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Update: Dell XPS 13 laptop, developer edition – Sputnik Gen 4

—

by

Barton George
in

We have been getting a ton of questions around the 4th generation Sputnik (XPS13 Sputnik_Sticker_Finallaptop, developer edition) and when it will be available.  As you may have seen, last week at Sundance we broke the news of our brand new Dell Precision M3800, developer edition pre-loaded with Ubuntu.

The XPS 13 isn’t far behind. We’re getting close and will have more to share soon but ultimately are spending time making sure everything works to provide the best customer experience possible.  A word of caution, if you purchase the Windows version of the new XPS 13 and try to load Ubuntu on it you will run into a few issues that we are currently addressing.

Please realize this DOES NOT AFFECT the Windows version of the XPS 13 laptop that recently launched.

Stay tuned for more updates soon.

The Reviews are in

XPS 13:  For your reference here are just a handful of awesome reviews that the Windows version of the recently launched XPS 13 laptop has garnered.  (The developer edition is based off this.)

  • Dell’s New XPS 13 Laptop Makes Me Seriously Regret My MacBook Air Purchase – Forbes
  • The MacBook Air Meets its Match – Wall Street Journal
  • Stunning screen, compact design make XPS 13 the first great laptop of 2015 – CNET
  • Dell’s Gorgeous New Windows Laptop Has An Amazing Screen And Is Cheaper Than The MacBook Air – Business Insider
  • Dell puts Apple’s MacBook Air on notice at CES – FOX News
  • Dell XPS 13 Boasts Thinnest Screen Bezel Ever – LAPTOP Mag
  • Dell’s New XPS 13 Sounds Like The Laptop Of My Dreams – Gizmodo

M3800 developer edition: Also for your reference, here is a bit of the press coverage the M3800  developer edition received

Extra-credit reading

 

Pau for now…

 

Comments

151 responses to “Update: Dell XPS 13 laptop, developer edition – Sputnik Gen 4”

  1. intangible Avatar
    intangible

    Great news.

    I just bought the new M3800 with Linux for work but couldn’t wait on the XPS 13 for home, so I’ll be dealing with the known issues for a little while still it seems 🙂

    Reply
    1. intangible Avatar
      intangible

      So I’ve been running Ubuntu 14.10 on the Windows version for about 1.5 weeks. Figured I’d post my experiences so far.

      Current known issues (I knew of most of these problems before I bought, but was having to give up my old laptop due to a job change):

      Wifi: No worky initially

      Audio: No worky

      Touchpad: “Sticks” sometimes, and doesn’t work after suspend
      Video: Many display artifacts after running more than 20 minutes

      Keyboard: a key will “stick” sometimesssssssssssss

      Workarounds:

      Wifi: requires the bcmwl-kernel-source package (no big deal)
      Audio: acpi_osi=”!Windows 2013″‘ in your grub params will make your audio work (you may need to select it in alsamixer after rebooting twice), but microphone still doesn’t work

      Touchpad: the acpi_osi thing from audio makes touchpad work after a suspend, but no reliable answer for stickiness (seems better after a reboot), just carry a mouse until the Llinux updates are ready

      Video: Use xorg-edgers ppa, artifacts will be gone, but you may occasionally have to alt-f1 to alt-f7 after wakeup from suspend to get rid of black screen

      Keyboard: No workarounds that I know of, but just tap any other key when it happens to stop it (shift works well)

      All that said, if you can, I’d really wait until the actual Linux version is released so you can show Dell there is demand for Linux laptops!

      Reply
      1. Barton George Avatar
        Barton George

        James,

        thanks for the support!

  2. nobodyatwp Avatar
    nobodyatwp

    I do not want Lennart’s Linux, no matter if it is Ubuntu flavoured or any other Linux flavour. What are the options for a real Macbook Air killer with FreeBSD as an option?

    Reply
  3. Johannes Avatar
    Johannes

    What I understand there is no real hardware changes between the current Windows version and the Ubuntu version, right?
    The plan was to order the laptops last week but I’m trying to delay it because of the release of XPS 13 with Ubuntu.
    It’s getting more and more urgent and the question if you could say if “soon” is as in days or as in weeks?
    My current fallback is the windows version and install Ubuntu manually.. Or do like the rest of the crew, use a Mac. But I rather not be forced into that.

    Reply
    1. pfau Avatar
      pfau

      I also really need to know if ‘soon’ means days or weeks? I’m up against some deadlines and have been stalling in the hope that XPS 13 with Ubuntu would be out in the first half of February; if it isn’t, then I’ll sadly be forced to go another direction. I understand that hard-and-fast, exact-date statements are difficult to make, but are we talking about a release within a week or several weeks down the road?

      Thanks guys for all of your hard work; I know that people will always gripe about this or that (why Ubuntu, why no BSD, etc.) but what you and Dell are doing is heading very much in the right direction of choice and against monopolies.

      Reply
      1. Barton George Avatar
        Barton George

        Hey Pfau,

        Thanks for the props! Unfortunately we dont have an ETA for the fixes. We’re working as fast as we can 🙂 Hope to have good news soon.

    2. Barton George Avatar
      Barton George

      Hi Johannes, at this point we dont have an ETA. We are working as fast as we can 🙂
      Hope to have some good news soon. Thanks for the faith.

      Reply
      1. Johannes Avatar
        Johannes

        The order for new machines are going to be done tomorrow. I have 2 options that I see it.

        1) buy the xps 13 Windows edition and install Ubuntu manually.

        2) Follow the rest of the developers in my company and get a Macbook Air.

        To be able to choose #1 I need to know if the developer edition will have the same hardware when it’s released later on.
        #2 all things custom to the developer edition will be available for me that bought the windows version and manually installed Ubuntu.

  4. AndrewS Avatar
    AndrewS

    My credit card is still waiting on standby… 😉

    Reply
    1. Barton George Avatar
      Barton George

      Thanks Andrew!!

      Reply
  5. Chris Avatar
    Chris

    Good news. Will this new Gen of Sputnik support Fedora 21 workstation (or 22)?

