The Framework Laptop is a scalable and customizable 13-inch laptop coming this spring

A San Francisco-based startup called Framework has just kicked off an ambitious project: a slim and light productivity laptop that it says can be “upgraded, customized, and fixed in a way that no other laptop can.” “.

Framework founder Nirav Patel said The edge as the company aims to resolve its long-standing frustrations with mainstream tech companies. Patel was an early employee of Oculus and also worked for Apple. During this time, he says he “saw an industry that felt incredibly broken in every way.”

“As a consumer electronics company, your business model actually depends on producing constant tons of material and pushing it through channels, into the market and into the hands of consumers, then dropping it and to let it exist, ”Patel explains. “It encourages waste and inefficiency, and ultimately environmental damage.”

To that end, Patel sees the Laptop Framework as more than a product – he sees it as an ecosystem.

The Framework comes with a 13.5-inch 2256 x 1504 display, a 1080p 60fps webcam, a 57Wh battery, and a 2.87-pound aluminum chassis. Inside, you’ll get 11th Gen Intel processors, up to 64GB of DDR4 memory, and “4TB or more” of NVMe Gen4 storage.

As is the case with all types of consumer laptops, buyers can trade in and upgrade various internal parts of the Framework, including RAM, battery, and storage. The company tries to bring three more advantages to the table. The first is that you can also customize and upgrade the external components of the chassis, including the keyboard, display, bezels (which are attached magnetically), and ports (via an expansion card system). If you hate dongles and docking stations, you can select four ports from an assortment including the usual suspects (USB-C, USB-A, HDMI, DisplayPort, microSD, etc.).

The second is that Framework will sell its own modules on a centralized online marketplace, which is also open to third-party sellers and resellers. The idea is that if your screen does crack or you feel like changing your glasses, you can go to Framework’s site to find custom-designed replacements for your laptop rather than having to search. Framework components are printed with QR codes that when scanned will take you directly to a purchase page for their upgrades.

The third is that in addition to a pre-built framework system, you can purchase a “DIY” kit of your selected parts, which you can then use to assemble the laptop yourself. The DIY edition offers some flexibility of the operating system: you can install “your favorite Linux distribution” or your choice of Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Professional on it.

Image: Framework

It’s a compelling plan, of course. But Framework won’t be able to realize its scalable and sustainable future just by announcing an ecosystem – it has to actually create an ecosystem that will last. And whether Framework will continue to manufacture modules for this specific laptop model in the future, or whether third-party partners will take over, is certainly a question mark.

If you’re a PC enthusiast, you probably know that Framework is far from the first company to try a system like this. Intel has given modular computers a chance in the past, to little avail – its compute board was a commercial failure and its modular Ghost Canyon NUC (which had hardware partners on board at launch) still hasn’t received any new components. . Alienware’s original Area-51m also never received the upgradeable parts promised for the future. Phone makers also tried modular devices: Google’s Project Ara smartphone, made of Lego-style bricks that users could rearrange and swap, was going nowhere. The reality is that the hardware is difficult to build and the modular hardware is even more difficult.

Image: Framework

Patel, for his part, believes that these OEMs were not committed enough. “Other companies, they put it out there, and someone in-house decided, ‘Hey, we’re going to focus on something else this year,’ and shut down the project,” Patel says. “It’s not something we’re trying to do. This is not a side project for us that someone found interesting. It is the heart of our business. “

“We are launching new modules, upgrades, accessories, etc. to improve the health of the ecosystem, and we will continue to do so for as long as customers want, ”Patel adds.

Framework will take pre-orders this spring, and the device is expected to ship this summer. Pricing has yet to be announced, although Patel says it will be “comparable to other well-reviewed laptops.”