Framework XL

I like the concept of a repairable laptop. But after using the framework laptop for a bit, there is a major problem I noticed. The screen is too small for my development work. I’m sure that some people would be happy with a 13" screen, but I need a larger one.

Is there any possibility we could get a “Framework XL” for those of US that want to have a bigger 17" screen? (Maybe also a bigger battery and 3 ports on each side instead of 2)

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Hi, I believe the idea has been brought up before in this thread. Lots of users seem to want a bigger model, whether it’s 15" or 17".

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I would say that 15" is a little too small for me, 17" or 19" would be preferable. Although I’d still prefer 15" over 13".

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Do they even make 19" laptops? If so I never knew haha

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Good lord, I purchase a laptop to be portable. 19" that is the size of my first monitor I purchased… I wouldn’t want to lug that around.

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I used to have an 18" Alienware with dual HDD slots and two Video cards in SLI… but I have never seen 19"… man… that Alienware was awesome at the time… but it’s a decade old now!

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Soon as 17" come out I’m buying got the money set aside and I’m waiting

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I think anything greater than 15" defeats the purpose of the device being a laptop…and the gaming laptops that would adopt this form factor are just hideous.

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Would be great, problem is it requires a new mainboard for 3 ports on both sides, and that kinda ruins the modularity thing, of all products being backwards compatible, but I agree! I would much rather have a larger laptop! Would be great if this was their new product.

It’s my impression that, thanks to smaller bezels, a modern 17" is the same physical size as a mid/late-2000s 15" and so presumably the same would be true for a modern 19" being equal in size to an older 17".

Also a larger desktop-replacement style laptop could easily have a full-fat socketable desktop CPU since that’s already a thing on some 15" laptops let alone 17" (I’m reminded of this 15" beast with the slightly-older desktop Ryzen 3950X - yes that’s the 16core Zen2 model of CPU):

Heck, if you’ve been paying attention to more server-focused GPUs, you’ll know that there’s even a newer sort of slot form-factor that some discrete GPUs come in called an Open Compute Project Accelerator Module (OAM) which I can’t help but imagine is where discrete GPUs are headed in the future (the direction that Nvidia in particular is going with GPU card & cooler size just isn’t sustainable; see also the rumors regarding why the 3090Ti is MIA and the power consumption for top-end Lovelace) even for consumers where, on a desktop, you could just slap a CPU-style tower cooler onto it an call it a day.

I will buy this laptop as soon as it has a 17" screen. 13.5" screen is just too small.

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I think it’s important to emphasize the fact that this device uses a 3:2 aspect ratio screen, instead of 16:9, when asking for larger screen sizes. Based on calculations by Screen Size Calculator :

  • At 13.3" diagonal, the screen is 7.4" tall by 11" wide
  • At 15.6" (since that is the industry standard), the screen is 8.7" tall by 13" wide
  • At 17" diagonal, the screen is 9.4" tall by 14.1" wide

Those measurements are just the screen; we also have to account for the body, which is ~9" tall by 11.7" wide. That means the body is ~1.6" taller by 0.7" wider. If we add those measurements, the 15.6" Framework XL would be ~10.3 tall by 13.7" wide and the 17" Framework Ultra would be ~11" tall by 14.8" wide. That would make the 15.6" and 17" Framework laptops ~29% and ~43% larger in volume than the 13.3", respectively.

Basically, neither of these laptops could be used in most carrying bags; custom luggage would be required. For example, this Samsonite briefcase fits 15.6" widescreen laptops; by virtue of being 3:2, the Framework XL would be 0.7" too tall to fit.

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I created an account just to also ask for a larger Framework laptop. I would love for my next laptop to be a Framework for so many reasons. BUT… the screen size is a deal-breaker. I search for “Framework larger screen” every week or two with a little bit of hope that maybe it might come soon. I’m currently working on 15.6" 16:9, often for 10+ hours a day. If anything I need a bigger screen, not a smaller one, and while a 3:2 aspect ratio is great, at the end of the day, the screen will still be smaller.

I’m adding to this thread rather than the longer 15" thread because while 15" would probably be just about large enough, I’d prefer it to be a bit larger than that, ideally 16" 3:2 so that the width is about the same as my current one, but I gain a bit of height. My current screen has thick bezels all around, so I’m already comfortable working with a 37 x 26 x 3cm brick and even going up in screen size would actually mean a smaller laptop for me.

I don’t have a tech background, I’m just a somewhat tech-interested office user with a passion for repairability and sustainability, so I won’t even know the difference between an i5, i7, or AMD processor. But too small of a screen would hurt me every single day and as much as I love the product, it needs a bigger screen so I can finally buy it.

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Yeah, definitely a ~0% chance of me buying a laptop with a 13" screen, but I’m guessing supply is more of an issue than demand at this point anyway.

I also created an account just for the purpose of asking for a larger screen. While the point of a 13 inch laptop is portability, it is just not as friendly for a power user.

Minimum 15”, preferably 16”, ideally 17”.

My Dell precision has a 17 inch screen, and I’ve transported it just fine everywhere. I’m also quite literally holding it together with duct tape right now, fingers crossed you’ll come out with a larger version. More ports would be a blessing too.

Money sitting and waiting… :+1:

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+1. Another vote for a large-screen option, preferably 16".

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If Framework develops a laptop with a larger screen, then I’d be interested in the following features:

  • double the battery life: Provide an optional cpu/battery combination with double the battery life of the 12th gen model. (The 12th gen model offers about 5 hours of video playback). This might be possible with an Intel or AMD “u” series cpu in conjunction with a slightly bigger battery.

  • ethernet: Make ethernet a first-class citizen. Either add it to the motherboard/daughterboard, or develop an expansion card which does not protrude beyond the chassis.

  • a stiff chassis: As the screen-size increases it becomes more difficult to prevent flexing.

  • optional numpad: People either love or hate the numpad, so it would really help if it was optional.

  • display: Perhaps also offer a display which is suited to integer-scaling, eg 1500x1000 or 3000x2000.

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I love the dimensions of my framework, but having a model if a bit more battery life and some additional ports would be great.

As a student, the current form factor is perfect for my personal use case. However, everyone else that I know prefers a larger screen and long battery life like you’d get out of a larger MBP or any of a few dozen Windows “media laptops” (the latter being what I had before the FW).
As on-the-go media watchers/designers are part of the target audience, please don’t forget to beef up the speakers as well!

I feel like this thread is a bit of a max-maxing wishlist. What’s the use case for a hypothetical XL? Is it for gamers, tech professionals, or field workers? Etc. These all could do very amazing things with the extra space, but all very different.

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