Librem 13 laptop review: physical security for the paranoid

Every time I've used a Linux computer — at least, a Linux computer that's not hidden behind the sheen of Chrome or Android — it's been the exact same story: nothing ever works right the first time. So I was both excited and a little scared when I was offered a Librem 13 laptop from Purism. The $1,399 ($1,537 as tested) Librem 13 runs PureOS out of the box, Purism's security-focused version of Linux. That means all the initial hurdles of getting Linux running on a system were solved for me. I wouldn't have to worry about whether or not my Wi-Fi chipset was supported, or installing the right graphics drivers. All I have to do is just use the dang thing.

WHAT IS IT?

LIBREM 13 SPECS

2.8Ghz Core i5 6200U

Intel HD Graphics 520

8GB of RAM

250GB SATA3 SSD

802.11n Wi-Fi

720p webcam

USB-C

HDMI

SD card reader

Elantech Multitouch Trackpad

3.3 pounds

The Librem 13 is a minimalistic-looking laptop with a slightly old Core i5 6200U Skylake processor; a cheap keyboard; a low-quality, 13.3-inch, 1080p matte screen; and a bad multitouch touchpad. On the plus side, the shell is completely void of branding, and you can actually open up the computer to swap RAM and storage, with support for both SATA and NVMe M.2 drives, and regular 2.5-inch drives. This customizability is rare in this MacBook Air-ish form factor, and I really appreciate it.

WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT IT?

The biggest standout about the Librem 13's hardware are two physical switches on the hinge, one to disable the webcam and microphone, and another to disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. These hardware "kill switches" are a privacy nut's dream. Think of Edward Snowden's famous request for reporters to put their devices in a fridge to block radio signals, or Mark Zuckerberg's placement of tape on his webcam.

The laptop also runs on the Coreboot firmware, instead of the Intel Management Engine, which is another big plus to security.

I'll be honest with you: it's all probably overkill for me. Good or bad, I just don't worry very much about privacy and security outside of good password hygiene. But I can totally imagine someone in a more sensitive line of work than me, or a few more things to be paranoid about, buying this laptop specifically for these reasons.

IS IT GOOD?

It's only in recent years that touchpads on Windows computers have become tolerable to me. The Librem 13's touchpad is not tolerable. Outside of the fact that the surface is less pleasing to use than the glass of my MacBook's touchpad, cursor movement actually feels laggy when I'm using the touchpad, and I don't know whether the hardware or software is to blame. I don't love the keyboard, either. It feels soft and imprecise to me, but this is more of a taste issue and I've definitely gotten better on it over time. Also, one time the “L” key stopped working and I had to reboot to get it back. Not sure who to blame there.

The bigger problem is Linux. Out of the box, the Debian-based OS looks great, and I find it very intuitive and user-friendly. It's running a fairly clean install of Gnome 3 for a GUI, and I'm a fan. You can hit the "Purism Key" (a rebadged Windows key) to pull up the “Activities Overview,” where you can access a dock, switch between windows and desktops, and if you start typing you can search among available apps on the system, which is my preferred method of launching apps, akin to using Spotlight on a Mac.

But while PureOS includes a GUI App Store of sorts, called "Software," I ended up installing most of the applications I actually care about through the command line. I'm pretty comfortable with "sudo apt-get install" at this point, but using dpkg to install a .deb file and then using apt-get to install its dependencies (I'm 94 percent sure that's what I'm doing, at least) is not exactly what I'd call "user friendly."

At this point I have most of my must-have apps on this computer. Simplenote, Visual Studio Code, Chromium, and Slack. I tried and failed to install Spotify, so I'm just listening to music in the browser. My system is perfectly configured at this point for me to do my actual job of writing for the internet, my hobbies of JavaScript and Rust development, and my actual full-time occupation of watching YouTube videos and Twitch streams. I installed the Unity game engine after half an hour of command line toil, so I can't even say I'm missing out on that. The big thing Linux lacks for me is access to Adobe Premiere and After Effects, but nobody is perfect.

AM I HAPPIER OR MORE FULFILLED?

No! Okay, so I'm pleased with how relatively easy it is to use a preinstalled Linux system compared to installing it myself. But Linux is still a chore compared to Windows and Mac, and basically requires a familiarity with the command line to do anything interesting. Also, a lot of what I'm doing on this thing would work just as well or better on ChromeOS.