The Librem 14 is our dream laptop and we know many of you are looking forward to getting yours. In our last post we talked about some of the final tweaks we made that resulted in shipping being delayed until January. The bad news is that we won’t be able to start shipping Librem 14s until February, but the good news is that everyone will be getting our (as of yet unannounced) extended battery option by default! Read the rest of the article for details.
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@Kyle_Rankin, are you able to make an estimate regarding hours of usage with the 4-cell? (Realizing it also depends on the laptop configuration.)
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Not yet, but what I’d like to do once we can get one to David is to have him do a similar kind of video/article series like he did with Dogwood/Evergreen battery life, only for the L14.
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How does one determine if their order utilized both M.2 slots?
Yea, silly newbie question…
In the list of drop-downs where you can select which hard drive(s) you want, there is a drop-down for the primary drive slot (which is used by default) and a secondary drive slot (which is empty by default) if you chose to add a second hard drive to a system it would use that second slot.
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I’m happy to see a long awaited (and much anticipated) update. As one who wasn’t necessarily planning to use the extra M.2 slot, it is great news about the battery decision, thank you!
The post indicated that the 4-cell option would ‘cover up’ the second M.2 slot. Does that mean that it is just less accessible, or gone altogether? My order didn’t fill the slot but I definitely have plans for it, so how to proceed?
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It means you won’t be able to use that M.2 slot. For people who want to add a disk later on, we are going to sell the 3-cell batteries just like we were planning to do for the 4-cell batteries, so you can swap it out.
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the jist of it is that with a 4-cell battery and only one m2-SSD (NVME or SATA) you can get at least 25% longer battery-life when not plugged in the wall so that means more juice when mobile …
i treat my mobile devices as mobile devices so i will choose the 4-cell option even though it will be slightly heavier this way …
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@Kyle_Rankin Kyle,
will there be a Ultra HD version of the Librem 14 to be coming soon? 
Like it was with the L 15 v3 and v4. I onw the L15 v4 and I really appreciate the screen.
Will there be a 16’’ model to be coming soon?
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Good and not so Good news. I am happy that we get an update, but i ordered mine only with one HD becuase i already have a second M2 here that i wanted to add… the prices you are asking for HDD updates are just too high… i get the same size for half the price in a brick and mortar store here in Germany… So i have 3 options now, wait even longer till March, change my order to get a bigger SSD for even more money, on top of the money i spend for the M2 i already got, or cancel my order… all shitty options…
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So I guess we can expect the pre shipping address confirmation emails to begin in about 2 weeks or so?
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When you look at Purism products and purchases only with the eye of what is the most gunstig, you’re always going to come up short. Although with the Librem 14, the kill switches and 64GB RAM are differentiating features that I don’t know any other laptops in its class are able to match.
You didn’t buy the cheapest solution and instead went with Purism. Does an extra month really change that much when the end product is a 13" sized laptop with a 14" screen, 64gb RAM, and kill switches is the end product?
Yes, i did not buy the Cheapest solution because i like the idea of Purism and the Product. But than, i ordered a laptop for work. I am a freelance Photojournalist and i need the machine to do my work (my old laptop just does not do it anymore). I have some jobs comming up in February(i did not have many during the pandemic, making spending a lot on a laptop even more problematic), i factured in a delay, so i was not realy supprised then they move the date to Januar, and i was not bothered, but now, February, and only when i change my order to a different setup (that i dont want) or March if i stick with what i ordered.
And yes, i dont know any other maufacturer with kill swithces. True.
But you can get 64 gig in a 14 inch laptop and disable wireless, mics etc. via Bios… have a look at the TUXEDO Book XP14.
And btw. the 64gig upgrade their cost only 314usd… compared to 509. And the 2TB drive only 338 compred to the hilarious overprices 2TB for 878 usd…
You see one of the Features i liked next to the killswitches of course, was the second HDD. On the other hand, the Librem 14 was a compromise for me from the beginning. The only have US keyboard layouts, and i would miss a Thunderbolt port, but i was fine with theese compromises :). But removing the Second HDD drive slot is for me at least a big Issue.
To sum it up, it they can promise, to deliver the librem 14 in February, and offer to chip in the 3 cell battery later on, it is still an option for me. But otherwise, i sadley have to get my self a Tuxedo book i guess…
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As for me, I can say, that the problem with purism is the lack of, say, schedule-ability, reliability of deliverance and the like, that do not meet my business-requirement needs in terms of planning.
