So about 2 months ago I made this post about looking for an iPad replacement that runs Linux. I said I wasn’t in a rush, but after thinking about it ever since and seeing the Minisforum V3 go on sale for just $1000, I pulled the trigger.
My impressions are still very new (I have used it for a total of 2 hours at this point), but I’m super happy so far. Installed Fedora 40 and almost everything works out of the box (including a Wacom MPP stylus). As mudkip mentioned in this blog, the volume buttons don’t work when the keyboard is detached and auto-rotation doesn’t work. The former isn’t a big deal and the latter doesn’t affect me in the slightest, but I can confirm those issues are still present on a stock Fedora install.
Anyway, there’s not a lot of information about this tablet running Linux out there, is there anything anyone wants me to test or any questions I can answer?
It is usable but I’ve been using iPad for years before trying Linux on a tablet and it’s way behind iPadOS in terms of ux and ease of use. The latest plasma mobile makes it more tablety but it still feels like a desktop with touch support. Having said that, I’m pretty happy with plasma mobile and can’t wait for further improvements.
That’s to be expected. Linux distros are barely just getting their feet wet in the tablet/mobile world.
I have no use for tablets, but if I did, I’d certainly go the Linux way and deal with whatever I have to before ever thinking to use Apple, Microsoft or any Google OS.
Getting back to the point. I loved the way iPad was integrated with the stylus (Apple Pencil). My use case for a tablet back then was to write/draw stuff I did “remotely” and export all my, let’s call it drawings, to mac and work on that. Today’s example. I was planning a garden layout. It took me way too much time to get the stylus working the way I expected and when it did I had more issues trying to export the drawings to a usable format* I would be better off with a good old pen and paper.
True, but it is also completely different use cases and they have different goals.
Windows on a 2-in-1 is also not as good as an iPad. They are desktop OS’s with tablet functionality as a nice to have. They will never be as smooth of an experience as a mobile-first OS.
The trade off is 100x better compatibility with many apps, especially FOSS. inkscape, krita, KiCAD, FreeCAD, coding IDEs, MATLAB/scipy, games, etc… They are all available out of the box without a mediocre mobile port.
The flexibility to functionally use it as a full-blown computer (and not reliant on a monopolized, centralized app store) is the reason you get it and not an iPad. Of course it won’t be as good as a tablet because it wasn’t made for that.
You can also say “the iPad will never be as good of a drawing experience as a dedicated high-end drawing tablet.” Like of course. That isn’t its function and goal.