I was trapped into a mystery for the past few weeks. You see, I like what Slimbook and Tuxedo provide for the Linux community in terms of making their laptops geared towards Linux. And I want to buy a new laptop. Now....their laptops look like identical twins. So I thought it is the same company that makes them but different brands. They confirmed this is not the case. One is a Spanish company, one is a German company.

Ok. Fine.

But Tuxedo told me their Infinity series, which I was keen to buy, was not made out of magnesium alloy like they advertise on their website, but made out of plastic and the magnesium alloy is steamed onto it.

But look, the Slimbook looks identical:

Even inside, ports, specs, weight, EVERYTHING!
Yet the Slimbook people told me: no no, our is FULLY metal. No plastic what-so-ever in the chassis.

Which one was right? Me, CONFUSED.

If they are so identical they must come from the same manufacturer....right? I then watched this video review of the Tuxedo InfinityBook Pro 14 and bellow someone comments that they basically buy these laptops from a Hong Kong manufacturer named TONGFENG Computers....and Tuxedo confirmed in the reply:

Now you can go on the TONGFENG Computers website and you'll see those laptops hk.tongfangpc.com/thin-6h1-ser… - they are identical to the Slimbooks and Tuxedo ones.

I asked the Slimbook folks if they get them from there and rebrand them, but they said:

I'm sorry, but due to company policy, which I'm sure you understand, we do not provide that information.

At least I like that Tuxedo seem more honest in that regard. Maybe because they had to respond to the claim publicly!?

Now on the TONGFENG website they claim that these 16inch laptops are "all metal design":

Look, it is not a bad thing ok!? Of course these are not German or Spanish manufacturers, these are German/Spanish companies that buy laptops and rebrand them. Then they sell them. However Tuxedo advertises the laptops as "made in Germany":

So, my thoughts are these: both Tuxedo and Slimbook buy their laptops from the TONGFENG Hong Kong company. They simply deal with the software side of things to make them more Linux friendly, and do some custom chassis/keyboard prints. After testing the Slimbook Executive 16 my feeling is that Tuxedo seems more on the honest side of things and those laptops are made out of plastic with magnesium alloy steamed onto them. They are not bad at all, and I may buy a Tuxedo eventually if I can't find better alternatives.

But they for sure seem not honest to me. None of them to be honest. If Tuxedo tells me one thing but one their website they write another....or if they say their laptops are "made in germany" while they are not....then....you get the idea...

I do not trust any company. Period. They are entangled with whatever they trade so they can never be reasonably honest. Maybe Tuxedo and Slimbook do want to do good things and I still have that hope. Overall maybe they are nice people, but they for sure are shady, here and there at least.

In a trade-based society humans will sell you anything, and wrap it to appear as if they do so because they care. It is an old tactic. But they need to care about their profits too, more so. So don't simply take it for granted when these Open Source driven companies tell you that they are there to do a good thing for the Open Source. Be skeptical of their claims.

Both the Slimbook and Tuxedo people provided a great email support for my questions. All are nice. The Slimbook Executive 16 was very well put together, but probably not by the Slimbook team, but the Hong Kong one. I am still tempted to buy a Tuxedo to test it, these next months, but don't expect much honesty from companies in general.

These are my thoughts.

I made a blog post a few days ago when I received my Slimbook Essential 16 and basically I was not happy with it. Now things have changed, some of them 180 degrees. But still not enough to keep it.

Why? How?

First of all, I need to take into account a few external factors:
1. I am in the middle finishing the TROM II documentary. I did not want to distract myself from it until April or so. I need to finish until May. The only reason I bought this laptop was because of a limited 150 Euros discount.
2. I work on many things, servers, stuff, including WebApe and I may have to take 2 new WebApe projects this month. Not a great idea to be distracted by a new laptop now.
3. I have TB of data and hundreds upon hundreds of packages and custom config files....moving them over to the new laptop will take me many many days.

Ok. What's up with the Slimbook.

The build quality I am still not 100% liking it.

I got used to it. It still feels more like plastic than metal to me, feels super light and all of that, however using it for the past days I realized it is very well built (put together). Not bending, no flexing....really good. I opened it up after they allowed me to, and that made me like it much more. Inside, everything is well organized and very well put together. Feels more like a metal build now to me that I opened it up.

It is also fantastic that you can put up to 64GB of RAM and has 2 M2 slots that support at least 4TB if not 8...This is crucial for my needs. Also opening it up was so easy, I loved it. Unscrew a few screws and that's it, the bottom cover can be easily removed. Great job with that!

Despite this, I am concerned that being so light and plasticy-feel, it will easily be damaged in time. But being so light is fantastic in terms of portability. Speaking of that, the charger is massive and will annoy you if you want this to be portable, which kinda makes it being so light, less relevant. If this had an AMD processor it would have made a lot more sense since right now the battery is not that great. Overall will last some 4-5h and I've been using the Slimbook app that allows you to switch to an energy saving profile. If you use the Nvidia card, even a bit, it drops down to half. Considering that batteries degrade quite fast, this is not a great beginning.

