OpenBSD on the Tuxedo InfinityBook 14 Gen 6

$Id: tuxedo.md,v 1.3 2022/06/02 20:01:46 cvs Exp $

I recently bought a Tuxedo InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen 6 and installed OpenBSD on it. I will keep this article here short since Felix already wrote a good blog article on what works and what not. My Hardware differs from Felix’s laptop in the sense that I have Intel Core i7-11370H and an Intel AX201 wifi card.

Here’s the full dmesg.

What I like about the InfinityBook

I am using Thinkpads for nearly two decades and I am a big fan of their hardware. Unfortunately, in the last years they got more and more expensive while getting less and less maintainable. RAM is soldered directly on the board, Wifi chips cannot be changed and getting a 2 TB NVME disk right from the start is either impossible or way to expensive.

After having a short detour with a Framekwork Laptop I settled for the InfinityBook. Tuxedo offers recent hardware for a fair price. He’s my biased list of things I really like about the InfinityBook.

Display

The display is crisp and sharp and the 2880x1800 resolution is great to work with. This was one of the biggest advantages of the laptop since you get a good resolution for a fair price.

Size and weight

The laptop is very thin and weighs a little over 1kg, so a really portable system.

Connectors

You have all default connectors one needs for daily business, 2x USB-C, 1x USB-A and HDMI. Additionally, there is also a SD card slot which I have no use for.

US ANSI Keyboard

Although I am not from the US, I prefer the US keyboard layout. Usually, getting an US keyboard built into a new laptop costs extra money, Tuxedo does it for free.

Touchpad

I was used to Thinkpad’s trackpoint and seldom used the touchpad. Comparing the two touchpads, the one from the Tuxedo is light years ahead, e.g. multi-finger gestures work as expected. Very precise movement and your finger slides very smooth. Only downside: The touchpad sometimes stalls. I have created a bug report, maybe a developer has an idea on how to track this down further.

Caps Lock Indicator

Might not be important for everyone but I love to have an indicator whether caps lock is on or off. The Tuxedo has a small white light on the key and I really like that.

What could be improved

Since the device is very thin and lightweight there is not much room for a large battery. With OpenBSD and medium usage I currently get about 3-4 hours. This is okay for me, but 6-8 hours would be nicer.

One thing I also miss in a visible indicator when the device is put to sleep (suspend to RAM). While the Tuxedo has a small light on the power button it’s only visible when the lid is open. Otherwise, one cannot say if the device is powered off, running or sleeping.

Furthermore, the external speakers are not working with OpenBSD as already mentioned by Felix. Seems this might of “smart” speakers requiring firmware support which is not supported.

Summary

So far, I am very happy with the device. I was a bit worried about the haptics and if the device might feel cheap, turns out that this not the case. OpenBSD wise, except for the speakers everything works out of the box.