Introducing the Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition

Framework Team Blog
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The media articles:

Added.

Added.

Added.

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Is it known, is the Chrome OS version the same hardware exactly as the Windows / Linux 12th gen version?

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Different keyboard, different firmware, louder speakers, different audio DAC, no fingerprint readerā€¦and a Chromebook logo on the lid.

LoLā€¦64GB of RAM for all those chrome tab needs.

Question:

Why only 1TB of NVMe storage? Is the limit coming from ChromeOS?

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Yay! Framework gets recognition from a big company as google. This is probably gonna open some doors~

Thanks @junaruga for all the articles! Good before bed read for tonight :orange_heart::orange_heart:

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A remotely related matterā€¦with Chrome, comes Manifest v3:

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Frameworkā€™s video about the Chromebook edition.

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Yes see:

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Thatā€™s the software updates (with collaboration from Google).

My question was regarding the hardware side of thingsā€¦parts availability for repair / replace (e.g. typically replace the battery at least once in an 8-year active period), BIOS / firmware. The question somewhat goes toward: We now have a higher confidence level that Framework will be around, compare to, say, 12 months ago. Right?

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I am not excited about google being involved here either, but it is what it is. It would be good to get FW into the schools and a Chromebook is one way to do that. And if that computer can be re-purposed by the student after, with the OS of their choice, it is all for the better.

But. How can we start to get these into our schools?

I know the San Jose Unified School District very well, but all I can tell you (I think) is a whole lot of things not to do. Technology and software purchasing by school districts is fairly dis-functional. I have been convinced, for a while, that people know how to make software, or they know how to navigate the systems to sell to schools, but not both. And the software very much reflects this. It does not seem reasonable to expect that hardware purchasing is better.

For example, a district may not be able to buy something for a single $1000 charge, but they can purchase something less functional for 4 annual payments of $500. What a deal, yes?

That being said, what can we do?

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US$1000 (retail price) Chromebooks are basically in the same territory as schools that can afford the MBA for students. i.e. Very likely the private school sector.

There maybe public schools that have this kind of budgetā€¦not ruling that outā€¦but likelihood is relatively lower than private school is my guess.

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If this is literally happening now, I hope theyā€™ve got in the works an AMD version of this thing.

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Hope FW will be releasing a UK version of the Chromebook, had been considering a regular one with Chrome OS Flex once it supports Android apps and Steam. Looks like Iā€™ll be holding out for this one now to replace my Pixelbook as it fast approaches five years old.

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I bought my Framework because it seemed aligned with a privacy-first, environmentally conscious, repairable model. This Framework-Google collaboration worries me.

Right to repair and FLOSS (free and libre open source software) are both about letting users choose what to do with their computers. Regardless of whether ChromeOS is the only software you can install on this new Framework computer, the fact that Google aims to be the default we all use makes it more likely that we will choose their software. Unfortunately, not only is most of Googleā€™s software closed source (Android, Chromium, and ChromeOS are a fraction of what Google does), but they consistently hoard our data to change our behavior. They build models of who you are to find just the right thing that will keep you hooked on their products. They want us to believe or buy whatever their ads promote.

Google is not our friend. They donā€™t care about empowering us. They donā€™t care about our wellbeing. They care about selling ads.

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If you release a Chrome OS build for the regular Framework version (sans Titan M), I might get to try it for once. :sweat_smile:

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Are you sure about the different speakers one? I havenā€™t seen that anywhere.

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Man, thereā€™s a lot of malaise here. I get it: everyone sitting here on this forum bought or considered buying a Framework for Linux/Windows and were drawn to the desktop-like DIY flare that offered with less waste. If thatā€™s primarily your interest, this product isnā€™t for you, although it does seem like we can still upgrade ram/storage.

There are lots of reasons someone might want this. Perhaps they want a device for a family member? This gives them the choice for using a cloud-focused device. As much as I love Linux, it is not exactly set and forget for a family member. This can offer that type of experience, with much snappier performance than Windows. Chrome has improved a lot, with even a steam client being announced recently, and the Linux VM app situation is pretty sweet.

If youā€™re Framework, perhaps youā€™ve been looking at the market share reports that show that Chrome has a steadily trending market share increase year over year (already higher than Apple). Google used to have the Pixelbook line serving the high end, but they just recently announced that they would axe that product. That makes Framework a great candidate for being a flagship high-end ChromeOS device. This can be great for more repairable Framework products in the future!

Also, letā€™s not forget enterprises. Many businesses are moving to cloud-first software. Chromebooks are used by schools because they are easy to manage, web-first products. If the enterprise can deploy more of these devices, manage them more easily, have them look as good as their glued Dells, and get an easily repairable device like enterprise devices used to be, it seems to create a pretty interesting value proposition.

I wonder if we can upgrade a gen 1 product to a Chromebook with a mainboard upgrade in the future? In case we decide to repurpose an old deviceā€¦

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Will it be possible to dual boot a Linux distro? It would be very handy to use ChromeOS for things like Netflix where Linux is limited by DRM, and then being able to boot into a full Linux distro if I needed to do dev work etc.

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Iā€™ve always been able to dual boot my Chromebooks in Developer mode, and the Intel architecture is compatible with the largest choice of distros.

My only problem is the lack of a touchscreen. Itā€™s really essential on a CB, especially with Android apps.

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Just a appreciation post for you, thanks for being that helpful person in every thread!!! :star_struck:

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