That keyboard...

I type a lot (I write books) and I need a decent keyboard. The keys are a bit too shallow for me, it feels a bit weird to type, but the worst part is that some key symbols are not centered as mentioned previously. After a few days of use I still did not get used to this. It looks weird especially at night when they are lighten-up. Looks like the laptop is tilted one side. The keys feel a bit "cheap" and not that "fun" to type on. Plus I HATE the numpad...I'd love a normal keyboard...big keys...centered....

The camera is usable or bad, like it is the case with most laptops. But probably no one uses them since all laptops have shitty cameras. And the speakers are ok.

That touchpad!

I hate touchpads - I can never use them. But Slimbook made me love their touchpad. It is an amazing experience. Smooth, glassy, HUGE. Makes it so easy to use it, even for someone like me not used to them. Great job with that. Tho, again, even that is a bit not centered which looks weird....

What about that screen?

At first I hated it because I thought it as washed-out. And it was, compared to my laptop and Sasha's. But then I realized it was like that only when it came to blue-purple....the rest looked great. Just so happened that the default TROMjaro wallpaper was the most obvious in that regard. I then compared the Slimbook screen with our phones and other screens and it seems that my and Sasha's laptops are the ones adding more contrast at times, for blue and purple. Anyway, the colors are probably more accurate on the Slimbook after all, but yeah many screens, many color variations...

In any case I ended up LOVING the screen. 16'' and a 16:10 aspect ratio, with those thin bezels makes the perfect screen for me. For video editing, designing books, websites, you name it. Awesome. I can't go back to any screen after this experience. So much so that this will be the first thing I'll look for in a laptop.

A beast. But does it matter?

The core i7-12700H + Nvidia 3050ti make up for a great (on paper) hardware. However for the day to day use, even for me doing so many things at once, it makes exactly ZERO difference. Even on my laptop I can have hundreds of tabs opened, watch stuff, edit, whatever. Could make a difference in terms of video editing and code compilation. Unfortunately in Linux the GPU is almost never used. All in all, great hardware, but unless you do heavy video editing, code compilation, or game, you don't need this.

Speaking of hardware....from my tests there is almost zero difference between a normal SSD that has like 1GB speeds r/w and these new M2 that have many GB speeds. Unless you posses hundreds of GB of media and copy them frequently....there is no difference. Just marketing.

Actually I'd say I have confirmed, for me at least, that fullhd screens are almost identical to any K screen for a 16'' screen. M2 SSDs are as good as SSDs for pretty much most uses. And the difference in power (GPU and CPU wise) only matters for specific tasks. The vast majority of those are ok for the vast majority of people.

Marketing....

Summary.

The Slimbook Executive 16 - things I like:
- lightweight, easy to carry around
- very well built
- great screen
- amazing touchpad
- great hardware
- perfect ports availability and slots
- easy to open and upgrade

Things I did not like:
- feels more like plastic than metal
- massive charger
- overall bad keyboard
- not a great battery life
- bad webcam in dimmer conditions
- bloody full of stickers
- extremely expensive

For 1750 Euros (1600 with the discount) I would definitely want a fully aluminum build, a good keyboard, and a decent battery. Maybe even a fingerprint reader....could be cool to have that and super useful.

I want to mention something unique and special about Slimbook: their support. You can talk to humans there, and they are super friendly. Many thanks for putting up with my many questions and helping me out. Stellar support.

Where from here?

I would like to see other laptops too. Lately I found 2 candidates but of course I will look for more. For example I found the Dell Inspiron 16 to be a great choice:

Comes in different hardware variations, even with AMD for some. That keyboard looks amazing from photos (no numpad). Centered touchpad and huge. All aluminium built, thin, even tho heavier.

The downside, max 34GB of RAM and I think max 3TB of SSD....fuckers...You can change these yourself but what I realized is that the vast majority of these well-built laptops have the RAM and storage soldered into the motherboard. No way to upgrade them. Such a fuckery.

Anyway, the second exciting choice is the Dell Inspiron 16 2 in 1:

Not as powerful as the Slimbook, but a lot more than mine. Can transform into a tablet and has a touchscreen. Although I may not use any, it is likely more solid since it is built for this. Sasha's is similar to this, but at 13'', and I love it.

This one too has a 32GB RAM and 2TB SSD limit...

I can find these on ebay from 800 Euros to like 1.400 Euros. Much cheaper than the Slimbook. Even new are not more expensive than the Slimbook Executive 16.

Anyway, I will package the Slimbook and send it back. Then I'll focus on TROM II and these next few months I'll look to see if I can find better alternatives. There is a slim-chance I will buy the slim-book again :) . It was very interesting to have it around to test, and i went from "I won't keep it" to "I'll keep it" a day after another. Last night I was almost sure I'll keep it. But I do not want to rush with this since it is an extremely expensive thing for me to buy. I don't want to regret my decision.

Honestly if this Slimbook had a powerful AMD and was around 1k Euros, I would not have thought twice.

