Computer Company Framework wants you to upgrade and repair your laptop

A common complaint about modern laptops is that they are essentially sealed boxes with no user-serviceable parts inside. A new tech startup, Framework, wants to bring the DIY vibe back to laptops with laptops that encourage DIY and upgrading.

Laptops were at least equipped with removable batteries, and sometimes they had scalable RAM, storage, or even GPUs. Today, that’s the rare exception to the rule, especially with companies like Apple integrating batteries tightly into the design – MacBooks are essentially laptop-shaped batteries with tiny pieces of computer coiled up. around them. Many manufacturers now also solder RAM and storage directly to the motherboard.

The Framework Laptop is a 13.5-inch system that the company claims has been designed to “give you great products that you can easily customize, upgrade and repair, thereby increasing longevity and reducing costs. electronic waste ”.

In this case, that means an expansion card system, pedestal storage and RAM, and a (hypothetically) replaceable main board and CPU. In addition, “heavy-duty parts such as the battery, display, keyboard and customizable magnetic mount bezel are easy to replace, with replacement parts available directly from our online store.”

Sounds like a great idea, at least on paper, and the four accessory bays can choose from housing inserts for USB-C, USB-A, HDMI, DisplayPort, MicroSD, additional storage, or even a dedicated headphone amp. .

The base system will weigh just under 3 pounds and be 15.9mm thick. Other key specs include:

• 13.5-inch screen, 3: 2 aspect ratio of 2256 x 1504
• 1080p 60fps webcam
• Replaceable 57 Wh battery
• 11th Generation Intel Core processors
• Wi-Fi 6
• Up to 64 GB of DDR4 memory and 4 TB of storage

The Framework company was founded by Nirav Patel, an early member of the Oculus team dating back to his Kickstarter days, and later the company’s hardware manager. Pricing, exact specs, and availability details for the Framework Laptop line will be available soon, with a launch slated for this summer. Three basic models will ship with Windows 10 Home or Pro, and a DIY edition will allow you to install the operating system of your choice – yes, even Linux.