Nathaniel
I ordered mine in January 2024 to replace my trusty old ThinkPad X200. While I do prefer several things on older ThinkPads compared to today's laptops, such as the keyboard, TrackPoint and build quality (all of which I will miss dearly), the laptop was unfortunately beginning to show its age when it comes to simple tasks such as web browsing and editing documents, even with Arch Linux installed. I decided it was time to finally retire the old girl and treat myself to a new laptop.
I had first heard of Framework back in 2021 when they brought out the original Framework Laptop 13. I thought it was a very good laptop, with styling similar to today's laptops while keeping in all the modularity laptops have lost in the past 15 years. This was one of the reasons I kept my ThinkPad. I like being able to open my computers and put whatever I see fit into them. The expansion module system is a very good idea in practice, but I'm not sure yet how many times I'm going to be swapping modules over. Perhaps when I get the laptop we'll soon find that out.
The thing that put me off the 13 initially wasn't its size, being a X200 user I do like small laptops, it was the fact that Framework is still a new company as of 2024 and none of us were really sure if they would even last a few processor generations. If Framework disappeared a few years ago, all the Framework 13 buyers would've been stuck with a repairable laptop with no future firmware updates, spare parts or future parts for these laptops. That would defeat the entire point. The fact Framework were able to bring out 2 new Intel processor generations and AMD Ryzen motherboards for their 13" laptop, while at the same time designing and releasing a new laptop does help cement the fact they're here to stay for the time being. The $18 Million in Series A Funding and the investment from Linus Sebastian probably helped in that regard.
I went ahead and placed a pre-order for a DIY Edition AMD Ryzen 7840HS system with the integrated GPU. This might be a blessing in disguise as during the long wait between January and sometime in May when they claim the laptop will ship (Batch 16 gang), I have heard a few things about battery drain and high temperatures on the more powerful configurations. I'm crossing my fingers hoping mine isn't affected. I chose the DIY edition for the sole reason it saved me £300 for approximately 10 minutes of work after taking the laptop out of its box. As someone who builds his own desktops, installing the SSD and RAM is extremely trivial.
The only thing noteworthy about the pre-ordering process is they take a £100 deposit immediately to secure your pre-order spot, then charge your card the remaining amount right before your pre-order is shipped, approximately 72 hours after the heads-up email. Not nitpicking or anything, but I prefer to have the full amount debited at once.
Pro Tip: If you're ordering the DIY edition, it's best to configure yours without any SSD and RAM, as the same products supplied by Framework can be found cheaper elsewhere, such as the SSD, which I bought separately for £50 less. Please do note the laptop does not support XMP/EXPO RAM, so to get the 5600MHz speed offered by the modules Framework supplies, you need to buy native 5600MHz modules. [1]
One slightly annoying thing was when I saw the Ethernet expansion module for the first time. Not only was it translucent unlike the other expansion modules, it stuck out like a sore thumb and was not flush. This is partially my fault, as I did not see what it looked like before adding it to my pre-order, but nonetheless I submitted a support request to add an additional USB-C expansion module. I want to keep the Ethernet module for when I would like to use it. The support representative (for some reason all using weird pseudonyms) removed the Ethernet expansion module and added a USB-C module in its place. They re-send the pre-order confirmation email with your changes so you can see if it's correct or not, so I replied saying I would like both modules. The support representative apologised and added back the Ethernet module. Later I asked for another USB type A expansion module to bring the total up to 8, and they did so without error.
It is also nice of Framework to send updates on shipment timing via email, providing information on exactly what they are doing, and debugging issues with units already in the hands of earlier pre-orderers, such as the keyboard deck flex issue identified by Linus' video and several others. Not only did they detail the entire problem in Shipment Update #7, but they also detailed the fix, and sent out all newer batches (5 and newer if I remember correctly) with the modified keyboard. (It was rolled out during my batch, but not applied to my particular machine) It is also nice of them to offer the modification free of charge to all earlier customers.
...and I forget about this. Oops. The laptop has been excellent since, besides one major hiccup. The number pad was defective. It would work, then not work, then work, then it never worked again. A lengthly conversation with support (who apparently read off a script and for some reason request one quintillion photos of the part you're troubleshooting) and I got a free replacement, which has been fine.
The battery life has been excellent compared to my ThinkPad X200 with the third party battery, and what I expected. About 6-8 hours on Windows, and slightly less on Linux unfortunately. I did manage to squeeze nearly 10 hours out of it once.
The sound quality of the speakers is the weakest point of this machine, and the embedded EQ profiles in the BIOS don't do much to help, Linux users can take advantage of an Easy Effects profile to make the laptop speakers sound amazing, but at the cost of draining the battery faster. It doesn't make much of a difference for speaking voices, but music is much more enjoyable with the profile on. (Bit of a shame about the built in speakers only supporting 24-bit/48k sample rate) This laptop seems to be the best laptop for Linux community support.
What I do miss from the ThinkPad is the keyboard. The Framework's is good, especially after applying the deflector kit, but nothing can come close to beating the ThinkPad keyboard, or the trackpoint. While the trackpad isn't bad, I still prefer the trackpoint. KDE's trackpad behaviour can also be slightly annoying with this trackpad by treating a bottom centre click as a middle click, so I wish KDE adds an option to Plasma to disable that. The trackpad isn't an issue in Windows.
The number pad is good, but the top row could've been different. For some reason, they were trying to accomodate the exactly zero people who put it on the left side of the laptop, and put another escape key at the top left, followed by the calculator button, an equals button, and another backspace button. If I had it my way, I would've preferred Page Up, Page Down, Home and End instead. But they're the function key's alternative for the arrow keys instead, which is fine. I also would like to see toggling the keyboard's backlight toggle the number pad's backlight too. The button for that on the number pad is the enter key without num lock engaged. Would be nice if they sync.
The screen is excellent compared to the ThinkPad, and is one of the best non-HDR displays I've seen on a laptop. High refresh rate, good colour reproduction and excellent viewing angles (it's an IPS display) make it perfect for general use. It also gets incredibly bright. In a well-lit room, I rarely push the brightness past 15%.
The replaceable port gimmick hasn't seen much use from me, but I have used the Ethernet port several times when it has come in handy, and the promised microSD and SD expansion cards have finally been put on sale, so I'll probably pick those up soon, but I already own several USB SD card readers, so I'm in no rush. The smaller number of ports compared to the ThinkPad and even other business-oriented laptops hasn't been an issue yet, but if there's a port I need, I can always just swap it in. The Audio card also sounds very nice.
I do like the hardware switches on top of the bezel for the microphone and camera. They're almost always set to the off position. It's nice to not have an ugly cover over the camera but still have the camera disabled. If only there was a Wireless switch too...
The thing that will probably put you off initally is the price. It is quite expensive for the hardware packed into it, and it genuinely is. But this is designed to be an upgradeable laptop that you will keep upgrading when you decide to purchase upgrades. It is designed for you to still be using it when your friends are on their 3rd Macbook in 6 years. It is designed for you to fix it when something goes wrong. Keyboard's worn out? Can replace it in 5 seconds. For example, I had to recently replace the screen in a Dell Latitude 5400. It took two hours, not including the previous half an hour I had to spent getting to the precise model number of the screen because they're different. The Framework 16's screen can be replaced in as little as 5 minutes. This laptop will be with me for a long time, and I'm very happy with it.
1. What DRAM/memory is supported by Framework Laptop 16? From: Framework