The Framework 12 supports USB 3.2 which, while not slow, is not fast enough to handle a eGPU. A DIY work around is using the M2 slot as Adrian is alluding to. This involves using a Oculink adapter. You would need to modify the 12 to allow cabling and the height increase due to the Oculink. So it is not an easy or elegant solution and has several drawbacks (mainly the loss of the M2 slot which is being used for the NVME and storage).
Thunderbolt or USB 4 is an obvious upgrade for the FW12. Just remember that the 12 is targeting the education market and certain concessions had to be made to hit the price point desired. I really hope a FW 12 Pro is something that comes out in the future. A model variant that sheds the educational pricing and allows the 12 to have as much umpf as is possible.
The reason it isn’t suitable for egpu has nothing to do with speed, 20gbit does work for egpus as generations of thinkpads with half bandwidth thunderbolt 3 showed (and is much more than some single lane egpu setups have) but usb3.x does not support pcie tunneling which is required for egpu.
I’ve never tested the FW 13, but it definitely looks better to my eye than the FW 12 colors.
There is a thread on here about FW 12 screen color accuracy that talks about the “problem,” so to speak. The main issue that most folks notice is that reds look orange.
The FW12 is a great laptop but just remember the market space it was targeted for and the use cases for it. Light work is exactly right. You might be better served by the FW13 for the eGPU needs tbh, ideally Framework 16 but that might be overkill.
I’ll be honest, you are paying a premium with Framework. They are a startup and a lot of R&D goes into making these laptops sustainable and repairable. If price to performance is a concern, you might have other options. Just something to keep in mind.
The touchscreen concern is valid, but just ponder if you want to get a 12in screen or a dedicated drawing tablet with any other computer. The FW12 screen is also pretty basic, it’s meant to take notes and stuff.
Might be the FW13 will get a touchscreen someday, but if it will also get a 360 hinge, which means changing the chassis, is another question, if convertible is important for you.