Framework Laptop 13

The laptop to answer your concerns about e-waste and today's throw-away culture – PROS Very good build quality - alloy bodyshell, properly finished High quality 3:2 aspect 13" display Completely repairable - it is designed to be fully disassembled with every component part able to be purchased and replaced Modular - you choose the ports you need and the specs you want Upgradable - Framework continually develops and produces… Read more

components with the latest specs that can be retro-fitted to all it's laptop generations. DIY edition can be ordered with specific components for your dream build or bare-bones and you source your own key components Just 5 screws stand between you and opening up the laptop to access the internal components Australia is a destination country now for placing orders GST is included in the price so no Customs hassles

CONS No local presence so no way to see/touch the product before buying, support is all online and offshore Expensive compared to the same/similar spec machine from established laptop companies Modular, upgradable concept is proven but medium/longer term future of the company is a residual risk - i.e. selling out to a big corporate and what it means for future upgradability, etc

REVIEW I purchased the DIY edition, Intel i5 1340p. It is a 13" laptop with the typical slim form factor, the main difference is the 3:2 screen ratio which is slightly taller than the common 16:9 ratio. It is an expensive laptop - no question. Build quality is very good - excellent even, if you consider how new the company is. If the goals of reparability, upgradability, customisation and longevity are very important to you then the value proposition is high. Otherwise, best look elsewhere for better value.

The DIY edition is a bare-bones offer containing the laptop display & chassis, mainboard containing the CPU and cooling fan, wifi module and battery - all pre-assembled. The ordering process takes you through a menu of component options to fully customise your laptop. Typically at a minimum you would need to add the keyboard cover, screen bezel and 4 port expansion cards. The DIY edition means you will get the menu components packaged individually for your install. There is also a Prebuilt version with very limited customisation and comes ready to go out of the box.

My order excluded RAM, SSD, operating system and power adaptor. Those I chose to source separately - in fact, RAM, SSD and power adaptor were all recycled from a dead 3 year old Lenovo Thinkpad.

Order to delivery was 10 days. It is shipped from the factory in Taiwan. There were no Customs issues or duties to pay as GST is charged on your order.

It came in a moderate sized plain brown cardboard box, tightly packed with all the components including some empty boxes which would probably contain parts I didn't order. Assembly components were individually boxed. No instructions come in the box but Framework website contains detailed easily followed instructions to assemble the laptop and install the operating system. Assembly went smoothly with minor exceptions - the loose screws on the bottom of the laptop catch on the screen when adjusting the screen back from 180 degrees, giving the impression something's not fitting correctly. The screen bezel didn't seem to fit along the bottom at first but after completing the build it had settled down nicely. And the included screwdriver bit (T5) was easily stripped when screwing down the laptop screws.

In use it performs exactly as expected - a modern laptop running Windows 11. It's modern looking without being flashy. The screen is excellent with a matt non-reflective finish and it gets very bright. The screen hinges are excellent with the right amount of resistance. The screen can fold out to 180 degrees. There are physical switches on the bezel to lock the mic and camera for privacy. The keyboard is backlit and has a good typing feel, not as good as a Lenovo Thinkpad but similar to an Apple keyboard.

The swappable port expansion cards are a standout feature allowing you to customise the ports you need, as well as hot-swap where you need to. Downside is that there are only 4 port bays available and one USB C port is needed for charging/AC power. The power button doubles as a fingerprint reader but I believe the camera doesn't support facial recognition. It has a headphone socket - something to celebrate these days.

The use-case here is for a high-school student laptop. The robustness will be put to the test - I don't expect the robustness of a Lenovo Thinkpad but its a solid well built product. Framework recommends the specification of RAM and SSD however older lower spec components will work as I have implemented here (recycled out of a 3 year old laptop), with a corresponding decrease in performance however for school use there is no noticeable decrease in performance. Reusing the old power adaptor was also trouble-free. Any laptop charger with USB C and minimum 60W - 65W power will work.

I highly recommend the Framework Laptop 13, even despite that there is practically no other direct competitor in the market so far.