Facts about laptops I haven't found

Framework Laptop 16
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Hello,

I’ve looked around the website and the forums, and there are a couple of things I don’t see. When I was on the shopping/configuration pages, in particular, there is no mention of bluetooth. The fingerprint reader wasn’t mentioned, but I ran across the topic in forums. Also, I didn’t see how many expansion cards each model supports. In the forums it would appear that the 16 has 6 of them, and possibly a built-in USB-C port on the back, but I’m not sure that’s going to be in the final product. I’m only guessing that the 13 has 4. Someone mentioned that the 3.5mm audio port was removed in the 16. Are any/all of these expansion cards hot-swappable? What do they use to connect to the mainboard? I’m frustrated that this information isn’t easily found. I don’t want to just guess about this stuff like bluetooth, although it may be a safe bet. I wanted to place a pre-order, but didn’t because there wasn’t a spec sheet that gave me a complete picture.

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Depending on where you are ordering from EU customers receive the wifi card which supports wifi and bluetooth automatically. This is apparently due to a EU regulation. In the US you were able to specify specifically which Wi-fi card you wanted, and so it was not a given you would have wifi or bluetooth.

The 13 has 4 expansion ports.

The 16 specifications have not been officially announced just yet. Official statements from Framework are the only source for information to be trusted. Based on this there are 6 expansion card ports, and the audio jack has been removed. You can, however, add it back with an expansion card.

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Correct.

There’s nothing known about that. Different expansion bay modules on the back could possibly have different connectors (or very likely none).

Correct.

Right, but you can install an expansion card for it if you need it.

They use a standard USB-C connector, so they’re hot-swappable. They’re basically just normal USB-C adapters and memory sticks in a fitting case.

Bluetooth is integrated in the WiFi modules, there are a few different WiFi modules in use, but since some time, they just come pre-installed.

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Attempting to address some of your questions.

Bluetooth is a function of the Wi-Fi card that you install, The recommended ones do have Bluetooth, however, others may be available that will work, but do not have Bluetooth (unlikely, I suspect).

Ports being hot swappable, Yes the USB-C ports and adapters are supposed to be hot-swappable. That being the case, I would still take basic precautions when removing some types, like Drive expansion card. Eject these, or shut down and replace when off.

The expansion cards are all USB-C compatible, the jack inside expansion slot is a USB-C female. you could plug a cable directly into them, without using a card, with the additional risk of damaging the mainboard, should something bad happen.

The fingerprint reader on my batch 1, 11th gen is a Goodix brand. The model may have changed for more recent production.

The audio chip was originally RealTek, but has been changed to Tempo.

The 13 does only have 4 USB-C expansions slots, one of which must be used occasionally for the charger.

I believe the 16 will have 6 USB-C slots, but I haven’t really been paying attention to it, since I am not in the market for a new device, at the moment.

As for the 3.5mm (2.5mm?) audio jack, I think I saw the same thing, the jack will not be present on the 16. Hopefully, there will be a USB-C / Audio Jack combo expansion card for those with that need. But, aren’t there telephone headsets with USB-C connectors on the cable?

I know many of the comments on the forums are from people that have problems or complaints about their computers. My experience has been wonderful. I run Windows 10 on the main drive, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS on a 250GB expansion card, and Fedora 38 on a Flash Drive (but will convert soon). Since I got mine so early, it was a chore to get the fingerprint reader working in Linux, however, once that was resolved, I have had a good time.

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Spec sheet does state the specific WiFi card and it’s Bluetooth standard on the selected model, if you scroll down.

It’s not quite as detailed as a HP Quickspecs sheet or similar, but it I think it answers your questions.

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