    Reply
    1. Major Hayden (@majorhayden) Avatar
      Major Hayden (@majorhayden)

      It works with Fedora 21 now provided you can workaround a touchpad and sound issue.

      https://major.io/2015/02/03/linux-support-dell-xps-13-9343-2015-model/

      Reply
      1. Jøseph Kiser (@kiserjd) Avatar
        Jøseph Kiser (@kiserjd)

        Thanks for your work/contributions. I tried linking your site earlier today, but couldn’t do so from work. I’ve been loosely following the Fedora compatibility development as it will go a long way towards whether or not I get a couple of XPS13s vs. the new X250.

  6. Klaus Schwarz Avatar
    Klaus Schwarz

    Hey, will the 2015 XPS 13 developer edition be available in Germany as the Precision M3800 developer edition ist no which is a pity in my opinion.

    Reply
    1. Barton George Avatar
      Barton George

      Hi Klaus,

      Both the XPS 13 and M3800 dev editions will be available in Germany (and Europe in general).

      We’ve had some glitches on the M3800 side with getting it on the site but that should be taken care of next week.

      Thanks for checking in!

      Reply
      1. Batyley Avatar
        Batyley

        Great news! Will it be available in the non touchcreen version? It’s killing me that we only have touch with the Windows version here in Europe…

      2. Kicker Avatar
        Kicker

        Hey, today i was in the german support chat on the Dell website. i asked for the XPS 13 with Ubuntu. They told me that the new XPS 13 will not be available in Germany.

      3. Barton George Avatar
        Barton George

        @Kicker,

        That isnt true. It will be available in Germany as soon as we fix the bug.

        Sorry for the misinformation

        thanks!

  7. Marceli Avatar
    Marceli

    I already placed my order for the new Broadwell XPS 13 and plan to reformat with Linux the day I get it. I’m sorry to hear there are problems with Linux (hopefully fixed soon). Any advice on using Fedora vs Ubuntu? I was going to buy a Mac as I prefer Mac OS as my *nix workstation OS, but this hardware is so much nicer than Apple’s hardware, I had to buy this.

    Reply
  8. Linux support for the Dell XPS 13 9343 (2015 model) – major.io

    […] post was made on Barton’s Blog yesterday about Dell being aware of the Linux issues. (Thanks to Chris’ comment […]

    Reply
    1. Barton George Avatar
      Barton George

      Hey Major,

      Glad you got tipped off to this i had planned to leave a comment on your blog today but you beat me to it 🙂

      Reply
  9. Robin Avatar
    Robin

    really need to replace a few machines soon and rather support the Sputnik project and Linux in general, then buying Windows devices and deal with the install myself. – Hope soon means days 😉

    Reply
  10. Zane Avatar
    Zane

    I am excited to support the Sputnik project. Waiting to buy the pre-loaded version.

    Reply
  11. zanemw Avatar
    zanemw

    I am with Robin on this. Looking forward to supporting Sputnik… We need a simple… sputnikstatus.org site … just a simple index.html with Is Sputnik Gen 4 available? YES / NO. Ill just keep refreshing that page. 🙂

    Reply
  12. Amael Avatar
    Amael

    Hi,

    I’m also in the need of getting a new Linux friendly laptop, and I am interested by the new XPS 13 512G version.
    However my company require hardware encryption to be supported for the SSD. I cannot find any information related to that : neither Google nor Dell support seems to be able to answer this question.

    If anybody could help, that would be very welcome 🙂

    Thanks !

    Reply
    1. Jøseph Kiser (@kiserjd) Avatar
      Jøseph Kiser (@kiserjd)

      No idea about the drive itself, but shouldn’t AES-NI in the processor count as hardware encryption? If they are willing to work with that, you can reinstall Ubuntu with LUKS full-disk encryption, and use a passphrase on startup instead fo a TPM module to decrypt.

      Reply
      1. Amael Avatar
        Amael

        That would work indeed, and I will probably do this as a last resort. Still, it would be nice to have detail on the hardware we buy, and to know for sure whether a given feature is going to be supported !

  13. Daniel AJ Sokolov Avatar
    Daniel AJ Sokolov

    HI Barton, thank you for the heads up. You saved me a lot of frustration. Will there be a XPS 13 Developer Edition without a touch screen? I don’t want a touch screen and I can’t stand the glare. Alternatively, will I be able to buy a windows version and put a Debian Linux on it, once you have completed the fixes? Or will there be relevant hardware differences? TNX

    Reply
  14. Jens Avatar
    Jens

    Hi Barton, thank you for confirming the XPS 13 DE version for Europe! I wasn’t sure. Can you clarify or give some hints about the available DE hardware configuration(s), i.e. FHD/QHD, RAM, CPU?
    Thank you!
    I’m very exicted for the updated XPS 13 Developer Edition 🙂

    Reply
  15. darkblackcorner Avatar
    darkblackcorner

    Are there any plans to package the patches, so that they can be installed on compatible systems (xubuntu/debian)?
    What about completely different distros (arch/fedora)?

    Reply
    1. Jack Ryan Avatar
      Jack Ryan

      This is my main issue with this whole Sputnik project. They don’t provide clear instructions, PPAs, packages, etc. after installing a fresh copy of Xubuntu or even regular Ubuntu to get everything working.

      The original Sputnik had a PPA to install non-mainline drivers but configuration instructions on how Dell set up their factory install doesn’t exist. There’s some vague splattering of information on Dells website but they’re severly outdated or not at all clear.

      For people who plan on even installing Ubuntu themselves on these Dell notebooks, aren’t better off than just going with any other OEM.

      Reply
    2. Barton George Avatar
      Barton George

      @darkblackcorner,

      Yep the plan is to package the patches so others can benefit

      thanks!

      Reply
      1. vect0r Avatar
        vect0r

        And when (and also where) would this be available for the public?
        I would like to use Kali Linux / clean debian on it.
        Is the 4.0 Linux-Kernel required, or could I use also the original Kali Kernel (actually 3.19)?

