Framework announced the Framework 13 Pro including full Linux support right from the beginning.
Some quick information about the Device:
- will use Intel Core Ultra 300 (Panther-Lake)
- updated Battery Design with (up to) 20h Battery life
- custom designed Display Panel with Touch support (keeping the 3:2 aspect ratio)
- LPCAMM2 for upgradable/replacable RAM without compromising on Speed/Low Power of LPDDR5X
- milled Aluminium Unibody chassis
- Full Linux support right from the start (including Firmware update via LVFS, Fingerprint Reader, etc.)
- Haptic Touchpad
- and all the repairability features Framework is known for
You can watch their YouTube Video for a quick summary:
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnOpIQJnYWU
- Invidious: https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?__goaway_challenge=js>-refresh&__goaway_id=5a21ef489cbc0e9e48ccded2c92f2b68&__goaway_referer=https%3A%2F%2Finv.nadeko.net%2F&v=GnOpIQJnYWU
I was looking for a new laptop to replace my old Lenovo Yoga 370 and initially disregarded the Framework 13 because of some downsides (low Battery Life, bad Camera, etc.) and was looking to go with one of the following devices:
- HP Elitebook X g1a
- the new Dell XPS 14
- Asus Expertbook PM5 G2
or also a MacBook pro. I am using Linux since more then 10 years and never touched MacOS at all. So I was not sure if MacOS would work for me. But this announcement made it easy: It will be a Framework 13 Pro with Intel X7 358H!
That’s so cool! They have Panther Lake, better battery, touchscreen, haptic trackpad, LPCAMM2, and a nicer aluminium chassis that comes in black. Everything that people have asked for, no way! Good work to them!
Their blog as well as the video described the new laptop as the “Macbook Pro for Linux users”, with a similarly solid build, battery life, and performance. But of course with repairability and upgradeability as a focus.
Clicking on some of the options on both web stores, a similarly configured Framework Laptop 13 Pro (Intel X7) is quite a bit more expensive than a Macbook Pro (base M5). If you go up to 32GB of RAM and 2TB SSD, the Framework becomes cheaper because of Apple tax for (non-upgradeable!) memory upgrades. But doesn’t include import fees (which will be much higher for FW)
I wonder if there will be an equivalent AMD offering …
They do offer it with the Ryzen 300 series CPUs (but those have worse efficiency, iGPU performance, etc compared to Intel’s new Panther Lake Let’s hope that AMD’s Zen 6 CPUs catch up!)
Also, yooo just checked their website - the new Panther Lake mainboards support the old non-Pro Framework Laptop 13 chassis too, so you can still upgrade your old machine! (and the reverse is true too, if you want of use an older CPU on the new chassis)
I believe they said the only thing you couldn’t swap into your old 13 is the new battery. For that you’ll need the new chassis to get it to fit. Everything else you could replace.
Nice! Checking the forums, looks like you can change the bottom cover while keeping the old top cover if you want the new display, battery, etc. while keeping a silver lid. Interesting…
I wouldn’t do it personally, but I appreciate that you could keep the old silver lid and swap in a new black bottom cover, throw in a colourful bezel and have yourself a nice Frankenstein’d laptop.
Some people have already suggested that such FW13 non-Pro and Pro hybrids could be called pandas or penguins