Star Labs Systems, a UK-based Linux hardware startup, has finally launched the StarFighter laptop — a high-performance laptop built with premium materials and designed primarily to run a Linux operating system. This laptop starts at $1,878, with a 16-inch 165Hz QHD matte display paired with an Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and 32GB of LPDDR5x memory. The laptops are also available with higher specifications — either an Intel Core Ultra 9 285H with a 4K 120Hz matte display and 64GB of LPDDR5x RAM for $2,843 or an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS with the same display and memory configuration.

Unfortunately, the StarFighter uses soldered RAM, so users cannot upgrade it down the road, but you can upgrade its storage if you need more space down the road.

This device had to go through a grueling journey, having been first announced on the r/linuxhardware subreddit in November 2022 with either an Intel 12th-gen or Ryzen 6000 series processor and an estimated delivery timeline of three to four months. The next update arrived in February 2023, when the lead time was extended by another four to five months, with some community members commenting on their doubts about Star Labs’ ability to deliver. It seemed that the startup is based out of a barn in rural England, some 30 miles southeast of London, run by “a bunch of geeks” who were complaining about running Linux on laptops that weren’t designed for it.

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The commenters’ concerns were valid, especially as the timeline for the StarFighter laptop kept on extending. Star Labs Systems’ production updates only went back as far as July 2025, when they apologized for the delays on the January 2025 pre-orders. They expected to deliver the StarFighter some three to five months from that date, but had issues with the production facility they initially contracted to build the laptop.

After going back to their original supplier, everything went back on track with multiple updates every month regarding the progress of the device. The first batch of StarFighters finally arrived in January 2026, some six months late for those who pre-ordered early last year. As the company has fulfilled the early orders, it seems that it’s launching the laptop for sale to the general public.

The StarFighter Linux laptop will compete against other Linux-focused designs from Framework, Tuxedo Computers, and Slimbook. And while they might be a small company operating way outside of the city, the industry is in sore need of more laptops built around Linux, especially as gaming and Steam is pushing more users into this family of open-source operating systems.

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Jowi Morales is a tech enthusiast with years of experience working in the industry. He’s been writing with several tech publications since 2021, where he’s been interested in tech hardware and consumer electronics.