  16. Daniel Avatar
    Daniel

    Thanks for the post. I’ll be buying this the minute it’s available.

    Reply
  17. zanemw Avatar
    zanemw

    Hi Barton, are we days, weeks or months out from a release?

    Reply
    1. Paul Bivol Avatar
      Paul Bivol

      I think you meant to ask if it will arrive soon, in the near future or before long.

      Reply
  18. Ubuntu-blogi » Blog Archive » Uusia Ubuntu-tuotteita: Dell-tehokannettava ja Bq-puhelin

    […] odotellaan tietoja Dell XPS 13 Developer Editionin uusimmasta versiosta, jonka ei pitäisi tulla kovin paljon M3800:aa perässä. Odotettavissa on markkinoiden paras Ultrabook virallisella […]

    Reply
  19. K. Avatar
    K.

    Still waiting, how well Linux will be supported on that very nice XPS…

    A general remark: I would love to see Dell supporting Linux and open source much more. Dell could get a lot of positive attention and praise from the open source community, and – of course – a lot of new customers.

    And it would be even greater, if Dell would also do more for workers in China. See f.i.:
    http://www.chinalaborwatch.org/report/49#10
    Allthough this example is from 2011… I am sure, a lot of people would be happy to see that Dell really cares for better working conditions…

    Reply
  20. Nara Avatar
    Nara

    Hi Barton,

    Did you guys stop shipping XPS13 developer laptop edition? My friends bought the same couple of weeks back,and I was planning to buy one, however, your customer rep appeared little rude, when i was looking for help. Hence,I am reconsidering my thought.

    Posting the transcript, for anyone else to see.

    8:49:47 AM Customer Nara
    Initial Question/Comment: .
    8:50:18 AM System System
    Thanks for choosing Chat to assist you in making your purchase on Dell.com. A Dell.com Chat Expert will be with you shortly. Check out current deals at http://deals.dell.com/.
    8:50:50 AM System System
    We apologize for the delay. Due to high volumes, we are experiencing slightly longer wait times. A Dell.com Chat Expert will be with you as soon as possible. Check out current deals at http://deals.dell.com/.
    8:51:24 AM System System
    You are now being connected to an agent. Thank you for using Dell Chat
    8:51:24 AM System System
    Connected with TIP_SUP_Darwin D
    8:51:24 AM Agent TIP_SUP_Darwin D
    Welcome to Dell US Chat! My name is Darwin and I will be your Home System Sales Chat Expert. I can be reached at US_DHS_CHAT_REPLY@DELL.COM . How may I help you with your purchase today?
    8:51:29 AM Agent TIP_SUP_Darwin D
    Hi there..How are you doing today ? I hope everything is doing fine.
    8:52:04 AM Customer Nara
    hello
    8:52:12 AM Agent TIP_SUP_Darwin D
    How may I assist you today?
    8:52:19 AM Customer Nara
    My name is Nara, and i am looking to buy xps 13 laptop
    8:52:35 AM Customer Nara
    However, i wanted to buy the one with ubuntu
    8:52:46 AM Agent TIP_SUP_Darwin D
    I’m really glad that you chatted in today and I am happy to assist you ..
    8:53:08 AM Agent TIP_SUP_Darwin D
    We no longer offer laptops or desktop with this kind of Operating system, if you need Linux you need to refer to our Small Business site dept. for this matter since they still offer is as an option on to their laptops and desktops..
    8:54:15 AM Customer Nara
    really, i thought dell had xps developer edition?
    8:54:37 AM Agent TIP_SUP_Darwin D
    Please refer to this linl
    8:54:43 AM Agent TIP_SUP_Darwin D
    *** link
    8:54:49 AM Agent TIP_SUP_Darwin D
    http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/
    8:56:01 AM Agent TIP_SUP_Darwin D
    I do not intend to rush you, are you getting my messages and are we still connected?
    8:56:22 AM Customer Nara
    I do not understand this. Dell have XPS developer edition version
    8:56:42 AM Agent TIP_SUP_Darwin D
    We no longer offer laptops or desktop with this kind of Operating system, if you need Linux you need to refer to our Small Business site dept. for this matter since they still offer is as an option on to their laptops and desktops.
    8:57:12 AM Customer Nara
    Please tell me how do i select the linux version of xps 13 from the website you gave?
    8:57:24 AM Agent TIP_SUP_Darwin D
    It is not an OPTION!!!!
    8:57:39 AM Agent TIP_SUP_Darwin D
    Can you comprehend!
    8:58:09 AM Customer Nara
    are you stating dell doesnt offer linux laptop anymore?
    8:58:29 AM Agent TIP_SUP_Darwin D
    Can you read what I have posted twice??
    It was a pleasant experience chatting with you. Please be the first one to disconnect the chat.

    Reply
    1. Barton George Avatar
      Barton George

      Wow Nara, I really apologize.

      Which country are you in and ill post a link for you.

      thanks!

      Reply
      1. Nara Avatar
        Nara

        Barton,

        I really appreciate your response. I am located in Chicago USA and was staunch follower your project Sputnik. Clicking the link which rep gave me, I do not see developer laptop listed.

        Thanks
        Nara

      2. Barton George Avatar
        Barton George

        @Nara,

        I just checked the site [http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-13-linux/pd.aspx] and you’re right it seems to have fallen off. I have alerted the team and they are on it.

        Thanks for the heads up!

      3. Nara Avatar
        Nara

        Clicking the link you put in response – still says “laptop is not in stock, and i should contact sales rep”.I would wait until someone fixes this. Would i get some update from Dell once issue is fixed?

        I believe ordering the laptop should be straightforward process without any hiccups.

      4. Nara Avatar
        Nara

        I think i would wait, or buy a windows 2015 model, and wait until dell releases stable ubuntu 14.04 with all bugs fixed, to install them.

      5. Barton George Avatar
        Barton George

        Nara, thanks to you’re bringing it up we are working on this. (IM not sure the exact issue) Thanks for your alerting us!

