Framework Laptop 12 press reviews are live and Framework Laptop 13 in-stock

I guess this depends on how much you value repairability. To me it makes the difference between having a laptop or a desktop. A non-repairable laptop is inherently unreliable as you must return it to the manufacturer for any repairs and are without a computer for that time. That makes traditional, non-repairable, laptops something you get for mobility in addition to your desktop. Not only does this increase costs significantly but also that you need to worry about syncing when moving between the two.

What if they let you swap your CPU for a M series chip?

I would like Framework to go the System76 route and adopt a Linux distro that they can very finely tune for the Framework laptop. Macbooks have the benefit of MacOS being completely vertically integrated. I don't see Framework putting this level of effort in, even on the OEM Windows side of things like other OEMs such as Dell do. Their software needs to be better.

There isn't anything they can do about it while maintaining their allegiance to the SO-DIMM. Fundamentally, memory on a stick guzzles energy. The reality of energy efficiency and the myth of upgradeability are conflicting.

My favorite 2nd device is an old Dell Inspiron 11 2-in-1. By all accounts it's a terribly specced device, but it still runs modern Fedora + KDE well, the touchscreen works well, and the display quality isn't awful.

Many of the knocks against it (small size, cheap plastic case, small battery) work in its favor by keeping it light enough to use as a tablet. The battery, RAM, and SSD are all serviceable. I see them on eBay frequently for as little as $20-40 each in lots or $50-70 standalone.

The 10" Lenovo Duet Chromebook tablets are a close second but don't age as well and can't be realistically repaired or upgraded.

It's annoying how reviewers focus on the performance specs while mostly ignoring the big differentiator of the 2-in-1 feature.

That's frustrating, I'm sorry! I don't experience anything like that, and I have over a thousand tabs open in Firefox on NixOS.

Based on https://frame.work/linux Ubuntu 24.04 is the minimum supported version for the older AMD F13's, so I'd suggest updating and then reaching out to Framework if the problem persists on a supported distro.

Sounds like you might have received some bad RAM. Have you tried replacing it?

on chrome based browsers with Linux I have to disable 'use graphic acceleration when available' in the browser settings or the browser with freeze intermittently. This has been a consistent issue across distros for years. Not sure if it also affects firefox.

Disabling this feature mostly works, but results in poor performance for some graphics heavy websites.

I also had a lot of issues with my AMD framework laptop and ended up reverting back to a older Intel Framework laptop. Top issues with the AMD laptop were the realtek wireless, and random AMD (integrated) GPU glitches. Intel hardware continues to be absolutely top tier for Linux support.

Yep, my last laptop purchase was an xps13. Unfortunately the 8gb of soldered on ram is becoming woefully insufficient with how bloated the modern web has gotten.

I have a beefy desktop, but if I replace my laptop I think it will probably be a thinkpad.

People make fun of Chrome being a RAM hog but I'm having more issues with FF than I ever did with Chrome. For some reason on reddit specifically FF will randomly freeze for a few seconds, my cursor will stop rendering on top of it (like it's going behind the window) and it won't accept inputs. If I keep typing through it it all appears in the window after it unfreezes. Also FF will regularly take multiple gigs for random tabs like Youtube if I leave them open.

Tldr it might be more of a firefox problem than a framework problem.

I've never had any issues on my AMD framework 13 with way more tabs than that (on Void Linux).

Older laptops, especially all-Intel ones, tend to be way more reliable on Linux from my experience.

For their marketing it is. There is a very specific reason the desktop exists. On-premise AI workloads. You can't get the bus width on socketed ram that you do soldered ram at the current moment. 1 product is an exception, 2 would be a break from their replaceable component marketing.

From your careful word choice you know this but I'd like to draw attention to the specifics here. I'm not sure if it's actually soldered on but RAM is on-package like apple's M-series chips, unlike what used to be the case where soldering ram to the board was a choice made by the laptop mfgs.

Here's there's no choice to be made other than not using the chips. And unfortunately (although there are some benefits), it's probably not going to be just a few generations but a trend for high end processors going forward.

Unless Foundation always uses the current generation CPU, then this complaint is always valid. Or maybe invalid.

Thermals and energy consumption are almost always improving between generations. It's hard for me to think of 13th generation as old. Maybe I'm getting old!

Selling a laptop with soldered ram might literally kill the company at this stage. Their entire brand and market is based on repairability.

Yeah I complained about this on the framework subreddit when I first heard of the FW12, asking for reasons and expectedly got downvoted into oblivion. Apparently expecting them to use something mildly recent is too much to ask for and it's supposed to be a cheapshit student laptop aimed at schools or whatever. Wouldn't be as bad if it weren't Intel's worst CPU gen in recent memory, FW probably got a bargain box deal on them.

Meanwhile the HX370 is still warm from the oven and already in the FW13, linux drivers aren't even ready yet with compatibility complaints aplenty. Not to mention the FW Desktop with the AI Max which was the first launch of that chipset worldwide.

What's wrong with the AMD version's wifi? I've got the original AMD F13 (and run NixOS) and I have no issues.

I haven't had any issues with Wifi. A family member replaced theirs with an Intel chip to fix an issue; turns out reception was just bad and not the wifi chip.

That brings me to my second point: if the wifi chip's what's holding you back there's nothing stopping you from replacing it.

Wifi worked out of the box for me on FW13 both the AMD 7840U and the HX 370 mainboards, in Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and 25.04. Ethernet via USB-C dock worked out of the box as well.

> It's not that hard

I suspect it's actually quite difficult to build an entirely modular laptop to work with several operating systems while supporting the latest components, and be void of any driver issues.

I use the Framework 16 AMD with the Mediatek MT7922 WiFi 6E wireless chip using the mt7921e driver and it works great

Is my framework perfect? No. But it's still the best laptop I've ever owned. Just like open source software, it's not about having the most shiny look and feel, but it's about knowing that the creator wants me to have the freedom and empowerment to open it up and adjust it to my needs and desires. Other companies will just say that I've voided the warranty when I try fixing or tweaking it myself.

Maybe these users are picky, but they are under-served, very influential, and very productive w.r.t. improving support for the laptop in the ecosystem. At this point FW became a go-to laptop for Linux hackers, and it gets great support in all avant-garde tech like e.g. NixOS.

There is a certain rich racingdriver/programmer/macuser who moved his whole company to framework laptops running linux. So they must be doing something right