Linux

https://itsfoss.com/linux-tablets/

This list is pretty good

A side note. Tablets are good if you like to handwrite or take notes on slides or documents. If that's your plan, some software like xournal++ is probably the best, instead of LibreOffice. Otherwise, if you plan to still mostly if not only write via keyboard, consider sticking to a normal laptop. They are often cheaper and you'll write way faster than you can with a tablet.

What you're looking for is PostmarketOS. On their website you can also see what tablet devices it runs on more or less perfectly and on which ones some of the features are missing.

I think their website answers all of your questions.

I currently run a ThinkPad Yoga L13 Yoga G4. Works wonders with EndeavourOS+KDE Plasma. I study engineering and I both take notes with Xournal++ and the integrated pen (other wacom compatible pens work too) and run heavy workloads like code compiling and a crap ton of MATLAB. There are some quirks specific to Linux, for example acpi does not recognize when the device is folded into tablet mode (but on Windows it works). I worked around it with two widgets with which I manually turn the tablet mode on and off. Other stuff also, I wrote a blog post on it if anyone is interested.

For all my bachelor I used a ThinkPad Yoga 370, but the dual core processor couldn't really hold up to my computation workloads. Everything worked out of the box, always Arch Linux and I tried both Gnome and Plasma in my time with it.

while it's a bit more than a tablet, I scooped up a gen 3 yoga x1 thinkpad off ebay for somewhere around $300 USD. i'm running bluefin on it and it works great for most of my general computing tasks. the screen folds back into a tablet mode and the keys recess when it does. that functionality "just works" on a fresh bluefin install for me.

the stylus that sits inside the body of the laptop doesn't function and i suspect that it is a (non-replaceable) battery issue. i bought a larger lenovo stylus for the device after some research and it works great (plus i can replace the battery). it's a CCAI21LP1520T4 model. i think it was about $35 USD.

the only downside is it's a bit heavier than a tablet and it can get kind of warm over time but i'm doing development on it and have several docker containers running for that purpose. that might be a me problem.

i like that it has a headphone jack and an sd card slot. there's also a sim card slot but i doubt that's usable with linux.

If you have money to spend, look for a Microsoft Surface. It’s amazing how good they work with Linux, despite being a Microsoft device designed to run Windows.

Their build quality is really good, too.

I installed grapheneOS on a pixel tablet and it works really well.

Maybe the Volla tablet

Been using the PineTab 2 by Pine64 regularly since it''s out, even bringing it on holiday, and it's been good. Some minor problems (e.g. no WiFi initially but now working, still no integrated BT for now but dongles working, etc) but honestly for that price ~$200 from Hong-Kong or ~400EUR from EU store with warranty) I think it's excellent value for money for a tinkerer.

Searching for "tablet PC" or "Windows tablet" instead of just "tablet" will probably help in your search. Most computers with x86_64 CPUs (Intel or AMD) should be able to run Linux distros fine.

But tablets don't seem to be a common form factor for PCs. It seems like the term has really been narrowed down to mean one that runs Android or iOS. Very frustrating.

If you can't find anything that doesn't have an ARM SoC, you can try postmarketOS, but it will require more work and risk than a "PC" that is a tablet. https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Devices

If notetaking is going to be your primary use, you'll definitely want to focus on the keyboard experience. Touch-typing on a screen isn't a fun way to take class notes and a lot of cheap bluetooth keyboards end up being laggy or otherwise unsatisfactory.

I've heard good things about Surface tablets and their attachable keyboards. I've personally had good luck with two-in-one laptops, where the keyboards are built-in.

When/if you try for a pure tablet experience, be prepared for rough edges. Outside of KDE, Gnome and maybe Budgie, most desktop environments/WMs aren't designed to work on tablets without keyboards. Getting an on-screen keyboard to act how you want it to act isn't something that has been solved universally. Another fun wrinkle is that there's no guarantee that the tablet's accelerometer will be detected, so it may be challenging to rotate the screen orientation. If you like messing around with settings and downloading half-finished projects from github, then you'll love playing around with Linux tablets.

How is the user experience with Linux?

I'm a Linux /Android/occasional Windows user who after 4 generations of Android tablets, finally gave up and got an iPad (first and only Apple device in decades), because it's leagues ahead in user experience.

I had a great time with my minisforum v3. Everything worked out of box in fedora and bazzite except the rotation support, which I did w a tray icon anyway.

Surprisingly Microsoft surface with GNOME disto what models works better u can find here https://github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface/wiki/Supported-Devices-and-Features#feature-matrix

ms surface is great for linux usage

If convertibles would work for you, the new Framework 12 looks really nice. It’s not the best machine for the money, but very repairable. I have a Framework 13 and I love it.

Dell latitude 5285 is a very robust tablet, its old af but has an x86 intel cpu (i5 or i7 7th gen, rather slow, but fast enough for office and yt) and its easily repaireable (screws on the back) so new battery is no problem.

Refurbished they are sometimes available for ~200€ in germany

Only real issue i found was: volume buttons only work in x11 not in wayland

Star Labs StarLite might be a good choice. I don't personally have one so I don't have 1st hands experience but I know somebody who does, and he's happy with it.

Look at 2-in-1 laptops instead of pure tablets. I use a Thinkpad X1 Yoga gen 4 primarily for note taking, Xournal++ is my favorite note taking application.

Xiaomi Mi Pad 6