Purism Librem 14 brings its privacy-focused hardware kill switches to a new Comet Lake U Linux-based laptop

Pursim has rolled out its latest privacy-focused laptop. The sleek looking device comes with the promise that it has been designed “chip-by-chip, line-by-line, to respect your rights to privacy, security and freedom.” In a world where every company wants a slice of your data, it is a sales pitch that certainly offers some appeal. It further backs up on its promise with hardware kill switches that physically disconnect the camera and mic, or wireless and Bluetooth, helping to further set it apart from the competition.

The Purism 14 comes pre-installed with PureOS, a custom enhanced privacy and security focused version of GNU/Linux with FSF (Free Software Foundation) accreditation. The company has built in better security defaults, HTTPS wherever it can be implemented, ad blocking, tracking protection and Apparmor sandboxed debs and Flatpak. It also works with its PureBoot and Librem key that detects software and hardware tampering, sold separately.

From a hardware perspective, the Purism Librem 14 packs Intel’s latest Comet Lake Core i7-10710U 6-core, 12-thread CPU. Purism has even disabled and neutralized Intel’s Management engine which has been a target of recent malware attacks including the infamous Spectre and Meltdown viruses. Buyers can spec it up to 32 GB of DDR4 2133 MHz RAM and up to 4 TB of M.2 NVMe storage. Ports are limited to one HDMI, two USB-A 3.1 ports, a USB-C 3.1 port and a Gigabit Ethernet Adapter with integrated RJ45 connector. Wireless connectivity includes Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 5.

It doesn’t come cheap, even at the entry level, unfortunately. The Purism 14 is up for pre-order now starting from US$1,199 including a current early-bird discount of US$300. For some, however, it will be money very well spent.