Quick background: I want to buy a laptop that is really well built, easy to upgrade and repair, and portable. Has at least a 16inch screen and a decent battery, plus a good keyboard.

Some 2 weeks ago, after spending many weeks searching for a good laptop, I finally decided to order the extremely expensive Slimbook Executive 16. I was at first more inclined to buy the twin from Tuxedo because it was black and I could buy it without Nvidia, so much cheaper.

BUT.

The Tuxedo people told me that although on their website it says:

These laptops are actually made out of plastic and that magnesium alloy is steamed on the chassis themselves. What!? I made sure I got it right so I asked them to confirm several times. And they did. At best their website is dishonest, at worst they want to trick you. Which one is it? You decide.

Now, because TUxedo and Slimbook provide laptops that are honestly almost, if not entirely, identical (just check all of their models - chassis, hardware, sizes, etc.) I asked the Slimbook people if theirs are also plastic with coated magnesium alloy. They confirmed at least 10 times I think, that this is not true. Theirs are purely metal: aluminium+magnesium alloy, as stated on their website.

I decided. Slimbook.

It arrived:

Took a while but it arrived. I live in Spain, they ship from Spain, 5 hours away from where I am. Ok. Anyway.

First impressions were that it does not feel like a sturdy laptop. I have 2 to compare it with. First is my plastic laptop. Slimbook feels sturdier than my laptop. Second is Sasha's laptop which is a 13inch fully aluminium laptop. Slimbook feels like plastic compared to that one. I can beat you with Sasha's laptop for sure, and I could even kill you with it, then I am quite sure it will probably still work. But I can't do that with Slimbook. Yes magnesium alloy is lighter than aluminium, but idk...it feels like a well built plastic laptop to me. Which is not a good thing for me since I want a very s sturdy one.

So, the way it is built, for me, is not what I was looking for. I am inclined to believe this is "a plastic laptop with magnesium alloy steamed onto it", like the Tuxedo folks were saying. Call me crazy but I won't be shocked if the Slimbook people willingly or not misinformed me about their build quality.

Funny that they have a sticker that says "Protected by Magnesium". Protected...hm....

I don't know but if I were to sell laptops that are fully metal built, I would advertise that like "Chassis made out of aluminium and magnesium alloy!". Again, maybe this is a conspiracy I am creating inside my head but things smell fishy to me.

The keyboard is a bit odd. Some key symbols are not centered yet others are...

Not something that bothers me too much, but still an odd thing to see.

The charged is a fat-charger for a slim-book :)

It is massive. That makes this laptop not very portable since the battery form my initial tests, is not great with that Nvidia card. Maybe lasts for 2-3h...maybe a bit more. Maybe it is normal for such a powerful machine.

The worst part: the screen colors are washed out. Look:

I do not care about little differences, but this is a massive difference. My old laptop has a more contrasty look, a lot more. Slimbook is super washed out. I tested on Sasha's laptop and her screen is almost identical with mine. So idk which screen looks more like most screens out there, but for sure I prefer my old laptop screen and Sasha's screen. If two screens from two different laptops look a lot better than the Slimbook's one, maybe it is the Slimbook that's not doing well.

And this is awful because I checked the documentary I just edited the colors for, and on my screen and Sasha's looks great, on Slimbook looks not that great....what is it happening? Maybe this model has a fucked-up screen!? IDK...but this is the worst thing for me, something that if not fixed I will return the laptop. I can maybe put up with the rest, but not with this for sure.

Speaking of screens. You know I've been saying that 2k 3k 4k screens are a BS marketing unless we talk about very large screens and content to match that screen. Well...Slimbook has a 16inch 3k screen. If I switch between 3k and fullhd I can't really tell any difference. Maybe my eyes are not the best, but I feel like this is just a BS marketing thing.

Now...the screen size is perfect for me. I love the 16:10 aspect ratio. I love how light it is. I like how it looks and I despise those many stickers. The webcam is decent, the speakers are great. I can't open it to look inside because they added a sticker to one of the screws to stop you from doing that and I am concerned I can't return it if I open it up. Speaking of that, the bottom part of the chassis feels like pure plastic to me. Quite flimsy even when it is attached to the laptop.

Overall this laptop is a monster in terms of hardware. That's fantastic. But the build quality, although not bad at all, is not at all a sturdy one in my view. I would feel concerned to carry this laptop around for long. The battery is not great at all and if you leave it on the bed for example, the laptop gets super hot super fast.

I will test it for longer but so far idk what to say....because on one hand I LOVE the screen size and the overall size and weight of the laptop. But at the gigantic price of 1750 Euros....(sure I got it 150 euros cheaper), but at that price you expect a fantastically well built laptop that will last you for a decade. At least that's how I think.

Maybe that's how laptops are built nowadays....light, seem fragile....maybe I will keep it eventually. But idk...if not I will return it and search for a new one next year after TROM II is done. I may be inclined to go for a good Thinkpad or older models that were better built.

Let's see if Slimbook will convince me to keep it....I kinda doubt....