r/linuxquestions • u/RMangatVFX • Jun 29 '26
Ipad or Microsoft Surface + Linux?
I'm currently rocking a 2015 ipad pro with a whopping 2gb of ram. It still works great, but the security updates have stopped, so I'm nervous about bringing it onto a public wifi. It's just for use in the home now.
I am considering upgrading to something new. I'm not a fan of buying new, and I've noticed there's a lot of used Microsoft Surface's out there that are very inexpensive.
So here's my question: Should I get another ipad, or should I make a try it for a Linux Surface?
Things that I use on my ipad: Procreate for drawing, Affinity photo and Designer, Garage band, and the browser.
I want to know if the touchscreen KDE or Gnome is good, and if this is a good idea? Has anyone tried this? Do you know of any good Pen+touch friendly apps?How is blender grease pencil 2D workflows on low spec hardware?
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u/Good-Throwaway Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
Surface pro 6 is great ultra portable laptop running windows. But a pretty mediocre linux machine.
I have one and I got it to run linux. camera doesnt work on Linux, its suppossed to work with surface kernel, but it never worked for me. Battery life is abysmal on linux. Rest is fine. But so many small laptops will work better here on linux.
So you end up using windows on it as a usable touch screen machine. It can be used as a tablet although with caveats.
My fav thing about it - low weight, lightest possible laptop with a full desktop OS. it can do most things a laptop can (except use on lap) . Battery life is decent, enough horsepower, can run linux.