Why laptops with linux mostly use unknown distros?
The average person dont like linux, and if they buy a linux laptop the reason is because its cheaper than the windows one. So why manufacturers still use unknown distros (like lenovo with endlessos) and not something like ubuntu or mint?
Iâve never seen anything else than just Ubuntu or customized Ubuntu preinstalled on laptops.
Endless OS sounds like an actually good distribution, though. Itâs based on Debian, itâs immutable, they publish their software as FOSS and they submit upstream patches.
The UI (which is a modified Gnome desktop) looks beginner friendly and easy to use.
Because every OS they ship with they need to support. Lenovo already has a viable, cost effective, support model for endlessos because they ship and support it for educational customers.
Itâs not commercially viable for them support other OS that there is near no demand for relative to their overall sales.
To my knowledge the few laptops from the more famous brands I saw being released with Linux out of the box were coming with Ubuntu, can you make a few more examples?
Also Endless OS isn't really unknown, it's just that it's not suggested at all in most communities because its focus is more on making a kid friendly distribution, which is amazing, but it's not really what most people will be looking for
My uneducated guess is that Endless OS pays manufacturers to have their OS installed as it has what appears to be privacy-conscious telemetry. It won't be anywhere close to what Microsoft/Apple, but in the Linux telemetry world of the blind, the one-eyed man is king, and so it'll still have valuable data.
Some of the areas that are unlike most other distros I've come across:
Their website for Endless OS does a lot of tracking and has a policy that is more 'business-orientated' than many distros
Privacy policy for the OS is not available online, only when downloading program
They use dark patterns to have the default for telemetry as 'opt-in' which might be the opposite for FOSS IIRC
To me, it's akin to the free third party apps that come packaged with many Android mobile devices. Less intrusive since it's anonymized, but also feels more intrusive because it's the entire OS being monitored. I believe I came across a headline that Fedora is attempting to use the same tracking software in the link above
This review shares a more judgmental view of their practices
Most of the Laptops I see with Linux are Ubuntu, some Ubuntu based distro like Tuxedo, Pop_OS, or Linux mint, and very Rarely Fedora (I'm not sure, but I think I saw one ship with Fedora).
It makes sense for a hardware vendor to have their own distro. That's the only way they can make sure that everything works seamlessly. Just think, if you put Ubuntu on your laptops and then Canonical do something that breaks your compatibility. It would be a major support nightmare.