I’m looking for a laptop with a good display. I really want a true 10-bit HDR 4k panel. Are there any rumors/plans for it? It looks like right now only Apple (blergh) offers anything close.
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Afraid Framework doesn’t give hints about future plans. Perhaps to avoid the Osborne effect. And anything officially announced will be on their blog, so one can follow that or subscribe to their newsletter to stay aware of what they’re releasing.
Unfortunately HDR is unlikely as among the key requirements to qualify for certification is to have local dimming - that requires additional hardware which affects the size of the display.
Apple has its own mini-LED display designed specially for them, which is why they can offer HDR.
Here’s a good write-up about the pitfalls of upgrading the display in a laptop:
I guess another option is OLED? But yeah, we’re getting true square pixel RGB OLED displays only this year. I guess I’d settle for 4K SDR for now.
I have a disused ASUS laptop with a 16-inch 4k OLED display, which I hope to cannibalize to upgrade a Framework 16 for better resolution. I don’t care about refresh rate; 30Hz would be fine. No use for HDR. How likely is it that this display would be physically compatible with Framework hardware? I.e., are there industry standards that enable some interchangeability, or is everything bespoke?
1. Specifically, is any information available that would help me check physical compatibility, including mounting hardware and connector? If this display doesn’t fit, would I be able to buy one that would?
2. Are there any BIOS restrictions that would prevent it from working, if it does fit?
Welcome to the forum
In regard to physical mounting hardware? I sure don’t get the sense that there are proper standards, perhaps there are some quasi-standards around. The Framework 13 and 16 use mounting brackets adhered to the screen which then gets screwed into place. See here, community.frame.work/t/unofficial-guide-to-aftermarket-lcd-replacement/15890. I don’t believe those brackets are available separately. But pull-to-release screen adhesive strips are available on ebay & anyplace else you can find laptop parts.
See Framework’s github. It looks like they have CAD files which should give the space available.
Intentional BIOS restrictions? Such as whitelists which some other manufactures use to lock you into only the parts they intend for the model to use. Yeah, Framework sure doesn’t do anything like that!
Of course using a different screen will make it up to you to get it working. Forgive me if you are already aware, but many internal laptop parts won’t be plug-and-play the way externally attached devices are. For screens, there are a few quasi-standard LCD display-side pinouts. OLEDs go a different way with pinouts. And they require different voltages. You’d need to find or build a driver board, and have a custom cable made. One community member had a cable made and found it wasn’t too expensive. Mainboard-side display connectors don’t seem to have any standard pinouts, so expect each manufacturer to be different. An ASUS cable won’t work. Framework’s pinouts are on their github.
You might want to follow this thread, community.frame.work/t/build-log-fw13-dual-asus-zenbook-duo-oled-panels-custom-chassis-custom-pcb-daily-driver/82046. They plan to tackle building an OLED display driver for a Framework. And iirc the Framework 13 and 16 use essentially the same mainboard-side display pinout.