When it comes to improving the sustainability of user electronics, there’s a increasing activity to creation devices pinch a attraction connected upgradability and repairability that tin widen their longevity, alternatively of conscionable making them easier to recycle aft a fewer years of use.
At 1 time, astir each laptop shaper was caught up successful a title to create ultrathin designs, resulting successful hardware that was difficult to upgrade and costly to repair. But successful caller years, respective companies person demonstrated that laptops tin beryllium designed truthful that users tin upgrade and easy switch retired parts arsenic needed.
Innovative companies for illustration Framework person been producing laptops that don’t request to beryllium wholly replaced each fewer years, and pinch much occurrence than different companies antecedently pursuing akin pursuits. In 2021, Dell was sued complete its Alienware laptop that promised GPU upgrades, while Intel has abandoned a mates of modular hardware products, including its Compute Cards.
For now, it’s chiefly Framework starring the charge, but its occurrence has inspired competitors for illustration Lenovo to travel suit. As much companies dedicate R&D to the cause, Framework whitethorn 1 time nary longer beryllium the only marque associated pinch modular devices.
You tin enactment connected apical of each the latest upgradable and easy repairable instrumentality news and developments correct here.
Here’s Framework’s first touchscreen laptop.
Can Framework fix fund laptops next? That’s the goal, and Framework CEO Nirav Patel says he’ll beryllium dogfooding it himself, making this 12-inch laptop his regular driver for the foreseeable future. He wouldn’t show maine conscionable how fund it’ll spell yet.
Framework Desktop hands-on: a imaginable caller guidance for gaming desktops
Framework’s ngo is to “fix user electronics, 1 class astatine a time” by making them modular, repairable, and upgradable. It’s the only laptop shaper to ever truly succeed astatine that “upgradable” part. But desktop PCs are already modular, truthful why is Framework making one?
At first, I thought it saw a unsocial opportunity to make a tiny yet badass mini gaming PC pinch AMD’s different Strix Halo processor and decided to sprout its shot. As you’ll publication below, I’m excited by the result. But I besides person different thought I’ll stock pinch you afterward.
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‘We’re obscurity adjacent done pinch Framework Laptop 16’ says Framework CEO
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
Two years ago, the past clip Framework had an arena successful San Francisco, California, the item was the Framework Laptop 16 — a laptop promising the “holy grail” of upgradable graphics cards, and easily 1 of the astir eager laptops ever made.
But today, the Framework Laptop 16 sewage small mention astatine its caller event, which focused connected the new, likewise gamer-oriented Framework Desktop instead. While the Desktop and Framework’s original 13-inch laptop some sewage the latest AMD processors today, we don’t yet cognize if aliases erstwhile the Framework Laptop 16 mightiness leap guardant too.
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Framework wants to hole the fund laptop pinch its first touchscreen machine
Framework, the modular repairable machine company, says fund laptops mostly suck — and it plans to hole that this year. Today, it’s previewing a machine called the Framework Laptop 12 that’ll beryllium its smallest laptop yet, its first pinch a touchscreen, its first pinch a 2-in-1 convertible hinge, and its first pinch a rubber-esque daze absorbing TPU outer separator to make it much suitable for kids and students, too.
“We build products to hole what we spot arsenic a surgery industry, and fewer categories are arsenic emblematic of the problems pinch user electronics arsenic entry-level laptops,” writes Framework CEO Nirav Patel, continuing:
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The Framework Laptop 13 has conscionable been upgraded to AMD’s Strix Point
Image: Framework
Framework has done it again — it’s built a caller AMD-powered modular machine that fits into immoderate erstwhile type of its 13-inch laptop for $449, aliases that you tin bargain arsenic a brand-new laptop starting astatine $899 for DIY aliases $1,099 wholly prebuilt for you. We concisely checked it retired coming astatine Framework’s arena successful San Francisco, alongside the just-announced mini Framework Desktop and the caller budget touchscreen convertible Framework Laptop 12.
This 13-inch instrumentality is the company’s 2nd pinch AMD processors, this clip featuring the new-ish Ryzen AI 300 “Strix Point” chips successful Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7, each the measurement up to the Ryzen 9 HX 370 pinch 12 CPU cores, half-decent portable gaming chops and 50 TOPS of AI performance. And yes, that makes this Framework’s first Copilot Plus PC.
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Framework says its laptops shouldn’t get stung by Trump tariffs but modules mightiness costs more.
CEO Nirav Patel tells The Verge:
“Because we manufacture Framework Laptops and Mainboards successful Taiwan, we person constricted effect from the further precocious introduced tariffs. Some of our modules are manufactured successful China, truthful we are taking this into relationship for early module pricing for US customers successful the Framework Marketplace arsenic we besides proceed to diversify our proviso base.”
