With products like the Apple Neo and the Dell XPS 13 the market that the Framework 12 wants to exist in has basically eroded.
However, the FW 12 is a great laptop. In much the same way that the FW 13 has gone pro, I think the 12 receiving similar treatment would make a lot of sense and be a consistent move with Framework’s past lineup improvements.
I guess the question really is, who would want something like that?
What I am talking about is a 12 model not constrained by the education market. Give us thunderbolt, dual channel, or even better LPCAMM2. Full CNC’d enclosure with the same touch and pen digitized panel (with quality improvements of course). Basically the 13 Pro in a 12 form factor.
The 13 is great but it is too big to me in general. The 12 really is a sweet spot in the computing world.
Anyone here feel the same way, and would like to see something like the Framework 12 Pro?
I think Framework misses the digital artist as a target audience. FL13P? Good iGPU, touchscreen but no stylus support. FL12? Stylus support but atrocious 69% sRGB color. Possible evolution paths:
N150 CPU and make the FL12 a truly budget laptop. N150 only supports single channel memory so nothing wasted.
Screen with at least 100% sRGB to make a laptop for digital artists.
I would love to see a framework tablet with 10-12 inch high quality repairable display, upgradable motherboard, kickstand and some magnetic pins to attach a cover keyboard or dock and one or two expansion slots. Not sure if that’s physically possible but I like the idea. My former employer had a huge fleet of Surface Pro devices, people liked them but if anything happened they turned into paperweight quickly.
All I really want right now is more power (e.g. new mainboard), other than that, like a better screen or backlit keyboard would be something I might be interested too.
New chassis? Not really interested. I really dig the feel and color options. I don’t really need another block of aluminum in my house.
I’d have a love-hate relationship with an aluminium chassis. On one hand it’d be more solid and “elegnt” but on the other hand it’s usually cold (or hot) to the touch so I prefer the current plastic one and I really like the colors and TPU edges of the current chassis. The only thing I don’t like about the current chassis are the tendency to develop cracks and broken screw in the input cover (which has been already fixed by Framework Support). It’s quite rigid too but some better metal reinforcements wouldn’t hurt.
What I’d mostly want when it comes to upgrades is… the fingerprint reader. The nice to haves would be a better glass touchpad, more “pro” screen (120Hz full sRGB) and better motherboards that aren’t limited by the budget. When the RAMmagedon ends I’d be really happy to get a Pantherlake (or something better) motherboard with LPCAMM2 memory.
I don’t know what percentage of Frameworks 12 went to enthusiasts (and how many went to schools) but I think that this number would be significant enough to make sense for Framework to stop limiting themselves to school markets where it’s gonna be tough competeing with the devices mentioned by OP.
I’m not an artist myself but I have the feeling that many of them would appreciate the colors. There’s 1 thing though, I think that the stylus feeling would need to be improved. I don’t know if it’s the matter of refresh rate (or maybe that I’m using MS Surface stylus) but I remember that the stylus felt more precise on iPad Pro but I’ve only tried it for few moments.
As much as I would love the Framework 12 pro there’s no way I would buy it any sooner than a year or so after release at this point (If at all) with the current state of Framework as a company.
I think they need to fix their quality issues with every product line before they tackle a new product or an update to an established one. They seem to clearly have their hands full and no one can afford a new module of LPCAMM2 right now anyway. They need to just take some time and chill out to maintain their established product lineup. It’ll win them some community good will.
But if they do ever fix everything I’d love to see a heavily upgraded laptop 12 focused on artists and creatives like the 13 is focused on devs.
I teach and act as tier 0 tech support (among other things) in a US public school. I would be shocked if Framework did much business in the education market, with any of their devices, as they don’t meet what IT is looking for when deploying devices to students: cost and turn-key remote management, both of which Chromebooks have nailed down.
If Framework upgraded the 12 for the enthusiast market as you described (better trackpad, mainboard, screen + stylus) with an improved chassis to avoid cracking while retaining the colors, they could probably give Apple a run for their money when it comes to personal purchases by teachers looking for a premium option. I know I’d seriously consider a pre-order if they’d address the current deficiencies, but can’t justify purchasing with the current offering’s mainboard and screen.
This tablet might fit the “repairable 12 inch tablet with good color coverage and stylus support” that you are looking for.
I can’t vouch for this particular product, but the phone they created has been serving me well enough for the past year with no real issues besides the camera software being a downgrade from what I am used to. But the company (Brax Technologies) seems to be on the same team as us and Framework.
This is not x86/64 which could be a problem depending on the software you are wanting to use.
I don’t know. I am not an artist by trade, although I don’t think I’m bad at it, I just don’t see the issue with the display as a result. So for me the display is fine. Since Framework just answered 3 of the top 5 things, I think it is safe to say that they are working to improve the display. These things are complicated however, and time will be needed.
The stylus pen for the open slate is battery rechargeable not EMR (batteryless) so its the same issue as FW12, and you may be taking a risk seeing whether or not the software you use runs on Arm and whether the drawing tablet driver is functional and configurable. The company looks good but their experience is mainly in smartphones.
Personally I would never buy a product with a battery-powered stylus again because you inevitably have to draw while keeping it plugged in and this wears out the connector or cable very quickly.
I’m in the same boat. I was very excited to see the FW12 announcement, but then disappointed when I dug into the new specs. I am ready to upgrade my 2023 Thinkpad X1 Yoga, but the 12" is basically a downgrade from my 3yo laptop in terms of horsepower. The 13 Pro has all the compute specs I want, including the recent addition of the touchscreen, but no hinge or pen. …and the hinge and the pen are red lines for me.
Hoping the 12 gets a high-power AMD option, or there’s a 13 Pro +hinge and pen (where I can select the high-powered AMD option).