        Barton

    2. Nara Avatar
      Nara

      Barton, your site is still broken. There is no way to order Dell XPS developer edition online. Called rep, they told us it is out of stock.

      Do you have an ETA for this issue to get fixed? From past few days, i am trying to order a laptop, and this is getting frustrating.

      I do need a laptop before end of this month. Other option i am exploring is to place an order for XPS 2015 windows edition – remove windows, and load fedora/mint as posted in major io’s forum.

      Reply
      1. Barton George Avatar
        Barton George

        Hi Nara,

        I meant to get back to you. I learned yesterday that the previous version of the XPS 13 was EOL’d when the new gen launched with Windows, which is why the developer edition is not available online. The next gen dev edition will launch as soon as we squash the outstanding bugs.

        HTH
        Barton

      2. Nara Avatar
        Nara

        Barton,
        I ended up ordering Dell XPS 2015 windows edition. I will be loading linux, as soon as all bugs are quashed.
        Thanks,
        Nara

  21. keithsunfire Avatar
    keithsunfire

    Any chance you’ll offer a configuration with 16GB?

    Reply
    1. Barton George Avatar
      Barton George

      Hi Keith,

      Unfortunately no 16GB offering this time around. If you’re interested, the new Precision M3800 developer edition comes with a 16GB option: http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/precision-m3800-workstation/fs (choose the “fully customizable” option on the far left and then on the next page choose “Ubuntu” under the OS.

      thanks

      Reply
  22. Jesper Avatar
    Jesper

    im looking for

    new xps13 design (sharp edge matte screen, sexy carbon, etc.)
    Ubuntu 14.4 +
    i5/i7 (5th gen)
    8 GB RAM
    512 GB SSD
    1920×1080 resolution
    danish keyboard layout (æøå)

    packet and shipped to Nuuk (Greenland)

    Reply
  23. Alana Avatar
    Alana

    I’d like to blow away Unity and it’s dependencies and install Xubuntu on this. Do you guys provide PPAs or a downloadable .deb package that installs any non-mainlined drivers? Also would the PPAs/.deb packages include any configuration file modifications you guys do to the default Ubuntu install (ie. trackpad, video, touch, etc. configuration files)?

    Also, do you guys support Ubuntu’s LTS Hardware Enablement stacks? For example, if you guys provide PPAs/.deb packages, do you guys make sure they don’t conflict with LTS Hardware Enablement stacks or will everything just break if someone tries to install the enablement stack?

    Reply
  24. Steve Avatar
    Steve

    I recommend calling Dell directly – I purchased online, waited a week and they canceled my order because of validation issues at manufacturing (confused about Ubuntu). I just replaced order and additional wait time.

    Reply
    1. Barton George Avatar
      Barton George

      Yikes Steve,

      Im sorry about your experience.

      Reply
  25. Sean Avatar
    Sean

    Still waiting on more info for the 2015 version of the xps 13. I have ordered the windows version of the laptop but I am wanting to get the developer edition if this is going to be made available. Have a limited window to get this. Need this info from you Barton.

    Reply
    1. Barton George Avatar
      Barton George

      Sean,

      We are still working on a couple of bugs but will release 2015 ver of XPS 13 developer edition as soon as they are squashed.

      thanks for your patience

      Reply
  26. Johannes Avatar
    Johannes

    Sorry to spamming the same question over and over again (3:rd time around). But I don’t see anyone else knowing the answer, and I see others looking for the same answer.

    Is there going to be any different hardware in XPS 13 Developer Edition compared to the current available XPS 13 windows version (EU) ?

    If that is not known right now, then just answer that that is not known and could be the case.

    This is my final question about this, promise =)

    Order for a new laptop is going to take place today.

    Reply
    1. Johannes Avatar
      Johannes

      Still managing to stall the order taking place, heat is turned up now so no more stalling. Promised to give an answer in the beginning of next week.
      Really disappointed in not getting an answer. Continue to find the exact same hardware question asked elsewhere and no answer even that you guys are answering other questions both before and after HW-question. Why not just tell the truth, you must be discussing the HW setup of the developer edition.

      I’m changing my mind every day now if I should order the XPS 13 Windows version and install it myself or not… Right now I’m thinking to go safe, and NOT get the XPS 13.

      Reply
    2. Helen K. Avatar
      Helen K.

      I totally agree with Johannes, it would be great to have some info on the European hardware, for me it’s the difference between waiting and buying the XPS13, or buying another brand as the touchscreen versions are too expensive.
      Thanks in advance and congratulations on project Sputnik 🙂

      Reply
  27. andrewklau Avatar
    andrewklau

    Australia availability please!!!

    Reply
  28. Paul Bivol Avatar
    Paul Bivol

    Is this the right place to track them?
    https://bugs.launchpad.net/dell-sputnik

    Reply
  29. Michael Steele Avatar
    Michael Steele

    Now I’m confused – I picked up an XPS-13 in November (2014) a month after the support blogs (and @Barton) said that the coil whine hardware and some other bugs were fixed and that Dell had replaced all the old/broken XPS-13s with new ones and stopped shipping the old/broken ones. No big surprise, I receive one with the coil whine and despite the year service contract I am told I can’t exchange it. Now after several months of using the XPS-13 with the factory 12.04 LTS build, it’s slowly upgrading itself into an inert chunk of metal – first the audio went away, and then videos in chrome. Then xserver got updated and now I have a single-user mode, no-GUI machine that I can’t even restore to factory settings because the net (and Dell.com) is full of contradictory information. I can’t find a Sputnik version of the iso anywhere online either – just some driver bundles that aren’t useful without docs.
    It looks like much of the dev resources are going after the M3800 now because it’s sexier to work on. Wheee.
    Not asking for consumer-grade support here, but throw us a line will ya? Who can we talk to or ask for help?
    Barton – I live in Pf, probably two miles from y’all. I’ll happily buy you a beer for some support love here…

    Reply
    1. Barton George Avatar
      Barton George

      Hi Michael,

      Im sorry to hear about your experience. Let me look into this and get back to you.

      thanks

      Reply
  30. George Anderson Avatar
    George Anderson

    Barton, any news about the Linux version for XPS 13 2015?

