Lenovo to offer ThinkPads with Linux installed

Are you a lover of Linux? Then prepare to swoon because Lenovo is partnering with the Fedora Project to pre-install Linux on a select number of its machines. This pilot program, known as Linux Community Series - Fedora Edition, will include the ThinkPad P1 Gen2, ThinkPad X1 Gen8, and the ThinkPad P53.

While many already run a Fedora operating system on a Lenovo system, this move means that the aforementioned devices will come with the newly released Fedora 32 Workstation Linux pre-installed. For users with other devices in mind, Lenovo could expand its selection of Linux-equipped devices if demand supports it.

Per Fedora Project Leader Matthew Miller, “The Lenovo team has been working with folks at Red Hat who work on Fedora desktop technologies to make sure that the upcoming Fedora 32 Workstation is ready to go on their laptops. The best part about this is that we’re not bending our rules for them. Lenovo is following our existing trademark guidelines and respects our open source principles. That’s right—these laptops ship with software exclusively from the official Fedora repos!”

Mark Pearson, senior Linux developer at Lenovo, expanded on the company’s involvement in the project, “Lenovo is excited to become a part of the Fedora community. We want to ensure an optimal Linux experience on our products. We are committed to working with and learning from the open-source community.”

Obviously, this move is huge one for Fedora. While many tech pros are at ease when installing or replacing an operating system, this can be an issue for users who aren’t IT professionals. By installing Fedora on its machines, Lenovo makes it remarkably easy for customers to customize their machines to fit their needs.