I’ll go. I’d like to preface this by saying that I think this is probably the best linux/windows laptop I’ve used, and I’ve used the Dell XPS13, X1 Carbon/Yoga, and X1 extreme.
Pros:
- The framework team. It’s really exciting to see leadership on the forum, checking and debugging compatibility of the latest Linux kernel/system libraries with the hardware.
- The keyboard is extremely nice, I had an X1 extreme for awhile which has even deeper travel (prior to returning to a macbook pro), and I would say the keyboard is comparable in terms of typing comfort, and it has that similar soft touch plastic that makes typing on it very comfortable. the keyboard itself doesn’t get too warm even when the system is under load, except near the top function keys. Some of the keys squeak a bit when you press them in the right direction.
- The touchpad is excellent, it’s larger than I expected (bigger than my 2014 MBP touchpad), smooth, and about what you would expect for a modern glass trackpad. With a bit of fiddling in wayland/application settings, the experience on linux is surprisingly decent, but you will still miss macOS drivers if that was what you were used to.
- The screen is sharp, the colors are accurate, and going back to a 16:10 display would be hard.
- The laptop (base) feels extremely sturdy while being light, it’s hard to go back to my (old) macbook as the framework feels nicer to use
- The charger is smaller than I expected, I believe it’s a gallium nitride charger and my laptop chargers very quickly (on the order of 1-2 hours)
- The fan has a nice tone, it’s not shrill, so even when it is running the sound is not disruptive. I think I would prefer a multi-fan option (I’m sure this would make repairability harder) or some sort of vapor chamber option (ditto) to help tame modern processors.
Framework related cons:
- The battery life is not quite what I expected. I’m optimistically getting 7 hours on linux (Fedora 34) at 5% brightness with power-profiles-daemon/power-saver mode now though, which I think I can live with. Of note, I have the AX201 vPro, 32 gb ram, the 1167g7 model, and an sn850 1 tb SSD. I’ve heard the sn850 drive and the vPro version of the wifi card are a bit power hungry, so I may try swapping them out.
- The screen is very reflective, moreso than my macbook pro. I’d be surprised if you could use this in direct sunlight
- The screen is still pretty bright on the lowest brightness setting.
- The screen hinges are tight but the screen still wobbles, this is probably due to the taller aspect ratio of the screen. I can see the screen shimmer a bit due to wobble as I type.
- The alignment of the screen bezel relative to the frame is a bit crooked, it’s not noticeable unless you look very close though
- The speakers are not great, they sound echo-ey and hollow. This is compared to a MBP which has very good speakers though. I think I’d prefer if the laptop was slightly wider to accommodate top facing speakers. I don’t know if it’s possible that a subsequent hardware update can improve the sound without redesigning the chassis.
- The positioning of the rear screws on the back of the case is as such that if you open the laptop past 120 degrees (~120 degrees is required to access the inside of the laptop) you will push the screw into the soft metal of the lid. I feel like this is a bit of an oversight, as it’s not easy to remove these screws completely (they are meant to stay in the bottom of the case, so you don’t lose them [although now I wonder how easy it is to replace the screw I likely started to strip]). If the screws were moved 1 or 2 mm this would not be an issue at all.
- The magnets that secure the keyboard deck were very hard to remove, so much so that I worried that applying enough force to pull of the magnets would result in me accidentally hitting the metal keyboard tray into the screen. Also, the screw that “pushes” the bottom right corner up in order to provide access feels like you’re stripping it, it’s not clear that it’s fully unscrewed. The instructions now warn you about this (Thanks for the update framework!)
- The retention clips for routing the wifi cable were ineffective due to a week adhesive and continued to come off during installation.
- Due to the positioning of the fan and intake vent, the laptop can get hot on a bed/pillow.
- The click of the trackpad is very loud. (side note: I’d prefer a haptic touch option like macOS)
- The timer for the power button is extremely long in the firmware, making it hard to know if the laptop is failing to shut down. The framework team has said they will fix this in the firmware.
- The power button can get hot due to a driver issue, but this will likely soon be fixed in most distros.
- The microphone wasn’t working on my unit, but the framework team was very responsive about addressing this.
- The expansion cards wobble a bit, even when firmly in place.
- The expansion cards are a bit plastic-y, there’s a visible plastic ridge that seems to exist to allow for users to use as a grip point but I feel like it breaks the lines under the case. The release button also feels a bit wobbly.
More linux-ey cons (but notable for users not considering using Windows):
- The touchpad acceleration as mentioned varies per app, it takes awhile to tune it to something reasonable
- I haven’t been able to get the fingerprint reader working with SDDM yet
- The (hardware) right click isn’t working for me (I tried disabling ps2 emulation)