    Reply
    1. Barton George Avatar
      Barton George

      Hi George, we are still wrestling with the touch pad driver

      Reply
  31. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    Can you give us an estimate of when the bugs will be fixed? With all the new laptops that have been launched recently, it’s getting harder and harder to wait. Unfortunately, the uncertainty and lack of updates may cause me to pull the trigger on something else.

    Reply
  32. Jeremy Avatar
    Jeremy

    I would also appreciate some info on whether the DE hardware will be identical to the Windows hardware, and if the Ubuntu installation media will be available for download when ready. Unfortunately I have to leave the country in a week and a half and can’t wait any longer for a new laptop; if there’s going to be different hardware, I’ll have to get a different brand, but I’d really like to see this work!

    I understand the “voting with your dollars” argument, but Dell needs to sync up the releases in that case.

    Reply
  33. rrcook Avatar
    rrcook

    Barton, can you speak to battery life for the XPS 13 running Ubuntu vs. Windows? On other computers I’ve dual-booted the battery lasted longer when running Windows than with Ubuntu. I suppose the manufacturer supplied drivers knew the idiosyncrasies of the hardware under Windows.

    Reply
    1. Robin Avatar
      Robin

      @rrcook: I’m running Fedora 21 on this device and get around 10 hours of battery life.

      Reply
      1. andrewklau Avatar
        andrewklau

        1080p version?

      2. Robin Avatar
        Robin

        Yes, I got the non-touch standard version from the MS Store

  34. rrcook Avatar
    rrcook

    Barton, can you speak to battery life for the XPS 13 running Ubuntu vs. Windows? On other computers I’ve dual-booted the battery lasted longer when running Windows than with Ubuntu. I suppose the manufacturer supplied drivers knew the idiosyncrasies of the hardware under Windows.

    Reply
  35. thomascoudrat Avatar
    thomascoudrat

    Hi Barton,

    I want to buy this laptop with Linux installed: however I live in Australia which might mean I’ll never get an easy way to get it delivered.

    I was thinking of buying the Windows version, and installing Linux once you guys fix the bugs that prevent it from working flawlessly.

    About this I have two questions:
    1) Will installing Linux (after formatting the hard drive and saying goodbye to Windows, no dual boot) be fairly straightforward on this machine (I have done many Linux installs, but here I am afraid of some locking mechanism implemented by Windows)?
    2) Will the bug fixes you are currently working on be made available? or perhaps be included in the main Ubuntu distribution? In other words can I benefit from your team’s bug fixes when I decide to wipe Windows and install Ubuntu on my machine?

    Cheers,

    Thomas

    Reply
    1. thomascoudrat Avatar
      thomascoudrat

      I did not make this clear in the above comment: I am after the Dell XPS 13 2015 edition, with Linux install.

      Cheers,

      Thomas

      Reply
      1. andrewklau Avatar
        andrewklau

        I heard back from Barton despite Dell pinging him directly (twitter).

        Sales guys in Australia say it’s not going to happen, so I just went ahead and got the Winblows version with one of their generous coupons.

        (They also seem to be selling the high end model now with an Intel wireless chip)

      2. andrewklau Avatar
        andrewklau

        *didn’t

      3. Mario Limonciello Avatar
        Mario Limonciello

        Our goal is that all the drivers and fixes will be upstream, but this won’t happen by day-one that the developer edition goes on sale.

        If you don’t run our factory image, you’ll get the current best results using a near tip of tree kernel (such as 4.0-rc4) on a stable distro like Ubuntu 14.04 or Fedora 21.

        We’re working on upstreaming all fixes, but if you can’t (or don’t) purchase the developer edition, you’ll need to follow one of the blog posts that outlines various fixes needed until we have everything upstream everywhere.

        Depending on what distribution you select will depend on if you have to disable Secure Boot. The current Ubuntu and Fedora distributions should have signed bootloaders that won’t require you to turn off secure boot.

      4. Barton George Avatar
        Barton George

        Hi Andrew,

        Sorry ive taken so long to respond. Unfortunately the XPS 13 developer wont be offered in Australia at this time. If you’re interested the beefier Precision M3800 developer edition should be available. Im really hoping that some day we can bring the XPS dev ed to Australia.

        thanks!

  36. greg Avatar
    greg

    holding out getting harder here, too. Will drivers be available in a download to put on a USB stick or something in the case of re-installs?

    Reply
    1. Mario Limonciello Avatar
      Mario Limonciello

      As should be evident by A02 still fixing things, we’re wanting to make sure the experience is superb before putting the developer edition on sale.

      Our goal is that all the drivers and fixes will be upstream too, but this will take some time.

      Reply
  37. rossjamesparker Avatar
    rossjamesparker

    Any chance of a “Notify Me” list for when the new model is released in your region (ideally) or globally (minimally)?

    Reply
  38. pgmer6809 Avatar
    pgmer6809

    I tried to order one of these, but Dell refuse to ship to Canada from the US and the Canadian Dell refuses to carry them.
    I even tried to give Dell a US address to ship to, but they refused my credit card and paypal because the billing addresses were Canadian.
    Can I buy one of these off of Amazon, and then download the Dell spin of the Ubuntu from either Dell or Canonical? It would be nice to get a laptop that would boot in UEFI mode without having to worry about Secure Boot issues. (Which I might run into if I just get one off of Amazon or eBay)

    There is no point in getting one if I just have to install a vanilla Ubuntu, and then go through all the customizing.

    Thanks,
    Greg Morse

    Reply
    1. Barton George Avatar
      Barton George

      Greg,

      are you talking about the XPS 13 or the M3800 developer edition?
      thanks!

      Reply
  39. Fernando Avatar
    Fernando

    Hi barton

    I’m interested on this laptop, is it already on sale?

