Framework 16 display panel

I’ve just read on the blog about the display panel to come with FW16, good stuff.

Is it in the plan(s) to release higher resolution panels?

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@sinatosk 2k 16:10 sounds enough for most people and the ‘norm’ in high end laptops right now. Any higher would eat up battery life and cost quite abit

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It still wouldn’t hurt as an option, a 4k panel that is 60hz. It gives you more space for programming, and when you plug it into a 4k monitor you don’t have to have everything rescaled or shifted.

@gna1 a 4k option will likely be availabile down the line, but ill say 2k is the sweetspot for performance/ resolutions for this generation, mainly battery isnt great and people want 120+hz in gaming. The industry is only phasing out 1080p and will take anotherwhile to make 4k optimal for the majority of systems.(most steaming sites still dont come with real 4k)

i think ill personally be fine without 4k for coding…

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I realize that this is a matter of personal preference, but I have a hard time believing anyone would be comfortable using a 16:10 16" 4k display at 100% scaling. In fact, I happen to own a 16:9 15.7" 4k display (long story), and I found 100% scaling entirely unusable.

As I just mentioned, most users with their eyes further than 5 inches from the screen will likely need scaling to make such a display useful. This means that, ironically, a 4k screen would need scaling where a 2k screen wouldn’t!

Indeed, a 2k screen on the Framework 16 at 100% scaling would likely match up with external 4k screens quite well.

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I really would love to have the option of an higher ppi screen, as I am currently used to 2015 15“ Retina MBP.

The 2019 MBP 16“ had 3072x1920 res @220 ppi so you can‘t distinguish individual pixels.

Would be cool to have this later on say @120 Hz and matte/glossy option.

Framework’s display supplier does make panels with the exact same dimensions (and I think the same connector) as the Framework 16’s panel. So it shouldn’t be too difficult for Framework to offer other options.

If the mounts and connector positions are the same it may even be possible for end users to just buy and install other panels.

Some possible 3840x2400p (283 dpi) panels include the BOE NE160QAM-NX1 and BOE NE160QAM-NZ1.

At a lower resolution of 3072x1920p (226 dpi) there are also the BOE NE160F8M-N61, BOE NE160F8M-N41, and BOE NE160F8M-N42 as possible options.

Some other panels that may be interest to people wanting a different panel are (all these are at similar resolution to the Framework 16’s current panel):

  • BOE NE160QDM-NM1: Very bright thanks to being Mini LED
  • BOE NE160QDM-NZ2: Very high refresh rate (240 Hz)
  • BOE NE160QDM-NM4: Both very high refresh rate (240 Hz) and very bright Mini LED
  • BOE TV160DKT-NH0: Slightly narrower and taller, which should result in almost 3% more total screen space and more even distribution of bezels (compared to the current large bottom bezel).

The last option would likely require meaningful modifications to the top case (and different bezel options) so that may not be feasible, but all other options I listed do seem feasible from what I can tell.

If anybody decides to buy one of those panels and see if it works please let me know how it goes.

Most panel data I got from panelook.com.

Edit: According to this the Framework 13’s panel is designed to be glued into a laptop, so Framework uses adhesive to hold the display on a mounting bracket (and the bracket is then screwed in). It is possible to remove that bracket from the old panel and transfer it to the new panel with new adhesive, however a bit tedious/difficult. I suspect the Framework 16 will probably be similar.

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@Kyle_Reis wow, that excellent analysis!

Do you know, is it possible to order a single unit?

Sometimes panels like those can be ordered as single units, usually intended as replacement panels for laptops that included those panels from the factory.

Edit: I don’t think the manufacturers sell panels like those as single units, but sometimes random companies will buy a large order of them and list the panels for individual sale online on websites like AliExpress. Especially if the panel is used in some very popular laptop (so there’s likely to be a decent number of people damaging the screen and needing to replace it).

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A post was merged into an existing topic: [FEEDBACK] Framework 16 screen and Linux (why not 4K)