One person’s “Design flaw” is another’s unmet expectation.
During design, prototyping and testing, they would have applied above average loading to the screen to test for flex. If flex is occurring, it must be above the highest average force being applied, where the resulting flex is considered acceptable (given the screen and bezel are removable).
To make the screen flex less, the fixing method for the bezel would need to change, and likely the whole screen become thicker and heavier (like many of the older laptops mentioned in this thread with stiffer screens).
if you guys know how to handle a laptop lid, it can last very long without breaking
As embarrassing as that is to admit, I actually never thought about how to properly handle a laptop lid. Would you mind providing some advice? Maybe I’m already doing things right, but I don’t really know, I just, well, open the laptop.
“Improvise, adapt, overcome”
Strange, indeed!
I wonder how many who have posted in this thread have looked at their current machine to see how much warp there is in the lid …
I don’t have my own laptop as FW16 will be my first, but I checked on 2 laptops of family members.
Dell XPS 13 9370? did not have any warp or flex, even when trying to flex it while holding both sides.
Lenovo Thinkpad T15 Gen 2 had some flex when trying to pull from one corner, like the verge video clip of FW16, but has no warp at all in the screen.
I think the warping issue I noticed in Tested video is due to a one-off issue or assembly problem. Fingers crossed.
I can assure you any XPS is a glued in nightmare, second only to Mac for the level of pain involved in fixing them. The T15 Gen 2 is a much more reasonable compromise between repairability and stiffness, however it like many others uses a glued on bezel…good luck getting it of without destroying the screen if you don’t like the placement.
Basically if you want an easily repaired laptop some flex is one of the sacrifices.
Considering the cost of the laptop I would hope for a more rigid lid. If users are okay with it, then great for them. A flimsy lid on a 500$ laptop, sure no biggie, on what’s about to be a 3000$ laptop idk, attention to detail matters.
I see both sides, I dislike how some users on this forum want to discount it’s an issue to others because I assume they don’t want to see any faults in a product they haven’t received yet. It’s weird to me.
I have no doubt that the framework will already be working on a solution to this problem. They are a company that listens to users.
However, they have a lot of work left. We are enthusiasts of the framework but most users are not. With these problems it will be difficult for framework 16 to have good sales beyond enthusiasts.
Hopefully the framework team will rule on these errors soon.
I’m still keeping my preorder and i’m still excited to have a good laptop. I hope maybe they do a sturdier lid like they did for the 11th gen 13"
i would like to point out “just do things differently” isn’t always a reasonable option. i have limited grip strength and impaired motor control, i have to apply force from corners to successfully open many laptops without dropping them or slipping my hand off of the lid.
is the position then “sucks to be disabled, you shouldn’t want this” ?
I see your point. That is a point that has to be considered more, but I can understand that this is not in the mind on everyone.
I’ve tested my L430 and the display is also bending. I think it is the problem with laptops who has 2 hinges.
I think we have to wait for reviews addressing this concerns or the feedback from B1 users
I tried opening my T570 Thinkpad by one corner, as shown in the verge picture.
I see the same amount of flex. And I don’t feel this Thinkpad is flimsy. I think it would be just fine if you could only ever open it by the corner like that. Given that, I don’t think you can really tell from a picture. Either you need to feel it in person or wait for more reviews and opinions from regular users.
Absolutely seriously. I grew up on 90s laptops, which had some lid flex. I’ve always opened them from the centre. Most laptops even have a cutout in the centre to nudge the behaviour. Shocking, I know!
It wasn’t until Apple started milling lids out of solid aluminium in around 2009 and/or other manufacturers started glueing the screens in that they became as rigid as your entitlement suggests.
Human beings are adaptable. I’d rather Framework didn’t have to pander to the hard of thinking and make a thick 2mm thick CNC milled lid with all the environmental downsides, when you can just adapt your behaviour and open it from the centre.
“Sucks to be disabled” is correct, full stop. I’m sorry for your struggles. I have family that struggle with various disabilities, and it’s not fun.
Personally, I doubt it will go as far as being an issue where you can’t lift the display open from the sides. If the display is actually damaged by opening or closing it from the corners, then that would be a much bigger problem than “Yuck, it flexes when I do that.” If opening the display from the corners actually damages the machine, I’d be on board with “they need to fix that.” If it just flexes and goes back to normal, then I don’t personally see it as a big issue, though obviously some do, and that’s fine.
I know this doesn’t help much (especially for folks who have a pre-order lower than batch 8, which is where I am in the pre-order queue). But I’ll make a point to open and close my display from the corners in order to see if this causes any damage or permanent warpage and report back. However, being as I’m in batch 8, I bet others will have done so long before I get mine. But if not, I’ll try it.
The current lid is the same as the “sturdier” lid on the 13" laptops. Milled from 6063 Aluminum. It may be more flexible than the 13" because it is larger.
Hi,
What is the problem with the flex?
I don’t think the screen is glass and won’t shatter if bent.
If the screen is not going to be damaged if bent a bit while opening/closing it, then what is the problem?
Of course, if the bend is permanent, then that is of course a problem, but if it just flexible and goes flat when not being touched. I don’t see the problem.
It is unlikely to be a problem, some people seem to associate that flex with a cheaper perceived build quality though?
Can’t say I’m the same, if the chassis is all metal (which it is), I definitely don’t view it as “bad built quality”.
There is no problem, it’s some people getting bent of out shape as it’s not as stiff as a MacBook Pro with it’s glued in display assembly.
To those worried about the screen flex:
My FW13 flexes just as much, but on a 13 inch screen (I just did the two corner flex test seen in the video linked above on the 13 I’m writing this on, and get more degrees of flex but about the same distance at each corner). A 16 inch screen can take more flex because that flex is distributed across a larger area, meaning less stress on the screen itself. I have a first gen 13 that does not have the upgraded screen that came with the intel 12th gens that “fixes” the flex, and have no issues. I do wonder how many people have had to replace it, but I have abused my laptop for over 2 years in and out of a bag 5 to 8 times a day going from site to site, and it is fine. I take it with me classroom to classroom as a teacher, and it gets a lot of open and shut abuse.
I expect the same with my FW16.
I will say that my screen shell on the FW13 has a nasty dent near the Framework gear logo from a fall onto a pointed table edge, but no evidence of damage on the screen itself. Pretty confident in it, if only anecdotally.