Framework will uncover caller gadgets connected February 25th — tin you decipher its glyphs?
Image: Framework
Framework’s unfastened root RISC-V laptop mainboard is now available.
It’s powered by a StarFive JH7110 SoC processor alternatively of chips from Intel aliases AMD, but it’s not recommended for astir consumers. It’s targeted astatine developers and early adopters not focused connected performance.
Intel still dreams of modular PCs — it brought a tablet laptop gaming handheld to CES
Photo by Sean Hollister/ The Verge
Dell’s caller USB-C ports usage screws alternatively of solder truthful you tin hole them yourself.
Dell conscionable killed disconnected XPS, but its caller “Pro” laptops propulsion a neat trick: astir USB-C ports and batteries are now officially user-replaceable.
“This is the first clip that we’ve had a screwed-on, non-soldered modular USB-C port,” Dell PM Katie Green tells us. She says Dell besides plans to bring this to consumers “when it makes sense.” No connection connected Framework-like modularity yet.
1/3The caller modular USB-C port. Images: Dell
The Framework Laptop 16 conscionable sewage a modular gadget that enables quadruple SSDs
The astir eager laptop ever made conscionable sewage a long-promised modular upgrade. Starting today, you tin salary $39 to adhd 2 other M.2 slots to the Framework Laptop 16 — letting you perchance transportation astir an AI accelerator, an eGPU adapter, aliases a expansive full of four solid authorities retention sticks for ludicrous capacity.
As Framework’s blog post points out, the caller “Dual M.2 Adapter” is Framework’s first caller modular constituent since motorboat that takes advantage of the Laptop 16’s large description bay astir back. At launch, you only had 2 options: a Radeon RX 7700S discrete graphics paper for other money, aliases a mostly quiet bay that only contained fans.
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You tin now accessorize your Framework laptop pinch Lego.
If you’re a Framework laptop user pinch entree to a 3D printer you’ve now sewage an important mobility to inquire yourself. Do you prioritize being capable to accessorize your instrumentality pinch Lego using this 3D-printed adapter pinch studs and tubes that fits into the Framework’s description paper port? Or is adding different USB-C aliases HDMI larboard a higher priority? Decisions, decisions...
Framework Laptop 16, six months later
My original Framework Laptop 16 reappraisal unit, adjacent to its replacement.
In January, I spent 2 weeks pinch the astir modular notebook ever made: the Framework Laptop 16. It’s a gadget nerd’s dream: you tin switch retired its keyboard, touchpad, ports — moreover its full discrete GPU. You tin toggle shape it from a sleek activity laptop to a decent gaming instrumentality successful 2 minutes flat, 1 which charges pinch the world’s first 180W USB-C powerfulness adapter.
But astatine the time, I gave the Framework Laptop 16 a 5 retired of 10. The merchandise gave maine aggregate Blue Screens of Death, glitched, felt flimsy successful places, and ran hotter and louder than its capacity would suggest.
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The Framework Laptop 13 is astir to go 1 of the world’s first RISC-V laptops
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Framework now lets you upgrade its Laptop 13 pinch a drop-in 120Hz screen, amended webcam, and Core Ultra chip
Image: Framework
Compression-mounted laptop RAM is fast, efficient, and upgradeable
The first laptop pinch LPCAMM2 representation is yet here. The folks astatine iFixit sewage their hands connected the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 (Gen 7), which uses LPDDR5X representation successful an LPCAMM2 module that you tin upgrade aliases switch by simply unscrewing from the laptop’s motherboard.
That’s a awesome alteration from existing LPDDR representation successful astir modern laptops. This type of representation is typically soldered onto the motherboard, making it overmuch much difficult to upgrade. LPCAMM2 — aliases Low-Power Compression-Attached Memory Module — offers modularity without losing the powerfulness ratio of LPDDR.
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Framework won’t beryllium conscionable a laptop institution anymore
Photo by Monica Chin / The Verge
Today, Framework is the modular repairable laptop company. Tomorrow, it wants to beryllium a user electronics company, period. That’s 1 of the biggest reasons it conscionable raised different $18 cardinal successful funding — it wants to grow beyond the laptop into “additional merchandise categories.”
Framework CEO Nirav Patel tells maine that has ever been the plan. The institution primitively had different viable ideas beyond laptops, too. “We chose to return connected the notebook abstraction first,” he says, partially because Framework knew it could bootstrap its ambitions by catering to the PC builders and tinkerers and Linux enthusiasts near down by large OEMs — and partially because it wanted to spell large aliases spell home.
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The Framework Laptop has a firmware update problem — but possibly not for long?
