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Linux on a 2in1 for Uni

Hello linix@lemmy, I got fixed on the idea of replacing my iPad with a 2in1 like the thibkpad X13 for uni since I use the keyboard with my iPad a lot. The only time I need to take handwritten notes is in chemistry, mathematics and to annotate PDFs. Does anyone here have experience with convertibles running Linux? What would be the best one for palm rejection and writing?

I was unable to find reviews on reasonably modern hardware. Until now I have my eyes set on an Thinkpad X13 since it is Ubuntu certified at least. Thanks :)

flashgnash ,

Don’t get a Lenovo yoga they kinda suck

Not sure about the ThinkPad yogas, only used a non -thinkpad one but I’m sure someone will chime in

From what I hear, ironically enough the surface pros are pretty good for Linux

PropaGandalf ,

You are right. On an university install event I installed fedora on a fairly recent model of it with secure boot and everything. As I have heard it works really well.

Cralder ,

I had a surface pro 4 with Linux for several years. The install process is a bit annoying since you need to get the custom surface kernel but other than that it worked great. I had a lot of issues with the hardware (unrelated to Linux), but I’ve heard that it has gotten better with the newer versions

rufus ,

I happen to own one of the Thinkpad Yogas.

Both are entirely different product lines. Unless something changed in recent years. I like mine. And I’ve seen the ones without the ThinkPad branding in a store. They’re cheap. But that’s about it.

krash ,

Surface pros work, but they’re not ideal for linux. Expect struggle during the installation, and be aware some parts of the hardware won’t work.

PropaGandalf , (edited )

I’m using a Dell Inspiron 2in1 and from the linux side everything runs great. In the three years I have this laptop I tried multiple distros and all worked fine. Besides that the biggest problem was to find a program to make handwritten notes. I really recommend Rnote as it has matured very well over this year and is the only option if you need an infinite canvas to draw on.

I can’t recommend you the hardware tho as it is really aweful. The trackpad gets stuck sometimes and does not come back up with the keyboard showing the same symptoms now, the aluminum chassis gets greasy really fast and the hinges aren’t the best either. Also you must use the cheapest version of all Dell pens because the screen is only compatible with that one pen.

tubbadu ,

I have a shitty hp 2in1 that really sucks, but for taking notes and annotate pdfs is good enough. In case you’ll choose KDE as desktop environment check out this kwin script I wrote to get a tablet-like experience

Defaultplace OP ,

Thanks, will check it out

fart_pickle ,

Hardware wise dell xps 13 2-in-1 is a good choice. However folio is horrible, magnetic stand is way too weak and I still cannot figure out deep sleep/hibernation. Aslo fingerprint scanner doesn’t work.

Another thing is that Linux is not the best choice for a touch device. I’ve tried gnome and kde and they both suck. I’ve also tried plasma mobile and it feels like nearly days of touch screens.

Prunebutt ,

There’s a quite active community of people running linux on surface devices back on reddit.

Macros ,

I had good experiences with the Zenbook-Flip Series from Asus. Linux support is great, build quality too. It even survived a big drop with only the screen falling out, but still working. I just inserted it again. Battery life is also great which is perfect for university.

Palm rejection did not work reliable however. I just got used to disable the touchpad with a keycombo whenever I started typing longer passages of text.

Daeraxa ,

I have a thinkpad yoga x380 and although I dont use the stylus or tablet mode very often, it works really well when I do. Running fedora 38.

Patch ,

Slightly sideways suggestion is the Star Labs Starlite, which is a tablet with detachable keyboard/touchpad stand. This might meet your requirements.

Defaultplace OP ,

I agree, this would be the perfect device. Sadly they didn’t put a digitizer into the screen so thee is no stylus support apart from the capacitive ones.

Patch ,

If you’re after something for digital art this probably isn’t it, but for note taking and basic handwriting it should be alright. They sell a specific active stylus themselves, so it can’t be too useless.

Neon ,

I’m pretty sure it supports mpp2.0 though?

shibbityshooby ,

Another thing to consider is it might be worth getting a cheap $50 Wacom tablet to plug in for that, I’m running a non touch laptop and that’s what I’ve grown quite satisfied with however I mainly use it at home.

KISSmyOS , (edited )

I have experience with a Fujitsu Lifebook U9310x.
My general advice would be, if you’re going to use Linux on a convertible, install Fedora. It has the best and newest implementation of Gnome, and Gnome has the best support for convertible, touchscreen and on-screen keyboard support.
On Fedora, the experience was almost as good as on Windows, whereas I had issues with Debian not correctly switching modes when I fold the keyboard back, not popping up the onscreen keyboard and not correctly rotating the screen.

Disclaimer: I haven’t tested Ubuntu because I personally dislike it. But if it’s certified for your hardware, that would be the first thing I’d try.

