What are some options with a similar feel? Good for travel, seems sturdy, and a nice screen? Samsung has a few options, but idk how's the Linux support on their models.
The 13th Gen (w/i7 only?) has a bigger batter so battery life should be better (a chief concern for some - though I am almost always plugged in). The new version also has an option for a matte screen. There's also an option (coming) for an AMD based system (eg better iGPU).
Almost everything is repairable/replaceable... and in a year or three, when I want to upgrade to a newer/faster system, I know I'll be able too (the upcoming AMD MB is tempting but my machine is less than a year old and I can't justify the cost)
However, if you want something with the horsepower of the M2 MacBooks I have colleagues that run the Dell XPS 13.
One company that always interested me in the Linux specific laptop space is Star Labs out of the UK. They seem to have a competitive offering in the Starbook line when compared to manufacturers like Purism and System 76. They also have a very small netbook style laptop but the processor seems pretty weak on it.
Depending on the power requirements, the last Intel MacBook might be a good option.
I'd recommend trying to install Alpine Linux as a challenge and it ends up teaching you a lot about the simplicity of the OS and beauty of OpenRC.
Otherwise, Debian is a very reliable and easy to use/install OS and well tested on Lenovo hardware. Failing that, install Ubuntu which has invested much in compatibility with ThinkPads, specifically X1's but those are expensive and cheaper models are often just as compatible.
If you have problems running wireless, the easiest solution is sometimes to figure out if your wifi card is officially supported and swap out the one in the PC with an older and more compatible wifi card.
Sleep and hibernate are often problematic. Find a workaround that works well enough.
if you're prefer long term usage, As you say, older model would less weird issue (Graphic/Wifi),
Intel cpu would less issue (My desktop Ryzen5 2400g was randomly freeze before, but that freeze issue does not occur recently, maybe half year or one year? I'm not sure it cause by kernel upgrade or I've change some configuration)
You may choose a old laptop that you're able to replace battery, ssd(avoid mount on mainboard)
my experience, I'm using asus UX31LA with linux mint (it was scrapped, waiting to discard, I've pick up from our accountant scrapyard)
intel i5-4200u
4GB ram (enable zram to increase ram space, you may pick a 8GB+ model)
256GB ssd (enough for me, but it depend on your use case)
replace battery by my own
it work over 4 years, and still working.
Personally I'd go for a MacBook and run Linux in a VM because I'm afraid the battery life on Linux won't be good enough.
If you can stand the look of Thinkpads they're quite durable. I'd give Framework a chance, albeit I've heard conflicting reviews.
Dell, Surface, Lenovo, HP: utter garbage.
My current setup is an old MacBook running Mac for travelling and a Linux desktop PC.
I used to have a MacBook 2015 running Linux and it was pretty neat, but Linux support is just not there with my current MacBook.
Old Lenovo X1 Carbons are <1.4kg and perform really well. Gen 7 or so can be had for a few hundred bucks.
I just bought an MS Surface Pro 5 to run Linux and the hardware is delightful. Less thrilled with Ubuntu/Gnome in tablet mode, but as a laptop it's rather good. AU$200 it cost me.
Other than that no other issues.
Wait a cycle then maybe do the same with the M2.
I use Mint MATE for my desktop environment. (Since about 2012)
It's what 'Works for Me'.
(I have never ever used Windows for my daily system. UNIX from 1991 to 2001. Linux only since 2001.)
I'm considering the X1 Nano Gen2 (Gen1 and Gen3 are capped at 16GB for some reason).
* Framework (easy to upgrade)
* slimbook (great customer care and support and the laptop are nice)
* Dell XPS
My little 12-13" class carryin' around laptops for the last many years have been a first-party refurbished Latitude E7250 succeeded by a similarly refurb Latitude 7390. Replacement after not quite 5 years because I finally got a tiny hairline crack in the LCD that caused some discoloration in the corner of the screen, from a hit that would have bent the corner of an aluminum chassis machine, and it was starting to struggle with running video conferencing at the same time as my usual workloads. First party refurb meaning https://www.dellrefurbished.com/ - It's a joint venture by FedEx and Dell, stock is "whatever they have right now" but there are always machines coming through, and there are usually coupons that make it even cheaper, so pick what you want and watch for a few weeks if you can.
As you note, going for a generation old machine not only gives time for the hardware support to settle out, it makes it _much_ cheaper: Both of those were around $500 for examples optioned up to 1920x1080 screens, the newer one has 16GB of RAM in it, etc., and I kind of prefer that the machine I carry around day-to-day isn't something I have to be super precious about.
In the two example cases, everything _except_ a Broadcom smartcard reader that I don't have any compelling use for anyway worked out of the box with little-to-no configuration, I get credibly 10-12 hours of usable battery out of the newer one (I'm running a full-integration KDE on Arch setup, so it's not light but it's also running active power management), and the 7250's (readily replaceable if I chose to) battery still has 78% of its design capacity after years of cycles.
...or if you want a truly low-end beater, buy an EOL Chromebook for like $50, flash a UEFI Coreboot payload (MrChromebox maintains builds for most of the common models) and hack on it mercilessly. They're low-end, but are fine at being low end, and the ones built for the education market will take a _beating_. I have one that I use as a media player/reference materials display when doing potentially destructive things like sanding/filing/paint stripping or what have you. I got it to do that as a Chromebook, but after it was getting concerningly out of date once the model passed AUE, I flashed it and now it's usually running some weird stack (currently Hyprland) that I want to try out on a machine I actually use without interfering with machines I do real work on.
Obviously if you want to run something heavy like Twitter or g++ or Gnome you'll want something expensive.