We've been working hard on our StarFighter and many of you have been patiently waiting for quite some time now. First and foremost, thank you for your trust, enthusiasm, and patience throughout this journey. The following is a transparent and sincere update regarding the progress of the StarFighter orders.

When we reopened orders in January, we estimated a 3–5 month lead time, which was revised to 6 months. While we’ve made progress, we’re now facing further delays, something we know is deeply frustrating, and for that, we sincerely apologise.

The reality is that production at the original factory has not moved forward as expected. Although we were advised by our IDH (Independent Design House) to use this facility and have worked with them successfully in the past, they have let us down. Progress was far slower than needed, and we weren’t prioritised as we should have been. This has caused considerable frustration on our side as well.

In response, we’ve decided to move production to our long-standing, trusted manufacturing partner - the factory responsible for all our other laptops. They know our standards inside and out, and we’re confident this shift will bring the StarFighter to completion more efficiently, even if later than initially planned.

We truly value your support and understand entirely how disappointing another delay can be. We’ve done our best to reflect the waiting time with a 10% pre-order discount, and we’re often asked if we can offer more. The honest answer is: we can’t. Going further would cut deeply into our budget for continued R&D, particularly firmware development, Linux integration, and quality assurance. It would also impact our ability to maintain stock levels and invest in future product improvements.

We’re now aiming to begin shipping orders from October. This new estimate considers the transition to our trusted factory and the required steps to complete production.
Starting today, we will send out updates every other Thursday to keep you fully informed and involved throughout the process. These newsletters will share progress, what’s still left to do, and any key developments. We also want to reassure you that the specifications of your current order are not changing.

One important update is that HEADs will be available when the Intel StarFighters begin shipping, and you can install them easily via fwupd. We recognise this has been a frequent request and are pleased to be able to offer this feature.

We completely understand that this may not be acceptable for some people or that circumstances change, and we want to offer a few options so you can decide what works best for you:

• Keep your order as is – We’ll retain your place in the queue and your payment. You don’t need to do anything, and we’ll ship your StarFighter as soon as production is complete.
  

• Refund now, but keep your place reserved – We’ll issue a full refund but hold your reserved unit for you. When the StarFighters arrive in the UK, you can repurchase your laptop before it becomes available to others. Just a heads-up: choosing this option means you won’t be able to keep the 10% pre-order discount. This discount helps us consolidate orders to benefit from bulk production savings, which lowers costs so we can pass those savings directly to you.
  

• Cancel your order entirely – If you’d prefer not to wait, we’ll issue a full refund and release your spot.

Thank you again for your continued patience and support. It genuinely means a great deal and allows us to build the products we care deeply about. Please make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated throughout this process.


The Star Labs Team