Now that I’ve got a Framework 16 in my hands, this is a little worse than I thought it would be.
I’m thrilled to have the computer, would have rather had it earlier with its fit and finish issues than later without them; but I don’t think I can recommend, in an unqualified way, the laptop to normal people in its current state.
I could show them mine, point out the flaws, and then recommend it. That’s different though.
Three issues:
One of my metal touchpad spacers is less flat than the other. Holding them up to each other, I can’t really perceive the difference, but the plastic clip, thing, underneath one does have a hairline gap between it and the metal on one side, and not on the other. The result is, while installed, the defective spacer is raised on the left. It’s not bad enough to cause real problems, but it is bad enough to catch your thumbnail if you drag it across the seam between the spacer and the touchpad assembly, and it looks noticeably worse than the other spacer in its place. It’s possible that I caused this issue while bending the spacer to not have the corner sticking up, which would have been an alternative problem, I guess… It didn’t fit quite right out of the box, either way, and I can’t find a way to bend it to lay flush, though I have tried.
Second issue, either of the plastic spacers, installed left of the keyboard, have enough play that you can tap them gently with your finger and get two plastic clicks, one down and one up. The rubber patch on the bottom doesn’t make contact with the middle plate all the way through. (I shimmed it with some folded paper, which is… fine)
The keyboard itself has a similar issue to the spacer on the upper left, so that typing is kind of distracting. It’s a gap between the middle plate and the keyboard. I shimmed that with paper the same way. (It got me thinking, that can’t possibly be intentional, but then, why does the mid plate have all those vent-looking holes?)
I also found that the middle plate is very sensitive to how it’s screwed down. They put those numbers on the screws for a reason, and it helps if you also use your non-screwing hand to “smooth out” the plate like it’s a piece of paper, around whichever screw you’re working on.
Without these minor fit and finish issues, there is an unrefined aesthetic quality to the seams between the various components. I do love the concept, though, so I’m not sure what to make of that. I could easily see it turning people off, on the one hand, but on the other, I’d rather keep it as-is myself, provided everything can be manufactured and shipped just-so. I’ll probably eventually be playing with the various swappable modules.
