It’s great to see such smooth hardware and open-source software integration. No tweaks, no workarounds—just a clean, efficient experience. This the closest Framework has come to a Linux-first device.
Going to have to take your word for it. For those of us who use linux as a daily driver, at work, and home, it is often difficult to see any installation warts. I have a Framework 13 12th gen and it was as flawless installing for the first time as it would be on any Thinkpad I have owned. That being said I am sure points of pain are momentary quickly forgotten inconveniences for me, so my rose colored glasses are in full effect. Of course Fedora has done a lot to improve the installation experience in recent versions, and Framework continues to work with them tightly to smooth over bumps. Happy to hear at least this part of the Framewrok 12 is satisfactory.
I recently started testing the new Ryzen AI FW13 for a Linux-focused review and ran into a couple of familiar issues right away: the WiFi adapter wasn’t functional in the Fedora Live ISO, and after installation, the automatic screen brightness was inconsistent and distracting. These were the same issues I saw with the first-gen FW13.
I get that Framework isn’t a “Linux-first” brand, but after five years of strong community adoption, it’d be great to see improvements in long buggy areas like, shipping Linux-optimized ALS tuning or filtering logic. For example, the common suggestion to “just turn it off” isn’t really a valid solution when reviewing the device’s user experience—especially when the hardware clearly supports the feature.
I disagree. They are not a Linux-only brand, but they certainly aren’t putting Linux 2nd either. Just look at this user forum and the number of guides that Framework has produced for Linux.
Great setup. I just put Linux Mint on mine, and after moving to the 6.14 kernel I have been able to get ectool working. I’m going to be porting over the fan controller I made on Windows for the Mattbook. All of that is possible because of Framework.
Now the only thing I would really like is an aluminum enclosure for the FW 12. Something in the future perhaps.
That’s totally fair—and I agree that Framework has done a lot to support Linux users. The community they’ve cultivated and the number of official Linux setup guides are genuinely impressive, and I appreciate that they’ve made Linux installation about as smooth as it can be on modern hardware.
That said, when I say “not Linux-first,” I’m referring more to where Linux sits in their overall product and engineering priorities. For example, they still only sell preconfigured systems with Windows—there’s no option to buy a Framework Laptop preloaded with a Linux distro. They’ve also continued using components like the Mediatek and Qualcomm WiFi chipsets, which are known to have inconsistent support on Linux compared to something like Intel or Realtek. And despite community interest, coreboot is still only available for older mainboards.
So while I do think Framework is one of the most Linux-friendly OEMs out there, from a review perspective, it’s hard to ignore that Windows still comes first in terms of out-of-the-box experience and official support. But again, I genuinely appreciate what they’ve done so far—and I hope they keep pushing that Linux experience forward.
Surprising, something I have not run into in a long time. As to autoamtic screen brightness…I don’t think any OS gets it right. I find it annoying as hell on android, windows, macos, and ios. It’s maddening, but thats me. Completely understand why you draw attention to it, but like I said my rose colored glasses are in full effect. The experience is the same I would have on Dell or Lenovo, so for me from a Linux perspective that is as good as it really needs to be.
Now I wanna go with Fedora again over cachyOS (just after I decided to run cachyOS and not Fedora) hahaha, I can’t decide, but as a first Linux experience maybe something officially supported like Fedora might be better.
My thinking as well when it comes to < whateverOS >-first. It needs to be pre-installed, certified hardware (Red Hat or Ubuntu, or maybe even SUSE YES certified, not just Fedora “Ready”). OOTB experience and all. The < whateverOS >-first has to hit the ground running. And currently, Windows is that whateverOS from Framework’s offering.
Now, if Framework didn’t offer Windows preinstalled (or remove that as an option), that would level the playing field. Then we can consider / say it’s Linux-first.
