Dell and Canonical have made the new Dell XPS 13 Plus Developer Edition the first laptop officially certified for Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.
The move is a continuation of Project Sputnik, an initiative that started in 2012 to create high-end Dell systems with Ubuntu preinstalled, built for developers and guided by input from the developer community.
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From August, developers in the US, Canada, and selected European countries will be able to buy Dell’s flagship 13-inch laptop with the latest version of Canoncial’s Linux distro preinstalled. Additionally, XPS 13 Plus owners can install the operating system from today or can wait until Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS is released on 4 August.
“XPS is an innovation portal for Dell – from its application of cutting-edge technology to experimentation of new user interfaces and experiential design,” said Jaewook Woo, product manager of the Linux operating system at Dell Technologies. “By bringing the enhanced performance and power management features of Ubuntu 22.04 LTS to our most advanced premium laptop, Dell and Canonical reinforce our joint commitment to continue delivering the best computing experience for developers using Ubuntu.”
The Dell XPS 13 Plus Developer Edition is the latest release in this long-standing partnership. Barton George, developer community lead from Dell, said in 2017 that the idea behind the Project Sputnik programme was to create an open source based laptop that appealed to a large audience of developers. The initial offering was one system and one configuration, which then expanded into an entire line of systems. This includes devices such as the Dell Precision 5720, Dell Precision 5520, and Dell Precision 7520 laptops.
What is Ubuntu certification?
The Ubuntu certification programme ensures that all of the components in a certified computer work as expected, so users can look forward to it working out of the box. Ubuntu certified devices are based on Long Term Support (LTS) releases and receive updates for up to 10 years.
The company’s certification lab tests hundreds of certified devices to ensure they work, and continue to work, to a high standard throughout their lifecycle.
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Certified devices also include specific software or drivers that differ from the default distribution where required. These are defined in a meta-package that automatically installs the optimal configuration of packages, drivers, and kernel to deliver the best experience on that device.
Ubuntu said that through Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, users will benefit from increased desktop performance with triple-buffering, more control over their power management settings, and intuitive new workspace layouts and touchpad gestures, as well as expanded customisation options.
It comes with the latest toolchains for the most popular programming languages, including Python, PHP, Ruby, Perl, GCC, Go and now Rust, as well as the latest versions of default productivity apps like LibreOffice, Thunderbird, and Firefox.