I, in the first place, buy Purism, because I like privacy and want my devices to be loyal instead of spying at me.
That is a unique selling point with Purism.
But my enthusiasm for privacy does not exculpates me from having a work and project schedule in my business that I need to stick to.
So when I plan to buy a device, it is because I NEED THIS DEVICE it in a given amount of time. And I NEED to rely on a delivery schedule.
Instead, what I get is a shop website, that simply does not work. That showes devices in stock, that are actually sold out.
It —> SILENTLY <— cancels my order w/o sending a mail, w/o telling my anything!
No warning, nothing. Just no communication at all!!!
I mean, really, this is the utmost umprofessional thing a shop could do!
I feel so betrayed and so annoyed, I hardly find words for it!
So, urgently needing a device, I consider the Librem 14 now, but I get no information as of when it will be shipped!
I would really love to have another UltraHD screen, but asking Purism for it, I’m just being ignored.
Asing Pursim if they plan for a Librem 15’’ successor (like 15’’, 16’’ …) I get no information either.
Bottomline: I need to fill my business schedules and need reliablity in schedule from my suppliers. Privacy alone does not pay my bills … 
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So a few things you may or may not know. But Tuxedo while offering many fine laptops and computers, is basically System76 in Europe. As such the models they sell are just clevo models. They are not making customs models, specific to their brand. As such they do not have physical kill switches. (Software and hardware kill switches are two different things)
Because they are not fabricating their own laptops, they are able to offer things at lower prices. This is because they don’t have to pay Clevo to alter their fabrication lines for their models. It really isn’t a fair comparison.
However, the price is a valid concern. Just know that buying from Purism funds their entire social purpose efforts. If those are important to you, there is that.
I would contact support and share your concerns there.
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I can understand your frustration, but you have to understand that a technology company cannot always just share information with you. It can affect A LOT of things, that perhaps you don’t see. Maybe they are not ready to talk about a successor to the Librem 15 line because they still have Librem 15s in stock they are trying to liquidate.
Remember too, that unlike almost all of the other Linux hardware manufacturers, Purism is having their laptops custom made. They design the things and have them fabricated. This is a step above what most are offering. It is why they have hardware kill switches, etc.
That there are changes like this in nature, do not surprise me.
In fact, I would not be surprised if the move to a 4 cell battery is really because they can’t get the 3 cell batteries at the moment, and know that their customers can’t stomach much more in the way of delays.
They are at the mercy of a supply chain, and while there really isn’t anything they can do about that, they are doing what they can to help us understand.
Also I am not saying this is 100% what is happening. Just an idea.
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No, they have no Librem 15 in stock any more, because I asked support for it. Also no refurbished in stock.
I would literally kill for a Librem 15 v4 right now, really. For otherwise, I need to go to the mart on monday and get me a f’ing Acer.
Starting up a hardware business from scratch is not an easy task, that’s for sure. But they really need to improve customer communication. Cancelling an order is no way of doing things, really.
Of course they can not just share information of technical details, for that in especially would affect SECURITY - the item they aim towards. I’m aware of that.
And I’m really gratefull, they do the job. Be it as difficult and ingrate as it is.
I really hope, that the Purism community and the market for Librem grows really fast and that chip manufacturers will some day in the future contend to supply Pursim with privacy-certified hardware.
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My personal guess: no.
I think the Librem 14, for the foreseeable future, will be the only laptop line of Purism.
It’s the compromise between 13 and 15, with the case size of 13 and the screen “almost” 15.
The hope is that most customers can live with that.
For Purism that means more production volume, less overhead, possible better margins/profits and the chance on lower end customer prices.
For a similar reason, I assume they currently don’t offer international keyboard layouts.
Which I’d hope come back at some point, as I don’t see me typing on a US layout …
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I understand your situation. I would recommend you to buy in the mean time until the Librem 14 arrives an old used laptop. You can get those with SSD and 8GB RAM for 100-200$. Anyway if you work professionally you would need a backup device. I would recommend a:
ThinkPad T420, T520, T430, T530, T440, T440s, T440p, T540p
Or Elitebook 8460p, 8560p, 8470p, 8570p, 840 G1, 850 G1
For best use with Linux I would recommend to buy a device with Intel graphics only. If you want a good display the 15" are better or the FHD 14 or 15" from the 4th core i generation.
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