    I’ve seen on the spanish site that you can order XPS DE with dino 13 and ubuntu 14.01 SP1

    I don’t know if it’s an error, I hope it isn’t 🙂

    You can see the screenshot at http://picpaste.com/pics/screenshot_2015-03-28-09-16-12-Ka5kTXvA.1427531680.png

    Thank you and regards!

    Fernando

    Reply
    1. Barton George Avatar
      Barton George

      Hi Fernando,

      I have just sent an email to our European team to find out

      thanks!

      Reply
  40. Salvatore Avatar
    Salvatore

    Hello George,

    I can see a dell xps 13 with ubuntu on the italian Dell website!
    Unfortunately, it’s an i7, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD, QHD touch not customizable yet (I would like to buy an i5, 8GB, 256GB, FHD non touch).

    Are there some news? Will other configurations be available for the developer edition?

    Thanks in advance

    Reply
    1. Barton George Avatar
      Barton George

      Hi Salvatore,

      I have just sent an email to our European team to get clarity

      thanks!

      Reply
      1. Salvatore Avatar
        Salvatore

        Thanks Barton! Sorry I didn’t see/read the post from Fernando.

        I think that it should be the old version listed on the italian website.
        It seems that the information provided by the Dell italian website are continuously changing and there’s often lack of coherence recently. Moreover, I found out that the information you get about xps 13, depends on the navigation path you follow. I m probably wrong but if you’re in contact with them, I think it’s also a thing that should be checked.

        Hope to see the configurable XPS13DE on the italian website soon 😉

        Thanks again

  41. Jesper Avatar
    Jesper

    the i7 QHD version is also now availeble in Dell.com (Denmark)

    http://www.dell.com/dk/virksomheder/p/xps-13-linux/pd

    I would also prefer the 1080p non-touch version with intel wireless adapter.

    Reply
  42. Ted Avatar
    Ted

    Barton,

    It seems like the release of the XPS 13 developers edition is getting close. My thanks to you and your team for taking the time to iron out the remaining bugs before shipping a laptop. I look forward to placing my order as soon as it is available on Dell’s USA website.

    Reply
  43. jesper Avatar
    jesper

    Hello George,

    I can see a dell xps 13 with ubuntu on the Danish Dell website!
    Unfortunately, it’s an i7, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD, QHD touch not customizable yet (I would like to buy an i5, 8GB, 512GB, FHD non touch and intel wireless adapter).

    http://www.dell.com/dk/virksomheder/p/xps-13-linux/pd

    Reply
    1. jesper Avatar
      jesper

      sorry for double post

      Reply
  44. Liz Probert Avatar
    Liz Probert

    This page shows a ubuntu version of the i5/non-touch xps 13 – but the page also mentions windows – is this the real deal or a mistake?
    http://www.dell.com/uk/business/p/xps-13-9343-laptop/pd?oc=bnx4313&model_id=xps-13-9343-laptop

    Reply
    1. Barton George Avatar
      Barton George

      It should be the real deal 🙂

      We launched over the weekend. We are waiting to make noise about it since when we launch sometimes when we launch there are a few web pages glitches.

      thanks

      Reply
      1. Liz Probert Avatar
        Liz Probert

        Thanks for clarifying. Have placed my order now, am excited!

      2. pneumaticyeti Avatar
        pneumaticyeti

        That’s exciting! I do not see an Ubuntu option in the US store though. Am I missing it or is it yet to be released in the States?

        Thanks!

      3. Barton George Avatar
        Barton George

        We are working on getting it posted to the US site.

        thanks!

      4. jerjongsma Avatar
        jerjongsma

        Fantastic news. Also waiting with wallet in hand.

    2. Barton George Avatar
      Barton George

      Awesome, thanks Liz!

      Reply
      1. Graeme McCaffery Avatar
        Graeme McCaffery

        I’m very happy to see this finally happening. It’s not available yet in Spain. There’s currently a discount of 100eur in spain that expires today:
        http://www.dell.com/es/p/xps-13-9343-laptop/pd?oc=cnx4309&model_id=xps-13-9343-laptop

        1/ Is there anyway to get this discount?
        2/ Can I get it in US keyboard?
        3/ Can I get the FHD screen?
        4/ will it support the USB3 4k dock?

  45. Jim Avatar
    Jim

    This laptop series is so close to being perfect compared to a Macbook Air. I had a first gen Sputnik but ultimately I got rid of it because of two things that drive me crazy about it. The first is the battery life is terrible compared to my Macbook Air with both running the same versions of Ubuntu. The second, and this is even a bigger issue coming from the Air, is the trackpad. It’s just as good as Apple’s except for one very important thing – the Dell model has the left/right click divider on the trackpad. Why does it need this since you can do two finger click? This is a usability nightmare since if you’re using your laptop in the dark, you can see if your fingers are in this area or in the general area and it’s a really frustrating experience. A left/right click area is so early 2000s…bring it forward and just have a fully available trackpad surface that accepts single and multi-finger touch input. Then this laptop will be the best to run Ubuntu on.

    Reply
    1. Robin Avatar
      Robin

      Jim: I just tried clicking with two fingers in the area where the left “button” is marked and it opened the context menu. Then I also clicked with one finger in the right area where the second “button” is, and it just performed a left click …so, at least in my Fedora scenario, the whole trackpad behaves just as a trackpad and that tiny line and lower sections do not behave differently. -just like it is on a Mac

      Reply
      1. Robin Avatar
        Robin

        ..oh, and I get about 11 hours out of the battery from this XPS13 9343 doing network admin work.

      2. Jim Avatar
        Jim

        Interesting, so that’s on the last released Sputnik? I assume it’s not the one we’re talking about here. I wonder what the point of the line is then and why not do away with it altogether? PC vendors need to innovate because Apple is kicking their butts by providing really desirable and high quality hardware.

      3. Robin Avatar
        Robin

        This is on the upcoming Sputnik Gen4 hardware ..purchased the Windows version in February and installed an Intel Wifi/BT and Fedora. …and I agree, on this device it is simply a white line, nothing more.

