Is this the best laptop you’ve never heard of?

MALIBAL is an organization you’ve got in all probability by no means heard of and the Aon S1 is, most certainly, a laptop computer that is not in your radar.

It must be.

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MALIBAL produces high-performance, customized Linux laptops for builders and content material creators. The corporate additionally creates cellular workstations for engineers, scientists, video editors, 3D modelers, and animators, in addition to cellular servers for enterprise purposes. T

he key right here is excessive efficiency. And earlier than I get into my ideas on the Aon S1, it must be famous that MALIBAL’s high-performance {hardware} comes with a high-performance price. The Aon S1 begins at a base value of $1,199.00 and the evaluate unit I obtained sells for $2,083.00. You will get the identical top-end CPU and GPU, which is the place many of the efficiency comes from, for as little as $1,573.00 (in the event you decrease the reminiscence and cupboard space).

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Aon S1

The MALIBAL Aon S1 is a customizable Linux laptop (running Ubuntu Desktop Linux 22.04) that is powerful enough to handle nearly any workload you throw at it. 

Is it value it to purchase a laptop computer that prices almost twice what a MacBook Pro 13-inch? Let me share my opinion on that matter.

What’s the Aon S1?

The Aon S1 is a laptop computer that runs Linux (though, for an added price you should buy it with Home windows) and runs it extremely properly. The specs of the mannequin I used to be shipped appear like this:

• CPU: twelfth Gen Intel Core i7-12700H with 14 cores and 20 threads.
• RAM: 64 GB.
• Show: Nvidia® GeForce® RTX 3050 Ti 14-inch WQXGA (2880 x 1800) 16:10; sRGB 95%.
• Storage: 1 TB.
• Ports: 1 x Thunderbolt, 1 x HDMI output, 2 x USB Kind A Gen 1, 1 x USB 3.1 type-C Gen 2, 1 x Audio Combo, 1 x DC-in.
• Networking: Intel Twin Band Wi-fi Wi-Fi 6E AX211.
• Battery: Embedded six cells polymer battery pack 99WH.
• OS: Ubuntu Desktop Linux 22.04.

Clearly, this laptop computer was meant for severe workloads and never simply looking social media. Not you could’t do typical, on a regular basis duties with the Aon S1, however that will be like driving a Ferrari to the grocery retailer. To anybody who finds the standard laptop computer underpowered, the Aon S1 is highly effective sufficient for absolutely anything you throw at it. 

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Nevertheless it’s not the facility that had me smitten with this laptop computer, nor was it the truth that it shipped with Ubuntu Desktop Linux (which is at all times a plus). 

Let me clarify.

The show

First, let me speak concerning the show. Though it won’t stand as much as Apple’s Retina show for colour accuracy and sharpness, the Aon S1 isn’t any slouch. However greater than something, the minuscule bezel actually offered me. Virtually each inch of the higher chassis is devoted to show. The aspect bezel is round 1/8-inch and the highest bezel is just one/4-inch. Due to that, the 14-inch laptop computer feels extra like a 13-inch, solely with a bigger display screen. The truth is, because the Aon S1 arrived, I a lot favor utilizing it to my MacBook Professional 13-inch.  

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Though I a lot favor Linux as an OS, I used to be resigned to the concept no producer can be able to making a laptop computer with {hardware} superior to Apple’s. And though the Aon S1 won’t have the elegant chassis of the MacBook Professional, it is each bit its rival elsewhere.

The keyboard and touchpad

I write phrases for a dwelling. Due to that, I can instantly choose a keyboard after a couple of fast clicks. And consistent with my MacBook Professional comparability, the Aon S1 keyboard blows Apple’s out of the water. Not like Apple’s keys, which really feel like toys, the Aon S1 keyboard has a really strong really feel that permits me to kind at velocity with accuracy. Every press of a key feels satisfying and dependable. This can be a keyboard that may stand up to a number of typing and by no means miss a stroke.

So far as the touchpad goes, it is fairly good. At roughly 5 1/8-inch X 3 5/16-inch, it is greater than giant sufficient and feels glassy and easy. Even higher, the response is unbelievable. There’s zero lag and the cursor strikes about with ease. Once more, that is {hardware} to rival the MacBook Professional — which is saying fairly a bit. 

Efficiency

I put the Aon S1 via some less-than-typical duties to see how it might carry out. 

Sure, I began with the same old duties of putting in software program, working an workplace suite, utilizing the net browser, and so on. However then I made a decision to throw some container deployments into the combination. Given the specs of this machine, I used to be not within the least stunned at how properly it carried out, even underneath a reasonably heavy load. The Aon S1 outperformed my beast of a desktop machine (System76 Thelio) with out blinking. I’ve not skilled a laptop computer that would pull off such a feat, however the Aon S1 definitely made it occur.

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I put in Docker and MicroK8s after which deployed Portainer with each Docker and Kubernetes environments. The laptop computer did not a lot as blink on the load. After that take a look at, I felt assured the Aon S1 may deal with something the typical person would throw at it (after which some).

The Aon S1 ran Ubuntu Desktop Linux 22.04 like a champ. 

The conclusion

Given how there are such a lot of cheap laptops obtainable, dropping over two grand on a 14-inch laptop computer may appear a bit extreme. Nevertheless, in the event you’re uninterested in buying laptops that by no means fail to underwhelm, it is time you go the other way. Not everyone seems to be prepared to drop the additional coin on such a bit of {hardware}. However in the event you’re searching for one thing that can blow you away with the way it appears to be like, feels, and performs, you’d be remiss in the event you did not take into account the MALIBAL Aon S1.

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That is going to be one of many first evaluate laptops I’ve ever obtained that I’ll significantly miss when it heads to the following reviewer.

You should buy the Aon S1 in several configurations from the official MALIBAL site.