Released on Thursday were new Ubuntu X1E “Concept” install images for installing the modified Ubuntu 25.04 environment on Qualcomm Snapdragon X1 powered laptops.
The new Ubuntu X1E Concept ISOs upgrade to a newer Linux 6.16 point release (6.16.0-21.21) than what previously was offered in the Concept images. The Ubuntu X1E Concept images are still relying on their existing DTB loading logic but is working on transitioning to the new Ubuntu Stubble project.
After recent Ubuntu X1E Concept ISOs and the generic Ubuntu 25.04 daily ARM64 ISOs had failed to boot on the Acer Swift 14 AI (Acer SF14-11T) that I picked up for Snapdragon X1 testing at Phoronix, the new ISO build did boot! No more missing Device Tree!
The new Ubuntu X1E Concept image booted successfully to the GNOME desktop and was able to run the installer on this Acer Swift 14 AI laptop with Snapdragon X1 Elite SoC.
But when rebooting to boot to the newly-installed Ubuntu 25.04 X1E Concept partition… The system simply reboot. When trying rescue mode or booting without “quiet splash” options, the only messages are about exiting the EFI boot services and then the system resets.
So with this latest Ubuntu X1E Concept image still not a working post-install experience for the Acer Swift 14 AI that is listed as one of their supported Snapdragon laptops. It’s disappointing and sad the year-old laptop model still not working reliably on Ubuntu Linux, not to mention AMD Ryzen AI 300 series and Intel Core Ultra typically being faster and more reliable under Linux.
Those wanting to try out the new Ubuntu X1E Concept ISO released yesterday as their first in nearly one month can find them via this directory.
