HI everyone. I’m using my Batch 4 Framework laptop on Fedora 35.
While I enjoy the machine itself I would like to share what to improve for the next generation of framework laptops.
Better quality control for the keyboard deck. The bottom left corner of my laptop keyboard plate protrudes out of the base of the laptop with a sharp edge. It catches on my clothes. Very annoying but a quick fix with some sandpaper.
The trackpad will have a phantom click if you put enough force on the base of the laptop or hold it in a way where you stress one of the corners. Having your elbow on the laptop is enough to trigger this. I would rather like to have a non-physical trackpad with haptic feedback like the MacBook trackpads.
Glass display. The plastic display, while excellent, is often not perfectly flat. It attracts dust and fingerprints easily, is easy to scratch and damage, and is difficult to fully clean with a microfiber cloth. A glass bezel would fix this issue.
Finally, the display hinges are extremely wobbly. They are “fine” in the sense that they don’t move when you have them on a table, but the moment you pickthem up, move them, or slightly tilt the chassis, the display hinges will die and lie flat. The hinges are so bad. Worse than my 2012 Lenovo Idea pad 320l. I’ve asked Framework’s support and they say it looks perfectly fine, aka not a defect. Here is a demonstration..
And the image to the email response
In Touchpad automatically depressing when chassis flexes, this issue is actually solved, it’s the pad rubbing against the case. Apple’s taptic engine, although it feels nice, it is highly proprietary and took many years of development. Unfortunately, Framework is still a new company, and they don’t (AFAIK) have the resources to develop.
I agree that a glass bezel would make the fingerprints easier, but then you couldn’t replace it. One of framework’s fundamental concerns is with consumer repair-ability. The bezel, if you didn’t know, can do this (From IFixit video):
Mine is batch 6, and I have no such problems with the hinge. I can hold the display at 90 degree angles, both forward and back, and it won’t move, unless i give it a good shake. This might be remedied by replacing the display hinges, sometimes manufacturing tolerances work against the consumer.
Hope you can find some fixes!
Just as a note, @Paul_Kim is using batch 4. There’s currently a batch 9, and the FW team has taken most of the suggestions into account, so the laptop is constantly evolving.
Yeah. I love how the bezel pops out. It kinda counteracts the plastic bezel as it makes it much easier to clean the corners when it is off. But I still think a glass display would be possible. Or is it impossible to adhere a glass panel directly on the display unit? I’m not an expert on display units.
I will say, if I had to choose between the current implementation and another where a glass display is used without the pop off bezel feature, I’d take the former. I just hope there is a middle ground to be found with the best of both worlds.
I might tighten the hinges for a sturdier display. Though I heard they are also working on a more durable hinge in the future so maybe I’ll wait for that.