  46. Alessio Treglia (@alessiotreglia) Avatar
    Alessio Treglia (@alessiotreglia)

    Hi Barton

    Can you give us an estimate about the availability of the ISO image for the XPS 13 unlucky early birds please?

    Reply
  47. john smith Avatar
    john smith

    So we can install Ubuntu or Mint on the new XPS 13 and everything will work out of the box ?

    Is there any specific package to install ?

    Reply
  48. Frieder Bluemle Avatar
    Frieder Bluemle

    It’s available on the US site now! Ordering…
    http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-13-linux/pd

    It seems like the website is still being worked on, as there are still some pictures of the old XPS 13 model.

    Reply
  49. friederbluemle Avatar
    friederbluemle

    Spoke too soon.. Some of the images on http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-13-linux/pd.aspx are already updated, but it’s still referencing the old model. When trying to buy I get this message:
    “Sorry, but this item is no longer available for purchase online. Please contact your sales representative for details on how to order.”

    Reply
    1. friederbluemle Avatar
      friederbluemle

      I was referring to an earlier comment that mysteriously got lost when I logged in to my wordpress account..
      I said the US model is now available (thinking it was by looking at the pictures).

      Reply
    2. Barton George Avatar
      Barton George

      Hi Frieder,

      Sorry about the messy page, the XPS 13 developer edition should be available next week, fingers crossed in the States/Canada.

      Reply
      1. friederbluemle Avatar
        friederbluemle

        Thanks Barton. Can’t wait.. I keep refreshing the page every few hours. 😉

  50. friederbluemle Avatar
    friederbluemle

    You can order it now!! The website still says “with 4th Gen Intel Processors”, but the “Add the cart” buttons for four new XPS 13 models (w/ 5th gen CPUs) are active!
    I just ordered mine! 🙂

    Reply
    1. AndrewS Avatar
      AndrewS

      I’ve just updated my spreadsheet with these four new Linux models in the US (E-value codes CAX13UBUNTUS5130 CAX13UBUNTUS5103 CAX13UBUNTUS5122 CAX13UBUNTUS5127)
      http://www.andrewscheller.co.uk/Dell_XPS13_9343_variants.csv

      Unusually, the CAX13UBUNTUS5127 is an i7+/8/512/QHD+ configuration which doesn’t have a Windows (or European) counterpart.

      Barton – when I try searching for “Linux” on dell.com, it gives me confusing links like http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-13-linux/pd?oc=cax13w8ps5101&model_id=xps-13-linux&l=en&s=bsd which then says “Operating System: Windows 8.1 (64Bit) English” on the TechSpecs tab.

      Reply
      1. Barton George Avatar
        Barton George

        Hi Andrew,

        ill pass this along to European team (your in the UK, correct?)

        Barton

      2. Barton George Avatar
        Barton George

        Just realized the link you sent was for the US site, ill pass that along (we havent officially launched and are looking to address issues like this)

        thanks

      3. rrcook Avatar
        rrcook

        If you search on “XPS 13 developer edition” and scroll to the bottom, you get a good link http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-13-linux/pd?oc=&model_id=xps-13-linux&l=en&s=bsd

    2. Barton George Avatar
      Barton George

      hi friederbluemle

      Unfortunately the page has appeared w/o all the corrections yet

      Reply
  51. rrcook Avatar
    rrcook

    The four models listed have no customization options. I’m mainly interested in a no-touch i5 but with a larger SSD than the 128GB listed, preferable 512GB. Do you know if there will be more options in the future?

    Reply
    1. Alex Avatar
      Alex

      About the same issue here. I am interested in a FHD i5 with 8GB of RAM and at least 256GB SDD storage.

      Reply
  52. Ashkan PK Avatar
    Ashkan PK

    I’m really excited to see the new XPS 13 dev edition launch, but are there any details on availability of it in Canada?

    Reply
    1. mikelwrnc Avatar
      mikelwrnc

      Ditto on Canadian demand. Seems they really messed up the roll out coordination.

      Reply
    2. Daniel AJ Avatar
      Daniel AJ

      Hey Barton, here is another Canadian. 🙂 I highly value your engagement with us here! If you happen to speak to Dell Canada, can you please suggest that they offer a Canadian French or Canadian Multilingual keyboard? I’d even swap it out myself.

      Or, even more progressive: A Dell initiative for worldwide availability of various keyboard layouts – for a moderate extra charge and of course longer deliver times. Your customers have become very mobile. The market has become almost Babylonian. This is an opportunity for Dell to distinguish itself from the competition.

      Most language things can be changed in software – but the keyboard. If the number of keys is too low, no software can fix that. Me, I simply need three keys between L and Enter. And I’m willing to pay a little extra for that. 🙂

      Reply
  53. Jesper Avatar
    Jesper

    fantastic news! 🙂

    The i5, FHD, 256GB version is now available in the Danish web store. (small country in Europe with funny letters like Æ, Ø and Å)

    I am really exited about making this commitment and be switching over to something other than Microsoft, Apple or Google.

    Thank you Barton and your team.

    and thank you for listening.

    Reply
  54. lovesh Avatar
    lovesh

    Would there ever be a Dell XPS 15 with infinity display? With or even without developer edition.

    Reply
  55. Vipin Avatar
    Vipin

    Hello George,

    Following up on the discussion about the Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition available on the Italian website.

    I chatted with the online customer care and they said that the Ubuntu 14.04 OS is exclusively in Italian and that the user cannot change the language settings to English. Is this really accurate? Would 100% buy it if the change can be made!

    Thanks in advance.

    Reply
  56. vvarma Avatar
    vvarma

    Hello George,

    Following up on the discussion about the Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition available on the Italian website:

    I chatted with the online customer care and they said that the Ubuntu 14.04 OS is exclusively in Italian and that the user cannot change the language settings to English. Is this really accurate? Would 100% buy it if the change can be made!

    Thanks in advance.

