K matte LTPS panel at 2560 x 1600 and 165 Hz replaces last year's 1080p screen, which didn't look good. You won't pick out pixels on this one.

Leave the adapters home

Two USB-C, three USB-A, microSD, Ethernet, HDMI, and an OCuLink port for an eGPU. The gripe: both USB-C ports sit on the same side.

“There are a plethora of ports to help you leave the dongles behind”

Configure it to the moon

A Ryzen AI 7 350 with Radeon 860M graphics, 16 GB of RAM expandable to 96 GB, and two SSD slots reaching 16 TB. Max everything out and you're at $6,103.

A real full day of battery

The 80-watt battery, up from 65 in the old Pangolin, carried a full workday even though the machine got lighter. Benchmarks in Sysbench showed solid all-round CPU performance.

Keyboard fine, trackpad huge

Flat chiclet keys with little travel feel better than a 2025 MacBook Air but softer on a Framework 13. The giant glass trackpad is great for photo editing and catches stray palms.

Two honest compromises

The 2-MP webcam is fine for family calls and not for professional Zoom. And Coreboot still doesn't support AMD Ryzen, so open firmware purists are out of luck.

Nine screws, no tricks

Undo nine bottom screws, none hidden under rubber feet, and you reach the SSD slots, RAM, and WiFi card. Upgrading memory later is genuinely easy.

Pop!_OS stays out of the way

The Cosmic Desktop feels familiar to newcomers while hiding power tools until you want them. Tiling windows are a toggle, not a homework assignment.

“that "just works" stability you need to use Linux daily without even noticing you're using Linux”