I didn’t recognize it’d grounded to present truthful galore updates ‘til I publication this Ars Technica story. The bully news: hardware partner Compal now has a full firmware squad fresh to go:
The goal, Patel says, is to continuously rhythm done each of Framework’s actively supported laptops, updating each of them 1 astatine a clip earlier looping backmost astir and starting the process complete again. Functionality-breaking problems and information fixes will return precedence, while further features and personification requests will beryllium lower-priority.
Framework is trading a inexpensive modular laptop
Framework is now trading a $499 version of its modular 2021 Laptop 13, a “barebones configuration” equipped pinch an 11th-generation Intel i7-1165G7 CPU (Intel is now connected its 14th procreation for mobile processors). The institution says this is simply a first for its affordable “B-stock Factory Seconds” machines that usage leftover parts and vessel without representation aliases retention included. So it’s cheap, but you’ll request to supply a mates of parts connected your own.
Framework writes successful its announcement that it’s besides trading refurbished DDR4 RAM for half what it would costs caller “to trim the all-in price.” The guidelines B-stock Laptop 13 configuration is 1 measurement up from the type that Monica Chin said successful her Verge review was “uniquely friends to personification upgrades,” but notably lacked disposable surface aliases GPU upgrades.
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Framework will nonstop america different Framework Laptop 16 — and here’s what it will fix.
We told Framework we had respective different stableness issues, truthful I was a small disappointment to spot the company’s CEO propose I only encountered one... but I’m happy to opportunity Framework will nonstop The Verge a last accumulation portion with rather a database of hardware and package fixes!
The DPC_Watchdog_Violation freeze, astatine least, does look to beryllium fixed successful my testing pinch a newer BIOS.
Framework Laptop 16 review: 2 weeks pinch the eventual modular laptop
The Framework Laptop 16 is the astir eager notebook I’ve ever touched. There’s ne'er been thing for illustration it before. There’s truthful overmuch to screen that it won’t fresh successful this review, truthful I’m hosting an AMA coming connected The Verge to reply your burning questions.
Never has a machine institution made a laptop so user-repairable, truthful customizable, so… modular. Never person I owned a laptop that’s a workhorse by day, physically transforms into a competent gaming PC by night, past morphs into an RGB-LED-studded five-screen DJ controller erstwhile the temper strikes. Never person I swapped retired a laptop’s full butt for a bigger 1 containing a discrete graphics card, past powered the full rig pinch a world’s first 180-watt USB-C PD powerfulness supply. And ne'er person I been capable to assistance out a laptop’s keyboard and touchpad, displacement them to the near aliases right, past adhd a numpad, aliases a matrix of dazzling LEDs, aliases a elemental popular of colour alongside.
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AMA: I reviewed the Framework Laptop 16, inquire maine thing astatine 12PM ET!
I americium unreasonably excited astir the ridiculously modular Framework Laptop 16. I did loads of testing that didn’t rather fresh into my review, so... I’ll reply your burning questions astatine 12PM ET and passim the day, and you tin statesman adding ‘em now! Hit that comments fastener and you’ll spot our Q&A module.
Don’t beryllium shy: I’ve sewage this instrumentality right here and americium happy to quickly trial and measurement things for you.
Framework Laptop 13 (AMD) review: bargain this 1 — if you can
The title betwixt Intel and AMD is simply a communicative arsenic aged arsenic time. And here, successful the unobtrusive and unsuspecting Framework Laptop 13, that title comes to a head. Because, for the first time, this modular 13-inch instrumentality allows you to afloat switch an Intel processor pinch an AMD processor (or, I do suppose, vice versa). It’ll costs you arsenic small arsenic $449 (the value of a Ryzen 5 mainboard) and half an hour of your time.
It’s awesome that an AMD Framework exists, some for folks who already ain an Intel type but want to upgrade and for those who are shopping for the first clip and will use from much choice. It’s besides awesome for maine personally because it creates a controlled experiment. It allows maine to put 2 competing chips broadside by broadside successful a virtually identical chassis and trial them out. There’s not moreover a value differential: the 2 systems are the aforesaid price, pinch prebuilts starting astatine $1,049 and DIY kits astatine $849 successful some cases.
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Lenovo exec promises 80 percent of its devices will beryllium consumer-repairable by 2025
Framework is yet moving connected a full-size SD paper module
You tin hot-swap a DisplayPort, ethernet, moreover an other 3.5mm audio jack into your modular Framework laptop — and today, the institution is yet opening activity connected a full-size SD Expansion Card to spell pinch them.
But seriously, it’s conscionable opening that work: the institution says it’s breaking contented by “pre-announcing” a module that whitethorn ne'er ship. “We’ve group a target for what we want it to be, but arsenic we proceed and learn, there’s a chance it could alteration aliases moreover beryllium canceled,” Framework writes. Don’t worry: it’s not trying to rate successful up of time; the thought is by doing it this way, Framework tin return you down the scenes.
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