    Reply
    1. Barton George Avatar
      Barton George

      Vvarma, Vipin

      Thats not true, Ubuntu can be change to a multitude of languages including English 🙂

      Sorry about the miss information

      Reply
  57. Dell XPS 13 vs Mountain Nickel 13: autonomía vs conectividad » MuyLinux

    […] Esa es la pregunta del millón de dólares, pues no hay referencia alguna. Lo más aproximado es un comentario en el blog de los desarrolladores -y única respuesta a una pregunta que se repite- que apunta a 10 […]

    Reply
  58. Dell XPS 13 vs Mountain Nickel 13: autonomía vs conectividad – LIDDIT

    […] Esa es la pregunta del millón de dólares, pues no hay referencia alguna. Lo más aproximado es un comentario en el blog de los desarrolladores -y única respuesta a una pregunta que se repite- que apunta a 10 […]

    Reply
  59. Garth Avatar
    Garth

    I have been trying to buy one of these in Austria since it was announced. But it seems to be impossible to get one with an English keyboard (what’s the point of a developer laptop without an English keyboard?). The best offer I got from a Dell rep was to buy the german version and then buy an English keyboard and swap it out myself, but was then told that replacement keyboards are not yet available. And of course this would be at my own risk.

    I also spoke to a rep in Ireland who said they they couldn’t post an English XPS 13 to an address outside the UK. No sensible reason was given, just can’t be done.

    I have been buying laptops from Apple in Europe for many years and never had a problem selecting an English keyboard at checkout. Even the X1 Carbon has this option (though no official Linux version).

    I’m hoping that Dell fixes this soon, since at the moment the only option for a Unix based development laptop in Europe is Apple.

    Reply
    1. Graeme McCaffery Avatar
      Graeme McCaffery

      I ordered mine with a us keyboard from the Spanish site but I had to do it via chat – it was impossible via the website. Because it was so difficult I forgot to order and extra power brick or insurance -so dell losses out.

      It was a real pain and would have been much easier on the apple site. The USA option should always be available – dell needs to get their act together.

      Reply
      1. Garth Avatar
        Garth

        There’s no chat option on the Austrian site, only twitter (which I tried), I also called them in person, but any way I tried they wouldn’t do it.

        It shouldn’t be this hard to buy a product that’s available.

    2. Barton George Avatar
      Barton George

      Garth,

      Let me look into this.

      Although online no configs changes can be made, an English keyboard should be possible to order offline (via chat or on the phone).

      Let me try to find out why this didnt work in Austria.

      Sorry for the hassels

      Reply
  60. Vernon Smith Avatar
    Vernon Smith

    I bought my developers editon and it arrived last week. Anybody hear work on the USB3 ‘dock” DL3100 and the video drivers. I purchased the dock, not realizing that the video drivers was an issue…. so I have just a glorified USB3 hub for now.

    Reply
  61. tabs Avatar
    tabs

    I purchased an XPS Developer Edition that shipped with the the A03 BIOS and I frequently get the stuck key symptom. This is very disappointing. Is this strictly a BIOS/firmware problem or is it related to the physical hardware? There is a thread devoted to this on the community forum: http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/19626873

    Reply
    1. tabs Avatar
      tabs

      Okay, I updated to BIOS A04 this morning and so far I have not seen this stuck key issue again. I will post again if I see it. Running xubuntu 15.04 my largest remaining complaint is that Dell shipped me a Broadcom BCM4352 in a laptop marketed for Linux.

      Reply
  62. Michal Avatar
    Michal

    Could you please provide the working Ubuntu 14.04 LTS installation image for normal Dell XPS 13, since unfortunately Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition won’t be available in Australia?

    Reply
    1. tabs Avatar
      tabs

      Just flash BIOS A04 and install 15.04. That is the best turn key solution for right now. Which is to say that 15.04 works a lot better than 14.04, especially around the trackpad.

      Reply
      1. James Morse Avatar
        James Morse

        Very interesting. My trackpad also is somewhat erratic.

        I am running the developer edition of 14.04.

        Q1. What is the best way to upgrade to 15.04 – Re Install, or do an Ubuntu Distro Upgrade Q2. Do I have to flash the BIOS before I do that? If yes what tool would I use? It looks like all the stuff on the Dell site for BIOS upgrades is Windows oriented and I do ont have Windows on the machine.

        Thanks, pgmer6809

  63. j Avatar
    j

    So bad I want to go back to Windows.

    Reply
    1. tabs Avatar
      tabs

      BIOS A04, Ubuntu 15.04, and an Intel 7265 Wi-Fi module made mine usable. I can’t believe they shipped any other way.

      Reply
  64. JP Avatar
    JP

    Updated to 15.04 and the Display settings have stopped working. There are no options for selecting the resolution and no effect when adjusting any of the other settings. Please help!

    Reply
  65. arandomeur Avatar
    arandomeur

    XPS13 developer editions seem to have been withdrawn from the German dell website (where I live) and unavailable to be bought from the .com website. Windows versions are still sold as usual.
    Did they pull them out because of the bugs?

    Reply
    1. Barton George Avatar
      Barton George

      Hi @arandomeur,

      The systems have gone on temporary pause as we fix a few bugs http://bartongeorge.net/2015/07/20/xps-13-developer-edition-on-pause/

      they should be back soon

      Reply
      1. arandomeur Avatar
        arandomeur

        super. Thanks for the info Barton.

  66. Christopher Bare Avatar
    Christopher Bare

    Nice work getting things this far. I hope the number of comments speak for the level of interest there is in a solid quality Linux machine that just works.

    Reply
  67. galgu Avatar
    galgu

    Hi George, could you comment on the re-released version of this laptop. Has all issues been really fixed? I am holding the ‘buy’ button until hear all major problems are gone.

    Thank you!
    George.

    Reply
    1. Barton George Avatar
      Barton George

      @Galgu, here are the recent fixes: http://bartongeorge.net/2015/08/28/recent-fixes-for-xps-13-developer-edition http://bartongeorge.net/2015/09/01/kernel-panics-when-switching-wireless-networks-xps-13-developer-edition-9343

      thanks!

      Reply
      1. galgu Avatar
        galgu

        Thank you, very good progress there!

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