they are not if you consider the effort that goes into Pop_OS, firmware, coreboot, custom-BIOS and all the testing that is required for it. It's in many ways a phenomenal deal if this is all you need. And considering that you can re-use these things on a Clevo I'd rather support System76 in what they do.
However if you don't care about Pop_OS and really insist on an ISO keyboard then Clevo (or something like Tuxedo Computers) are better options.
When it comes to hardware a Clevo is a Texedo is a System76 is a Sager (and a bunch of others)
> When it comes to hardware a Clevo is a Texedo is a System76 is a Sager (and a bunch of others)
1. That's not necessarily a fact; I don't know that it's been established one way or the other. There may well be small variances in design at the hardware level
2. In a modern PC, firmware is a gigantic factor in how well an OS works on the hardware. See all the troubles with ACPI for a starting point. Even non-obvious things like fans depend greatly on firmware.[1]
In short, if you want to run Linux, buy a Linux computer, with support for as long as you plan on using it, from a company that supports Linux on the hardware.
If you don't, be prepared for random glitches due to the mismatch between OS and firmware.
However if you don't care about Pop_OS and really insist on an ISO keyboard then Clevo (or something like Tuxedo Computers) are better options.
When it comes to hardware a Clevo is a Texedo is a System76 is a Sager (and a bunch of others)