So, I have both the Framework 13 and 16, and at initial glance it would look like the touchpad on the Framework 16 is smaller than the 13. However upon measuring, the height is the same and the 16 inch is a bit wider.
Given that the size of the touchpad is nearly identical, just slightly wider on the 16 inch, why did Framework opt to use a brand new touchpad rather than re-using the touchpad from the 13 inch?
Also, yes I know that the touchpad is built into the cover on the 13 vs it being a separate piece on the 16, but I’m talking about just the touchpad part, which can be bought from the store separately. Seems like a miss in the reusability aspect.
That said, I think the touchpad on the 16 is better than the touchpad on the 13, so there’s that.
In both cases the touchpad has the same aspect ratio as the screen.
The Framework Laptop 13’s screen has a 3:2 aspect ratio (meaning it is 50% wider than its height) and the touchpad also has a 3:2 aspect ratio.
The Framework Laptop 16’s screen has a 16:10 aspect ratio (meaning it is 60% wider than its height) and the touchpad also has a 16:10 aspect ratio.
The reason for this is that with a wider screen people tend to have more horizontal movement along the touchpad and with a taller screen people tend to have more vertical movement along the touchpad. So it is ergonomically advantageous to have the touchpad and display have the same aspect ratio.
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You’re right, I didn’t think about it that way. However I still think they could have found some middle ground, such as making the 13 slightly wider and the 16 slightly shorter to make them the same size and thus use the same sku; I highly doubt that anyone would have complained about the touchpad being a 1/4 inch smaller/larger than the display aspect ratio, and it would have been one less thing to worry about and engineer for the 16.