It would be kinda cool to see in the future, assuming the Framework Laptop kicks off and becomes successful, to have the community or vendors make third-party clear shells for the Framework laptop
While I know is not a must, the precedent of modularity in the framework laptop can open up the possibility to awesome custom builds of the laptop with nice shells other than metal.
The only laptop I can think of achieved this is the iBook G3 back in the 2000s
We have prototyped a clear bezel which looks pretty cool. For the rest of the enclosure parts, plastic would need more space to be rigid enough, which there isn’t really room for.
Thank you for the response @nrp A clear Bezel would pair so well with that clear keyboard keys I think I’ve seen in some of the promotional material I’ve seen on the Framework site.
And that’s a bummer, but it completely makes sense… A weak shell for the device would not be ideal.
I do wonder if anyone in the team (or hopefully if other people/small vendors) would at least jump it to make some clear bumper/drop cases for the laptop (kinda like the ones that exist for the Macbook line). That, along with a clear bezel would honestly be a cool aesthetic
@nrp I would love a clear bezel so much. As much as I would love a colorful option like red or blue, it could distract my eyes from color correction work as opposed to a more neutral black, gray, or white. A clear one would fit the bill as both non-distracting and having personality!
Oooh, a clear input cover to match a clear bezel would be awesome.
That being said preferably this would still have the normal keyboard… I don’t think I can touch type that well.
@Nich_Trimble oh yeah, the regular keyboard present would be good. Just the top lid is clear and you could see the insides or keyboard wiring of sorts hehe
This is something we’ve thought through for a while. but it really comes to the mechanical and space issue. Personally I super want this cool case same as any one of you. >"<
BTW, the image looks cool with nice Photoshop skill! Thumb up!
So long as the hand wrests handle heat transfer well I would be interested in this! One thing I don’t like about my late 2016 mbp is that it easily gets hot and sometimes to the point that my wrists sweat… which looks gross on that aluminum.
Not going to lie, if they had some iBook G3 style stuff I would totally get it. I suppose there’s a nostalgia factor and possible legal complications, but man it could be cool and look clean.
A clear bezel would be amazing, and a clear body even more so! If either of these ever hit the market, I’d buy them in a heartbeat. I think this design trend would work especially well for the Framework, given the focus on user repairability and how nice it looks under the hood.