Lenovo X1C is the standard-bearer for a Linux notebook experience that is hassle-free, hardware-wise, and includes a great keyboard, trackpad, screen, battery, all in a slim ultrabook format. I wrote up my experience of a 4th gen model here:
If you care about outdoor usage, opt for the matte IPS screen rather than the glossy options. Lenovo sells both types on almost every model. I'd also suggest skipping the touchscreen.
Complete agreement; I've used the X1 Carbon since the first generation.
One issue, though: the 6th and 7th generations currently use a cell modem (the PCIe Fibocom L850-GL LTE-A) that doesn't work under Linux. The USB version works; the PCIe version has no driver.
I'm still using a circa-2013 X1 Carbon, running Ubuntu. Overall it's been great, with the one exception being the battery life, which has always been abysmal. I've never been able to get any more than 2 hours out of the battery, even after extensive tinkering with tools like powertop.
That machine is getting a bit long in the tooth now, so I've been thinking about what to buy to replace it; getting another X1C would be a no brainer if I wasn't worried about whether the battery life in the new ones is as bad as it was in my old one.
I get 10+ hours of battery life out of mine, depending on workload. I run Debian, without any special tuning, beyond powertop and running an up-to-date kernel.
Yes, on my 4th gen, I get a solid 6-10 hours, depending on usage. I think running powertop is important to identify background power hogs and ensure kernel params are tweaked. I love how ever since the 4th gen, the X1C's also rapidly charge to 80%+ power, and get to 100% not long thereafter. Pretty much the only thing that'll chew through my battery quickly is a Google Meet call, and that's just because Google/Chromium hasn't figured out how to reduce CPU usage on the video encode/decode steps on Linux.
That's a bummer (the cell modem on older models is awesome and some carriers can provide you with a second data-only sim card at no additional monthly cost), but it's not something someone coming from a MBP will miss.
I have the X1C. Little thing I noticed about the matte IPS screen (which I selected for outdoor usage much like you said) is that the screen goes black when I wear my sunglasses with a polarized lens, so if your sunglasses are polarized perhaps consider buying some non-polarized ones :-)
They would need to be the same... and if we can't get people to standardize on internet protocols, good luck with something that actually affects whether the product works well or not!
https://amontalenti.com/2017/09/01/lenovo-linux
If you care about outdoor usage, opt for the matte IPS screen rather than the glossy options. Lenovo sells both types on almost every model. I'd also suggest skipping the touchscreen.