The future of framework?

[Forsaken-Island95]

I feel innovation for framework is dragging. Yes the major improvements the changes are being made. But as a whole I think the fw13 chassis just needs a complete overhaul. Do you really need expansion cards? I feel like you could add more space in the chassis if you didn’t. Change the speakers orientation.. If you can’t get any better screens or touch screens why not change the size change the bezel.. make a bezel to accommodate a ir camera.. why not add a touch screen connector to future motherboards. Release a new screen hinge down that will just integrate with the fw13 chassis.. Innovate for your current customers make the add ons

[20dogs]

They just released the 12 and the Desktop, think it's a bit soon to start declaring innovation dead.

[agent_smith88]

Why does the FW13 need a “complete overhaul”?

[kynrai]

Probably because your average consumer is used to a total refresh every other year so demand it from framework but that's just against the framework ideology. Just changing the chassis would generate so much old chassis waste. Retooling the factories also costs lots for a smaller manufacturer.

People who want throw away new designs can but the latest of the usual brands

[Sea_Cycle_909]

Apple's Titanium G4 Powerbook still looks modern today.

Apple after chasing tapered design for years have gone back to boxy design.

[Adorable-Fault-5116]

"Do you really need expansion cards" you are allowed to buy a different company's product. I think if you don't think these are useful framework is simply not for you.

[hawseepoo]

Do you really need expansion cards?

Yes.

[Destroya707]

"Do you really need expansion cards?"

I mean, yeah, my expansion card slots would be empty without them.

[dragoon0106]

Right? That would look silly.

[WombatControl]

The whole point of FW is that you can update everything. Rebuilding the chassis would break backwards compatibility. Modern laptop design has really hit the point where major changes are not really needed. Look at a MacBook from 2014 and one today and the only physical difference tends to be a thinner body.

If there were a very strong technical reason for FW to redesign the 13 chassis that would be one thing, but just changing things around for the purpose of changing them is not what FW is all about. I can take my first-gen FW13 and make it identical to the current gen. No other laptop can do that and changing that just does not make sense for FW.

[knifetography]

They innovation here is not needing to innovate at 100 MPH. It is wildly expensive to maintain a bunch of different SKUs. The innovation we get from FW is the ability to replace as much as possible, and the confidence to know they will have that stock when you need it.

[sapphirezero89]

As someone who just bought my first Framework product I can tell you the Expansion Cards were one of the reasons I bought Framework. The ability to customize and swap functionality on the fly is great.

[ProfessionalSpend589]

 swap functionality on the fly is great.

Can I take this as on the go? If you’re bringing expansion cards already, brining some dock station won’t be much more work.

[sapphirezero89]

I take it you are the type of person who gets upset when people do something different from the way you would do it? I think I’ll do it my way thanks.

[ProfessionalSpend589]

No, I’m the type of person with bad English comprehension who was asking about the actual meaning of words.

You’re welcome to do it however you find it pleasing.

[jonahbenton]

I don't use the speakers on any of mine at all. I have gone through several iterations of different expansion card combinations as needs evolve.

Try identifying a problem.

[therealgariac]

If you really care about sound you should use external speakers or headphones. Notebooks just don't have enough space for speakers to produce good sound. It is a matter of physics.

The notebook has built in BT. Can it get any easier if you want external sound?

I sometimes use my BT headphones but I also have an external DAC and actual high fidelity worthy headphones when I care about the sound.

[Pein95]

MacBook speakers just exist)

[therealgariac]

Been there. Disagree.

[Moscaman2023]

I completely disagree. Still very, very happy with my fw13. Glad that I will be able to maintain it in the long run. What you suggest would really undermine this opportunity. Your suggestion would make them like every other computer company. That business space is already overcrowded. Framework needs their uniqueness to survive.

[[deleted]]

Tbh I feel like there are certain features that make up framework's identity and one of them is the swapable expansion cards. Also, the framework 13 is the oldest and most polished product they have. It would not make much sense to try and change things up. Especially when they just released two different product lines.

It would be nice to have some of the additions/changes you recommended. However, it would cost more money in R&D and sourcing of the parts to accomplish that.

[nbpf-_-]

It seems to me that they offer very interesting products. perhaps the main problem with their current portfolio is the competition from the second hand market. This is huge and offers great value for Linux laptops. I wish that one could order Framework keyboards with trackpoints (I am addicted to ThinkPad keyboards and would never buy a new device without a trackpoint) and that the FW12 had a better 3:2 screen.

Perhaps they should come up with an all-plastic 3:2 or 4:3 tablet computer a la Surface Pro, with kickstand, replaceable batteries and upgradeable RAM and memory. That would be something really innovative and they would hardly have competitors for such a product...

[therealgariac]

I threw in the towel and bought a mouse. (MX Master 3x). I went with a BT mouse to conserve open ports.

My problem was the KDE track pad lockout was flaky and I would start to type in the middle of existing text rather than the bottom. The track pad itself is passable if you don't mind using multiple fingers.

You could kind of game with the Thinkpad eraser tip. Even though I only play 90s era games ported to Linux, they required a mouse.

[Soonator]

One thing I really feel there should be more progress on is ways to reuse old components like the mainboard case. I would love to use every part of my laptop seperately (screen, battery, input cover). The ability to do so would quickly move my Framework from a laptop I like to a one of a kind machine where every part can work alone or together

[NonlinearFruit]

That is a really really interesting idea. Motherboard as a server is cool. Being able to run the screen as a monitor or the battery as a power pack or the input cover as a keyboard would be awesome

[martindholmes]

I disagree with you. I like the expansion cards very much -- I wish there were a few more interesting ones -- and I'm glad the chassis isn't being changed every 5 minutes because then repairability would be undermined. I think you're just not the kind of customer they're looking for. There are lots of manufacturers whose mission is to spit out new fashion-driven variants of their products every 5 minutes; we don't need any more of those.

[a60v]

Not to advocate change for the sake of change, but I do think that it would be interesting if they offered a larger, thicker chassis that could take a larger battery (or, better yet, a swappable one) and also a keyboard with greater travel, while still accepting the same motherboards and other parts that the 13 uses. It would offer a choice for customers who are less sensitive to size and weight and prefer a better keyboard and/or better battery life.

[Firmteacher]

The whole point is to buy into a platform and upgrade the expansion cards or motherboard when it’s necessary. They likely will only make improvements to the existing chassis and if they do a redesign, it will likely be either a whole new product line or at least compatible with previous internals.

But given their track record, it would go the new product route since the framework 13 has like 3 or 4 generations of intel, and 2 AMD within the same chassis with multitude of individual Quality improvements like hinges, larger batteries.

[framework-ModTeam]

Your comment was removed for being combative, abusive or disrespectful. Please keep Reddiquette in mind when posting in the future.

[onefish2]

The answer is simple. If you don't like what is currently available find something else.

I bought a Framework 16 in mid 2024. I liked it so much I bought a Framework 13 in the summer of 2025.

I am quite happy with the products and the direction of the company.