Framework Marketplace has Fingerprint Reader Kit 2nd Gen (FRANTD0001). I don’t remember it being announced, and from the laptop pages, it looks like it will be coming with the new AMD Ryzen AI 300 laptops.
Is there any information on it? What is the difference between 1st Gen and 2nd Gen? The photo looks exactly the same. Is it the same hardware or different? Is there any reason to upgrade existing laptops?
contains updated materials and LED I think the hardware is largely the same.
But what does “a more uniform” look even mean? I’m looking at a 1st Gen one, and it appears… pretty uniform.
If gen1 and gen2 have identical core functionality, I would buy gen1 for a cheaper price if I need to replace one.
Maybe related to this changelog
Source: LVFS: Laptop 13 AMD Ryzen AI 300
The Gen1 reader only has a single LED illuminating the ring from the right side, relying on the light guide to carry it all the way around, which I have noticed under certain lower lighting conditions isn’t all that uniform:
The “updated materials” bit is likely referencing a closer match of the color between the scanner and the rest of the surrounding laptop body.
I’m sure there are other differences, like auto-dimming as mentioned in the firmware change log for the AI 300 board. They aren’t likely to release an entirely new generation just for an extra LED…that’s a relatively minor board revision, not a generational release. Something like auto-dimming capabilities (LED PWM) and such would require more hardware, driver, and firmware control, which would be cause for a generational release and the drop in Gen1 price (beyond simply clearing out Gen1 stock).
I have no doubt that a Gen2 reader for FW16 will release in tandem with any FW16 AI 300 board that comes out later.
I see what you mean. If I had to guess, on my Framework 13 it looks like the LED might be on the top side, but I have to look really closely to see that it is marginally brighter (and I am still not sure if it actually is, or I am just imagining this).
As for PWM, this is a bit confusing. I am pretty sure that the LED used to be PWM-controlled, e.g. based on this reply: Power button light - #2 by Kieran_Levin. Well, also, based on this old thread, it used to be RGB: Reprogramming the LEDs for the holidays!. I think they’ve switched away from RGB to white-only, but I thought it was still PWM, since you can configure the brightness level in the UEFI settings (alas, there are only three steps to choose from). I have never managed to find a way to control it fully from the EC, but, anyway, I think PWM might already be there, and that firmware changelog is purely about making use of it. But if there is a way to make the new LED be NOT SO BRIGHT, then it is absolutely worthy an upgrade!
You’re right! I forgot they simplified things. I guess we’ll have to wait for a breakdown by Framework for the new gen part, which I rather enjoy seeing them do; the explanations into the different parts and their rationale for decisions they made along the way. Perhaps they can do a brief one on this part, maybe as a compilation/roundup of the latest gen parts.
