Many (most?) Googlers use Chromebooks at work, so a market of tens of thousands units at least for higher end machines and I suspect that’s a big part of the reason Google and Framework partnered. There are probably at least a few other corporate and educational deployments where some higher specced machines are needed (or desired), and also opens up more markets for future deployments (most companies wouldn’t even consider an enterprise ChromeOS deployment if only low-end machines were available for all employees).
The only other high end option, the HP Dragonfly Chromebook is pretty slick, but the Framework has a better processor and cooling, upgradable memory and storage, more flexible ports and is $1K-2K cheaper, and of course is easier to repair while basically matching almost all the Dragonfly’s other key specs.
Yes but if any IT Purchasing manager or School Purchase person picks up a Framework they are going to go “No way! Too Flimsy!”
Framework is just not ready for Schools, University or Enterprise. They need a far tougher model (and way cheaper for education) than what they currently have.
I bought a top of the Line Dell Chromebook back in 2016. It was quad core i3 with 32GB of storage, 4GB ram, 13" 1080p IPS and carbon fibre chassis etc. etc. Real premium build. But the functionality, user experience and limitations were pretty much the same as the £200 little 11" Samsung with a ARM CPU. You cannot really transcend the limitations of the OS and eco system with better hardware. Not worth it. I hardly used the Dell in the end. The Samsung was more useful as it was more ‘disposable’.
I love my chromebooks and use them for just about everything. I smashed that pre-order button before I even finished reading the full details, so seeing no touchscreen was a major bummer. I’m hoping for a late announcement of “oh and we added touch” so android apps are usable (many just will not work right with touchpad, games in particular) but worst case scenario I cancel the pre-order and wait for a touch model.
Like a lot of people here, I’m not a fan of Google, nor would I consider getting a Chromebook, but I can see why some people like them. The main issue I have, though, is that several parts available on the Marketplace now come with a “Chromebook edition”. I can understand this for the heatsink, keyboard, and top cover, but there are also a power button, a webcam module, and a touchpad. The power button cable looks different and is cheaper (no fingerprint reader?) but there’s no visible change in the webcam or touchpad. What’s the difference, then? I think the interoperability of parts to the different mainboards is what makes Framework so good, but it looks like Chromebook diverges from the other models quite a bit.
While I’m here:
Considering Framework computer parts are (generally) interoperable, and I think all the models use the same display, they’d likely announce the touchscreen for all models at the same time, and you might have to choose it when you configure your pre-order. Unfortunately, since they’re not available for other models, they probably won’t be available for Chromebooks right away. That said, if/when Framework comes up with a touchscreen, you should be able to buy one down the line and replace the existing display.
Interesting. It’s possible that the Chromebook edition parts are compatible, but have been optimized for power usage or price or similar stuff. I assume we will see some of the enhancements like better battery life or louder speakers also in the main model over time, but probably not until the next major upgrade in order to not make current customers unhappy (because they got the inferior model) and also to use up the old stock.
I think it would end up being more involved. The motherboard would have to have provisions for the touch interface, even if it was just USB. So unless the motherboard is coming out with touch support, it’s not looking good.
I didn’t think about that. Maybe you’re right, and it is a redesign and FW is trying to transition to the new model without alienating old users. I just received my laptop, so I know I’d be a little peeved if I had to upgrade some of the parts right away. I would still like an official explanation, though, in case that’s not it.
Good point. I think I read somewhere, though, that Framework’s display connector is a fairly standard eDP, which already has the pins needed for touchscreen support. If so, I think the bottleneck would be the panel itself.
Will this support the Linux development environment like the Google Pixelbook or Pixelbook Go?
Found the answer - Yes. According to Google, all devices developed after 2019 are supposed to support the Linux Development environment (Linux (Beta)).
@Rain_Shinotsu
Yeap! The eDP connector has provisions for an I2C touchscreen interface. You can find the pinouts on their github, for now i’ll just quote the post.
Display Interface
IPEX 20879-040E connector used to interface to an eDP display. Note that there are signals
defined for both USB 2.0 and I2C touchscreens. There is a PWM interface to control backlight
brightness, but the display currently used on the Framework Laptop converts that to a DC LED
control. Note that pin 1 is on the left when looking at the receptacle on the Mainboard.
Before I pass my judgement on a software OS that isn’t desirable for my needs, I want to ask the Frame.work team; Why a Chromebook?
I’ve read several articles, some offering praise and others jumping on the anti-ChromeOS bandwagon - but I’m more interested in why Frame.work went this route as opposed to others options that users have asked for… AMD mainboards or a second enclosure design with more robust upgrade paths.
If I’m missing a large market, like schools, colleges or other enterprise that may use Chromebooks at least I could understand and get behind the new hardware. At any rate, I’m glad that Frame.work is offering new hardware, but its not hardware that would earn my purchase… I think if we know how this machine is going to benefit Frame.work that it might help us to support this choice more.
Seems Like it was easy enough for them to turn the 12th gen laptop and modify it into a chromebook. Plus it’s allowing them to take optimizations they learned from working with Google on this and backporting them to the non-chromebook laptops. So far it seems like an overall win to me.
They needed a partnership to learn the skill. Both 11th and 12th gen have shown (indirectly) that their in-house efforts have not been sufficiently competitive.
You can think it as a Windows + WSL setup with a much simpler, more secure and more limited base system. I know there are tons of people only do development on Windows under WSL. I think a well-built Chromebook can be an alternative for them.
Thanks for the Nirav quote; I did a bit more research, too. I didn’t know two (maybe three) good bits of info; the Google Pixel Chromebook was recently discontinued and Google is supporting the Frame.work Chromebook w/ actual Chrome OS. (And third, Frame.work is adding the hardware chip that… [ignorance] allows ChromeOS to work as ‘stock’ or OEM…)
So; this product is not for me, but the Google Pixel Chromebook was also a high-cost Chromebook - this seems smart, as it will be the first right-to-repair Chromebook, and fully upgradable. Maybe theres a decent high-end Chromebook market, OR schools or other institutions will appreciate the higher-end power that the Frame.work Chromebook will offer.
This is cool, and I welcome it; not all Frame.work products need to be for me - I hope it ends up being a smart business decision and will follow the project in the coming months.
Has anyone tested the battery performance on ChromeOS? I’ve tried FydeOS (A forked version of ChromeOS), which only had around 5 hours of battery. I had to do many hacks to compile and run tlp to improve battery life.
A. Here is a link to some of the information I hope to see answered in the future Chromebook Edition FAQ. Just in case it is more visible/relevant here:
B. Also, below is a link to a different discussion that helps clear up some info related to specifically the new Chromebook Edition mainboard:
Thanks!
Overall, I was hoping for this product to be introduced and I think it is an exciting development. I think it will be a great option for a lot of people either as their primary computer or as a compliment to an existing laptop or desktop. A great travel device, as well.
Looking forward to the other great products to be announced within the next year!
I found the picture graphs of the financial reports in Google, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft. Google’s primary revenue is from advertisements, and the revenue from the hardware is just a part of the others which is less than 1.2% of the total revenue. - https://twitter.com/EconomyApp/status/1586038399101587456
If we install a different NVMe drive will it still behave like an official Chromebook device (meaning Titan C will work and we can cold boot the device using a PIN instead having to enter our full password) or will it behave more like a Laptop + ChromeOS Flex? Any specs on the stock NVMe?
