Framework Laptop Review

While other companies like Acer and Asus have been experimenting with novel laptop designs (such as dual screens or pop-up and slide-out keyboards), the Framework Laptop is in a league of its own as a portable computer with a design based on true modularity and component capability.

This 13.5-inch ultraportable was created with the user’s ability to open it up, change out components, and continue using it for years in mind. One of the most fascinating laptops I’ve seen in the previous ten years is the Framework Laptop. The anti-MacBook, this notebook promises extreme user freedom in terms of modification and upgradeability without sacrificing portability or price.

Framework Laptop Specifications

Pros:

• The majority of the parts are user-replaceable.
• Environmentally friendly planning and construction; reuse of resources
• Pre-assembled or available as a do-it-yourself kit
• Ingenious QR code accessibility and navigation

Cons:

• Idea needs sustained funding from a company.
• The do-it-yourself nature of it may put off less experienced computer users.

Price

The starting price for a Framework laptop is $999, but you can get one for as little as $749 if you’re willing to assemble it yourself and supply your own memory, storage, operating system, and Wi-Fi card, and buy it exclusively from the Framework website(opens in new tab).

The Framework’s starting setup costs $999 and includes a 256GB NVMe SSD, 8GB of DDR4 RAM, and Windows 10 Home on an Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor.

Ports and Components

Framework Computer is committed to the difficult goal of making all laptop parts and components interchangeable. The screen’s bezel frame can be swapped for a different color on the outer chassis. (The sample we received for review has a black frame.) The frame may be gently pried off. The plastic is pliable and is attached to powerful magnets. It’s simpler if the screen can be opened to a flat 180 degrees. Careful disengagement of the bottom bezel is required because it wraps around the hinge area.

More importantly, the four actual port connections are contained in modules that may be swapped out for others in the box. A USB Type-A port may be converted to a USB Type-C port by swapping out the modules, and the same goes for the video-out options (HDMI and DisplayPort), which can be useful if you want to attach an additional display but don’t always need to.

Design

The Framework’s aluminum chassis is sleek and unremarkable, making it impossible to distinguish it from any of the other computers on the table. This homemade ultraportable weighs only 2.8 pounds, measures 11.67 by nine by 0.62 inches, and is just as slim as Apple’s MacBook Air with M1. Even more impressive is the fact that the Framework team managed to accomplish this thickness while making the laptop’s primary components modular and user-replaceable, as opposed to soldered to the board like in the MacBook Air.

Despite their unassuming exterior, the most interesting parts of the Framework chassis are really concealed within. Five little screws on the bottom of the laptop must be undone to gain access. The framework ships every laptop with an included screwdriver/spudger that includes a swappable T5/PH0 bit which fits every screw on the Framework, so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding a screwdriver to fit them.

Display

The 13.5-inch screen is crisp and practical thanks to the high 3:2 display ratio that allows for a resolution of 2,256 by 1,504. The increased prevalence of 3:2 displays on laptops in recent years is something I wholeheartedly support; the additional vertical space allows you to view more of a document or website at once, which means less scrolling is required in the course of normal work.

The 13.5-inch screen is crisp and practical thanks to the high 3:2 display ratio that allows for a resolution of 2,256 by 1,504. The increased prevalence of 3:2 displays on laptops in recent years is something I wholeheartedly support; the additional vertical space allows you to view more of a document or website at once, which means less scrolling is required in the course of normal work.

Visuals And Keyboard

Two DirectX 12 game simulations from UL’s 3DMark are used to evaluate the graphical capabilities of Windows PCs. Night Raid is a lightweight test that is ideal for laptops with integrated graphics, while Time Spy is a difficult test that is best run on desktop PCs with dedicated graphics processing units. GFXBench 5, a universal GPU benchmark, is also utilised, with two of its tests done.

This benchmark places a heavy emphasis on both low-level tasks like texturing and complex ones like those found in video games. Graphics and compute shaders using the OpenGL API and hardware tessellation are put through their paces in the 1440p Aztec Ruins and 1080p Car Chase tests, both of which are produced offscreen to suit varying screen resolutions. The higher your frame rate is in GFXBench, the better.