Update on XPS 13/15 2016 Developer Edition availability

I am confused:

is this adaptor: 

supported on linux?

ANTOSECRET Your links aren't working for me, but I assume you mean the USB-C to ethernet/hdmi/vga/usb3 brick, Dell Part 470-ABQN.

Can anyone (eg. Barton) comment on the compatibility of this item with the new XPS 13 DE? Thank you.

Hi Alesfo, I can answer the first question.  Unfortunately the docking station does NOT work with Ubuntu at this time. thanks for your support!! :-)

Hi Barton,

Any way Dell can add a "Yes - Linux compatible" flag to the dell accessories page?  Would clear up a lot of confusion around docks, adapters, etc. 

Thx

We're working out on how to support our Type C docks, including the Dell Adapter (DA200).

many thanks for the work you're doing here with your team. I really like the intention of project Sputnik, however as long as I need to buy a Linux optimized hardware model only because of a ~10 USD price difference for the Wifi chipset, I still have hard times to see the success in it. If that Broadcom Wifi adapter didn't exist in the main 9350 models, there wouldn't even be a need to wait for the Developer Edition.

The only hardware change is including an Intel wireless card. Otherwise it's identical hardware. There's even an open source Broadcom Linux driver for the Broadcom card used with most of the Windows versions (most because the vPro models use Intel wireless).

It would simply be a software addon that could be ordered together with any XPS 13 model. (Would be too good to be true...)

Speaking personally, I've used Linux at home for most of my life, and my career is about bringing Linux to more users, so I definitely understand and sympathize with your feedback. I wish we could do this with XPS the way we offer Ubuntu this way on Precision, but we're working with what we can. Even with the way things are, I'm proud that we're the only major OEM making systems with Ubuntu pre-installed available online in the US. (I know that some other OEMs make Ubuntu available in other countries just like we do.) Hopefully some day, with more momentum from this project, we can be able to make more options available, but sometimes you have to walk before you can run.

Speaking personally, I've used Linux at home for most of my life, and my career is about bringing Linux to more users, so I definitely understand and sympathize with your feedback. I wish we could do this with XPS the way we offer Ubuntu this way on Precision, but we're working with what we can. Even with the way things are, I'm proud that we're the only major OEM making systems with Ubuntu pre-installed available online in the US. (I know that some other OEMs make Ubuntu available in other countries just like we do.) Hopefully some day, with more momentum from this project, we can be able to make more options available, but sometimes you have to walk before you can run.

I really appreciate that Dell is giving a voice to the "minorities", by accepting operating systems such as Ubuntu and payment options such as Bitcoin. I would have probably bought another brand if not to show my support to this open-minded business.

But, for the life of me, I do not understand how glossy screens are meant for developers. So please, pretty please, bring the anti-glare screens to the XPS 13 DE. My understanding is that will only be possible on the lower-end models (8GB), then be it, I'll buy that but please make it available!

Just FYI, this is what I think would be a perfect configuration, and I suspect many people would agree:

• i7 CPU
• 120GB PCIe SSD
• 16GB Memory
• UHD Anti-glare

That would bring the price way down and the customer interest way up.

Anyhow, thank you so much to the Sputnik team for the awesome work supporting Linux.

Cheers,

Hi NJCarlos,

At this point those are all the high-end configs.  Depending on popularity, demand we may swap some configs out but we'll need to see.

thanks for the support! :)

Hi Barton, any updated guidance on when the i5/8GB/FHD/256GB model is coming out, the one you mentioned previously? Thanks.

Hi Dellmeout,

The config we have coming online will be i5/8/256 FHD NT/Intel 8260 and it should be under $1,100..

What i meant by depleting stock is that we need to sell off the i5 inventory from the previous gen before we offer the i5 config from this gen (and we are getting pretty close).  We have no plans of not offering the i7 from this current gen.

HTH 

Hi TVTB,  I just pinged the team to see where we are at wrt bring the i5 online.  Stay tuned!

Hi Tormen,

We are talking weeks now, and not too many, before the next gen Dev Edition lands in Europe.  

thanks for your support!!!

We have no plans of not offering the i7 from this current gen.

Ah thank you for clarifying.

The config we have coming online will be i5/8/256 FHD NT/Intel 8260 and it should be under $1,100

While people are chiming in what configs they were looking for, here's mine: i5/16gb/128/qhd+. 256 ssd would also work, and matte display would have been a great feature.

To me personally 16gb ram (and qhd+) is more important than the i7, and it seems like in that combination the price would be around $1500 or less.

Thank you for all your efforts!

Hi Tranceash,

In the past our Australian team hasnt offered the developer edition :( .  Let me check with them again.

thanks!

With the 7510 and 7710, there're two bugs related to the UHD panel. That's the reason for the restriction. Once both bugs are resolved, the restriction will be lifted. There is no such restriction for the 5510.

Good to know.  Thank you!

I don't believe we test hibernation anymore, at least on systems with discrete GPUs. However, for what it's worth, these days I see little impact on battery life when using suspend.

Understood.  These days the need for hibernation is more for multiple boots than for battery.

One other question:

I've read that many Dell machines do not support Intel VT-x and even more do not support VT-d, even though in many cases the BIOS would report these features were enabled.  The earlier versions of the XPS-13 were notorious for this, and I've read conflicting reports about the new ones.  Can you confirm whether or not VT-x and VT-d are working on the XPS-13, and also on the new Ubuntu Precision systems (of which I'm losing track of all of the model numbers - a good problem to have!)?

Again, great work to you and all of your team!

Thanks,

Stephen