I can't help but wonder if Dell tweaked the firmware. I know that I, and everyone I've seen discuss it, haven't been able to get a vanilla XPS (non-Developer edition, sold with Windows) with a typical off-the-shelf distro, including Ubuntu, to work 100%.
I've had a Dell XPS 13 9343 (2017 model, non-Developer edition) running Fedora for years without problems. I suppose you might consider it cheating because I replaced the original Broadcom WiFi card with an Intel WiFi card, as that driver was a bit flaky in the early days (whereas the Intel driver has kernel support).
Other than the pitiful 4 hour battery life, the laptop still runs fine, and mostly does what I need it to do for a permanently-docked daily driver.
Hey there! I no longer use my 9343, but I remember I was not able to run Fedora without breaking the sound support for it (Ubuntu had some kernel option set on startup that put the sound card to some legacy mode, instead of the I2C that Windows used). And I never managed to setup palm rejection, it was a constant pain whenever I had to use the (otherwise excellent) trackpad.
(The external "carbon-like" skin texture just disintegrated on it after a few years, and the hinges got loose, but otherwise it is tip-top, still functional!)
That seems likely. I know that firmware is one of the big differences between System76 laptops and the version that Clevo subsequently offers with Windows. I think the chips can vary sometimes too.
Just from an ACPI perspective, I'd expect the Linux variant to (at a minimum) be built with the Intel compiler and the Windows one with Microsoft's. It is likely that there are far more differences, though.
The biggest problem with System76 laptops: their screens.
$1400 for a laptop with 1920x1080 at 60hz in 2024 is a joke. $200 more gets you a 3024x1964 @ 120hz, with an M3 processor and the ability to get warranty service walk-in anywhere around the world.
I agree that a better screen would be great, and walk-in service anywhere in the world would be fantastic.
But I want a Linux laptop, not Windows or OSX. I also want a computer that obeys me, not some megacorp (not unrelated to the previous point.) I also want to not fight it all the time.
I bought Dell 3410 once which was shipped with Ubuntu. I closely inspected that Ubuntu, compared it with vanilla Ubuntu install. All I've found are branding packages (desktop pictures, etc) and one package which blacklisted some module. No secret drivers, no secret kernels.
Can't comment about XPS, but I feel that it'll be the same.
I ordered one with Ubuntu pre installed and it worked well, however there was an annoying issue where the mouse would freeze for a few seconds every couple minutes. I eventually swapped it with Garuda Linux and got a much faster UX, but suspend/sleep doesn't fully work. Doesn't bother me.