Hardware advice: Don’t get a Fujitsu Lifebook U for writing. The keyboard sucks badly, to the point where about every 50th keystroke simply doesn’t register. There’s a Lifebook E convertible now which is more budget-friendly and has a better keyboard, but it’s too thick and heavy for use as a tablet.
Thinkpads consistently have the best Linux support, so that’s what I’d have bought if I hadn’t got a 60% discount on the Fujitsu from work.

Defaultplace OP ,

Thanks, I think I will try a bunch of distros once I have the hardware.

Fisch ,
@Fisch@lemmy.ml avatar

I’m using the HP Envy x360 convertible 15-eu[some numbers I don’t remember]. It’s working pretty good. Only things that don’t work are the fingerprint reader and it doesn’t detect when you flip it over automatically but I just use a GNOME extension that allows me to manually toggle the onscreen keyboard.

CaptainJack42 ,

I used an acer switch 12 convertible during uni until the battery started bloating up and I put it out of order. The pen wasn’t great, especially the palm rejection was pretty bad, but that wasn’t a Linux issue it wasn’t great on windows either, overall it was pretty much the same. Linux ran great though, given that it only had 3 or 4 gigs of ram and a low tier i3 (I think 3rd or 4th gen) processor. I ran mint with KDE and I’d recommend running something with KDE (or gnome haven’t tried that since I prefer kde if it has to be a full DE and not a lightweight WM) as well.

rufus , (edited )

are nice. Palm rejection for the touchscreen works fine on my Debian Linux, ThinkPad Yoga. I’m not sure if I configured it or it does that out-of-the-box. Keyboard and mouse seem to be deactivated by hardware once i fold it over.

If you’re a nerd you could also learn LaTeX to take notes. I know a few people who got crazy fast typing maths that way. I didn’t, took notes during a lecture with a pen and did quite some of my assignments with LaTeX.

Defaultplace OP ,

Thanks for the comment, I use latex already for my reading notes but I’m too slow for the lectures. Also my profs like drawing a lot hahah.

glasgitarrewelt ,

Drawing with tikz in real time would be a baller move!

lynx ,

Thanks for suggesting RNote, i always use Xournal++ to take notes, but there are some problems and RNote seems to work much nicer with gestures. The only thing that i am missing is an option for saving pen configuration to easily switch between a black pen and a yellow marker.

ShortN0te ,

The thinkpad yogas (at least the models i worked with) work just fine with Linux (Except maybe the fingerprint reader but i never bothered to get it working).

When you need a software recommendation for handwriting/annotating then i strongly recommend xournal++. Imho the best there is and i prefer it over any windows application (onenote sucks balls). Have used it for 5-6 years now.

AlijahTheMediocre ,

I have a 2-in-1 Lenovo Yoga 6 13" that I’ve installed Linux on. I’ve given up on the fingerprint reader working. The part manufacturer doesnt make drivers for Linux nor do they provide the necessary information for someone to make one themselves.

the_tab_key ,

I second a Thinkpad yoga. I’ve been using the x11 version for about a year now and it’s fantastic. My fingerprint reader also works (kubuntu 23.04/10)

cdk ,

I use a thinkpad x1 yoga 4th gen with Ubuntu 23.10. Works great. Palm rejection has given me a couple problems, but only sometimes… I have not had time to troubleshoot yet though. I tried xournal++ first but was very unhappy, then tried the snap version of onenote which was much worse and landed on Rnote. Rnote is great!

x3i ,

Running an HP Elite x360 1030 G2 since 2018 and an Elite Dragonfly since last year, both on Arch linux and Sway (recently Hyprland) with full touch and pen support. Can recommend both!

RedBauble ,

How do you find yourself with wayland on it? Is it easy to switch between workspaces, or send windows to other workspaces? How about the onscreen-keyboard? I’m currently wondering whether to move from i3 to hyprland on my thinlpad yoga 370. I set uo a lot of gestures with touchegg on i3, I’m afraid of missing them if moving to wayland.

x3i ,

Sorry, saw the reply just now. I use Wayland pretty much exclusively since I switched all my devices to Linix roughly three years ago and I face no issues. Afaik sway is fully compatible with i3 config, so I assume your gestures should just work the same. Hyprland is a different beast, it is still pre-release, so while the state is impressive, do not expect super advanced niche features like gestures (check their wiki to see if they are supported). I don’t use an OSK, whenever I fold, I pretty much use only xournal++ which I navigate with pen and touch. However, there is at least one that I tinkered with some months ago and it worked, I cannot remember the name though (probably got it from the arch wiki). Lid switch detection works well in sway, so I assume configuration for it to come up automatically should be trivial. Again, definitely try sway first, this should give you the best experience. Hope it helps!

SGHFan ,
@SGHFan@lemdro.id avatar

Rocking a Galaxy Book2 360. Can’t adjust keyboard brightness, kernel parameter is needed for OLED backlight, and 3.5mm headphone jack doesn’t work.

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