Having worked in the IT for a while, there are people breaking their laptop every year, and people handing you back a laptop way out of warranty 6 years later that still looks like new.
That being said - if you guys know how to handle a laptop lid, it can last very long without breaking. I taught that to all members in my family having laptops, and so far, all live (the laptops) long and nice lives.
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I would like the framework team to comment on these issues. Know exactly if they are going to be solved. I think it is something important especially for the first shipments.
@Lupin I think you have a better chance to get an answer, if you use a more friendly tone in your posts.
I think if the flimsyness is a problem resulting in damaged devices. There are more reviews adressing this problem.
On the other hand it is no panasonic toughbook.
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Yeah, thatâs a lot of flex. But I donât think itâs technically an issue to be âsolvedâ or a sign of poor build quality. I think itâs more of a sign of compromises to meet a particular design intent.
If they wanted the display to be more rigid they would have to make it thicker (thicker, heavier, likely more expensive because it would take a larger piece of aluminum), and/or use some solid method of affixing the bezel. Adhesive or maybe some type of tight clips would help to create a âboxâ out of the top case, reducing its ability to flex/twist like that. But this would also mean the bezel would be difficult, if not impossible to remove, without damage to the bezel, top case, or even the display.
Iâm sure there are some who would be happy if it was thicker, and there are probably even some who would say to go ahead and glue it together and they will just replace the entire assembly if needed down the road. Framework chose thin and repairable, with the trade-off being increased flex.
Iâm not saying anyone has to like it or even saying you shouldnât make your feelings heard. Framework has been pretty open to suggestions from the community. And if nothing else, people who donât like screen flex should be aware, this one is pretty flexy. But I also donât think itâs some unexpected problem that has suddenly been discovered that they have to scramble to fix.
It would be like going to Toyota and demanding a timeline for âfixingâ the Prius, because itâs currently terrible at high-speed corner transitions on the track. They probably already know that and donât plan to âfixâ it. Itâs just the nature of the beast. Granted, that isnât a perfect analogy. I just think the screen flex is a natural result of Frameworkâs design choices. Maybe a better analogy is the fact that the FW 16 itself supports lower RAM speeds than machines with soldered RAM modules right next to the CPU. Sure, the socketed RAM means max, stable speeds are slower, but when someone reports those slower speeds in comparison to a competitor with soldered RAM, I wouldnât expect someone to be like âWell, when is Framework going to acknowledge slower RAM speeds and fix this major issue!â Itâs a downside. But itâs a downside that naturally stems from other design choices that they are very ârigidâ about (sorry).
Maybe a thread with a poll about what people would be willing to give up for a more rigid display or something along those lines would get a response more along the lines of what you are looking for?
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It occurred to me that someone could go mad scientist and epoxy the screen in. Not that I would suggest it, but it might make the display more rigid.
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Hmm, maybe I should try that on my 11th gen FW 13. I was an early batch with the stamped top cover. Never been an issue for me, but it is flexy. Iâd have to be careful, but it could be interesting to do a flex comparison, before and after gluing the bezel in place. Iâd just have to accept that it would NEVER come apart after that. But if itâs for scienceâŚ
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I was thinking more along the lines of gluing the whole screen in. I would never try it myself, as the entire display assembly would then need to be replaced if anything broke.
Yep, that is what my Dell Studio 17 does, that I mentioned above - and it is a tank that come in somewhere around twice the weight of the FW16.
Youâd have to be a bit special to buy an upgradeable and repairable laptop then glue the screen in, thus undoing all the good stuff that was designed in.
Laptops of old had even worse flexi issues in the display housings. Go look at a Titanium PowerBook G4 for example. They didnât kill anyone. You just have to remember to open them from the centre and not mistreat it.
If someone wants to get bent out of shape about not being able to use some self control when opening the screen and ends up cancelling the order, then so be it.
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To be clear, I totally agree. I only thought about doing it to see how much it would reduce the flexâŚfor science. Lol. I probably wonât. Seems like a silly reason to potentially ruin a display/bezel/top case and certainly render it irreparable in the future. Especially since, yeah, it would make it more rigid. Not sure how much, but is that worth finding out? Probably not. But it wouldnât be the first time in my life I ruined something because âI wonderâŚyup, that wasnât worth it. I didnât learn much, but I learned it wasnât worth finding out.â
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The screen flexing issue might be a bit more pronounced than some people realize, as it seems some units are permanently âwarpedâ. It could be limited to a few units only, or an issue with assembly, but either way itâs something noticeable enough. The following is a screencap from the review by Tested, and you can see the screen seems warped.
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Open it from the centre. Then the problem wonât occur.
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Isnât the right thumb causing the flex here?
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Doesnât appear that heâs applying any real force with the right thumb, and even so, itâs the top left (facing the screen) thatâs got the apparent permanent bend/twist/flex.
That is a bit concerning actually, but itâs still a pre-production validation version. Something we should keep an eye on, but Iâll still keep my pre-order. And even if it is somewhat of an issue, Iâll just be more careful opening/closing the lid until they come up with a mitigation/fix.
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Without a ruler placed next to it to show the bend, I wouldnât put too much trust in these video images. There may be any kind of slight lens distortion going on.
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Wouldnât that normally be the case? I wouldnât expect it to deform around his thumb - that would be very bad
Like suppose it is his thumb applying sufficient pressure (seems it doesnât take much from what Iâve seen). Then the still you posted suggests there is at least some dimensional stability. Itâs not rigid by any means but whatâs pictured there suggests the top assembly is trying to maintain its shape.
He could also be deforming the bottom corner of the display inward, toward the input deck. There is quite a gap between the top and bottom case assembly on the FW16. This actually looks like the âmost correctâ theory to my eye, but itâs very subjective opinion.
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Seriously? Your solution is to change the way you behave to work around something that more than a few users view as a design flaw / issue?
Thatâs a really strange stance to take imo.
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I think mostly weâre saying âhmmâŚletâs keep an eye on it as we get actual production units into the hands of usersâ. Itâs a brand new design, all the units for reviewers were pre-production.
Not saying there shouldnât be some checks/concern, but also letâs have us regular users get them into our hands and start using them.
Also⌠we have faith that Framework, as they have a demonstrated history of doing, will make right any real issues found in the wild for users. So if there actually is a problem, why should we go bonkers about it when we know FW will give us the fix? Maybe that will make some folks cancel their pre-order or wait to buy until a fix comes (if there is one needed), sure. Thatâs understandable.
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It could be, but I checked on my screen and the computer isnât square to the lens, vertically. The top of the screen is further to the left than the bottom. Because of this angled perspective, you would be able to see more of the top of the screen than the bottom, because the top of the screen is further from the center line of the lens than the bottom.
Could still be warped, but itâs difficult to tell from that screen capture.
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I can see both sides. I stuck with flip phones for a long time after smartphones came out, because I didnât want to change how I used a phone to âwork aroundâ what I saw as a stupid design. A slab of fragile glass in my pocket that I take literally everywhere? No thanks, Iâll keep my flip-phone that I donât have to baby. Honestly, I still kinda feel that way, lol. But there arenât many, high-quality flip phones being made that are actually durable these days.
My point being that some people might be like âSo what? Itâs more flexible, so Iâll just treat it different.â Just like many people simply treat their phones more carefully or put them in cases immediately upon taking them out of the box. On the other hand, I understand the mindset of âUh, no thanks. Iâm not changing my entire behavior with a device just so you can make one thatâs more fragile.â
I guess I just hope itâs not so flexible that itâs genuinely too âfragileâ for normal use, so much as itâs just a little more âfloppy.â
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