Well, my new laptop is 6 weeks in. I thought I would give you a review.
My coworkers and I all got new laptops. They got Dell XPS 15’s (2020 spec, Intel Core i7 1165, 16GB ram, 1TB gen 3 ssd $1680 shipped) and I got a framework batch 6 (I7 1165, 32gb ram, and 512GB gen 4 SSD $1430 shipped and I put mine together)
We are tech support and IT network engineers, so we got together in our tech meetings to compare.
First off, on specs, My Framework is faster than theirs. I attribute this to the choice to sacrifice some hard drive capacity to get a generation newer SSD. My hard drive performance is twice the gen 3 in every metric we have run. I also saved $300 by building my machine, and I spent some of that getting faster and more ram. They have me beat in graphics, but honestly, I just don’t feel dedicated graphics are worth the weight and heat.
On display, we each like our own choices. I love the 3:2 display. they like the touchscreens. I like the smaller footprint, they like the bigger ones. But we are all happy.
Weight: I love love love the size and weight. I have a Macbook Air M1 as my second machine, and the frame works is lighter despite being a little bigger.
Port selection obviously goes to me. I have a choice of 7 ports, (4USBc, 1 USBa 1 HDMI, 1 DP.) My normal config is 2 USB-c, left and right, HDMI left, and USB-A right. sucks to be the dell guys, who are stuck with whatever Dell decided to give them. The expansion cards also extended the support for the Mac, since I can now cut down on dongles a lot! I had intended to get a dock, but thunderbolt docks are stupid expensive, so I just use the ports.
Battery life goes to them. Generally I am getting a half day but part of that is I have the screen brightness up. I carry a battery capable of charging the framework and the macbook 3 times over, so I don’t worry too m much about it.
Keyboard, touchpad and fingerprint reader: I love the framework keyboard, and i much prefer the keyboard over the Dell one. Touchpads are about equal, and I kind of wish I had windows Hello in the camera like they do, but I am fine. I really got them beat with the hardware switches for the camera and mics. They have to use tape to control camera access. lol
Overall, I am really happy with my purchase. No issues, no quality problems, and inside, I was able to make certain component choices that give me a faster computer. I paid less, and got more so what is not to like?