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Laptops

Star Labs StarBook

6owners with an opinion
67%of verdicts positive
2/2positive/negative since 2024
3 yrslongest happy owner
1happy after 3+ years

Praised for repairability and support; criticized for reliability and battery.

What people wrote

Doesn’t like itOwned 3 years
I had a Starbook for three years. It was constantly plauged with power issues. As long as I had it plugged in via the barrel connector, everything was fine. But if I tried to charge it over USB-C, it would often fail to boot, lock up, require hard power cycling, and still not come back stable. If I left it completely shut down for a week, the battery would be dead and I couldn't get it back until it had charged (with the barrel connector charger, it would not charge from dead in USB-C) for at least 10 minutes. Everything else about the computer I loved, but the power issue often meant it was not available when I wanted it. I eventually sold it on eBay (with full disclosure of the issues).
Likes itOwned 3 years
Have only owned the starbook mkvi (1 gen previous to current) since it came out 3years or so. Exhaustive research happily led me to discover it is the most Linux compatible laptop, even firmware updates can be performed natively from LVFS/fwudmgr. Knew it was the one when I learned in addition they are basically the only Linux laptop company that also produces their own hardware. Screen I wish was brighter, and while I don't care, it doesn't have as many pixels as retina. The fan is not bad, but louder than a macbook. Battery I have not tested well, it is far away from battery life of a macbook. But the coreboot firmware allows me to set the charging speed (slower is better for battery) and the max charge level (which I keep at 60% when plugged in) Trackpad is great though, and keyboard is fantastic. And all the parts are replaceable, as much as the Framework laptops. I don't know why they are not more popular.
Recommends itOwned 2 yearsStill going
love my starbook mkvi. coreboot bios features like setting charge level and frequent firmware updates (over fwupd, which is rare and extremely convenient!) linux first class, tteir own hardware all are fantastic. battery not fantastic, but i run many VMs and keep charge level to 60% so I am bad judge, ttough 6hr is good ballpark. speakers are not bad but not macbook level at all. support is super quick and knowledgeable. had this pc 2yr or so now, will be buying from starlabs excrusively in the future. only wish i had more usb c ports, but new models do. practically as open hardware as framework, with ram and ssd user erplaceable and even battary and motherboard replacements for sale, but much better linux support from what ive read. highly recommend!
Doesn’t like it
I'm on a thinkpad x230t from over a decade ago, running Linux. It is a bit less vintage than yours, but I can confirm that for the princely sum of £200 on ebay, I can run a window manager and pretty much any software I want. It replaced a £1500 starbook, which stopped powering on about a month after the warranty expired. Not quite the same point as you, but I'll agree on something: old hardware that lasts is miraculous.
Recommends it
I have their latest starbook, just arrived a couple months ago and it is stellar. Covid delayed it almost a whole year, but in that time they upgraded frob adwertised 11th gen intel to 12th gen for free, quadrupling cores. It runs extremeley well with latest coreboot and everything. I considered canceling my pre-order because of the long delay, but Support was extremely quick and receptive and it turns out the trust they earned was warranted. I did a lot of research and really nothing comes close to these guys. This new one is expensive relatively, but the Starbook I have was a surprisingly good deal. No connection to them except a happy customer who can gladly recommend them. Fully upgradable SSD and raM as well, I have 64 gigs and the touchpad is really really good.
Likes it
I have one of their machines (a StarBook that I am typing this on), and it is excellent. It probably helps to have a $9m seed round -- certainly it means Framework can do much more marketing (including such as the Steam Deck stunt) and hire more people -- and I'm sure it's easier to raise those funds from the US, but it is clearly not necessary. I hope that Star Labs does well enough that they are able to expand, raise funding if they wish, and compete with better capitalized companies.
Recommends itDoesn’t say they own it
Well, speak for yourself. I have a HP ZBook and Metabox laptops with keyboard that is almost identical to that of StarBook and I am very happy with that layout. Can't stand the Mac laptop style keyboards (which makes Framework laptops a no-go for me) that lack separate home/end/pgup/pgdown keys. I will be looking for a new laptop in the next 12 months so StarBook will be on top of my list.
Likes itDoesn’t say they own it
Welp, this prompted me to start Googling. Turns out there are at least two other companies out there which are aiming for the same market segment (a repairable, upgradeable laptop that's Linux friendly). They're sell laptops called the StarBook and the PrimeBook Circular. StarLabs will sell me a StarBook in my local currency online today. The process of saying goodbye to Framework has begun, before they ever even allowed me to say hello... The funny thing is that virtually all of these small laptop makers I've seen will sell a laptop to someone pretty much anywhere in the world, simply with caveats that you need to make sure you get the right power adapter (not that this is really an issue anymore now that USB C charging exists), you won't have local warranty service etc. Framework is the only one that seems to hate 75% of the human race and actively prevent them from buying its product.