I stumbled upon this discussion on the Framework Community: Framework Laptop Alternative Screens. Looks like someone might have found an OLED screen that’s a match for the Framework Laptop 13, and framework could probably make it a part of their product offering I’d imagine.
Guys, don’t be nervous. I hope the next generation of 13-inch screens will be OLED. For BOE, it is not difficult to make such a screen; don’t forget to thank Nirav and the team for their great work in making not only the laptop but the full ecosystem possible. Please, Framework team, add Georgia . Yes, it is a small market, but it is deeply needed for buyers like me.
I read through that thread again to be sure, and I don’t see anyone that found an OLED that will work. The 3:2 ratio really limits the displays options available.
Yeah, I’ve looked for a while, I think I mentioned it in that thread but it’s nigh impossible to find a panel that is 3:2, right size, right eDP pinout, not to mention mounting.
Luckily 3:2 is becoming more popular (Huawei MateBook, Microsoft Surface), so maybe in the near future!
Ohh, that’s nice! I don’t follow what becoming popular in displays or not. I was worried that Framework had made an unfortunate choice in going 3:2, but maybe they were just ahead of the curve.
For people who want to use alternate screens, I hope Framework considers squeezing in an extra connector that duplicates the touchscreen signals on future 13" mainboards. Of course, they could do a display cable that breaks out the display signals, but until they offer their own touchscreen option, just an extra connector seems like the less expensive option.
3:2 is on the rise. I know of about a dozen different models of 13.5" 3:2 display, unfortunately all of them are IPS 60 Hz displays.
The main 13.5" 3:2 display that seems like it may be a worthwhile upgrade over what the Framework 13 currently has is the Panasonic display that was used in the Microsoft Surface Book 13.5, which is a 3000x2000p display with 480 nit brightness and a 1800:1 contrast ratio.
There are a lot more options at 13.3" 16:10, which is about 0.05" wider and 0.44" shorter including a 2880 x 1800p OLED from Samsung, so if Framework had gone with 13.3" 16:10 there could have been alternate screens that might have worked.
With the Framework 16 there are plenty of displays with matching dimensions that may be of interest. I listed several options from BOE here (since BOE is Framework’s screen supplier I suspect those are the most likely to work as a drop in replacement), however there are also other options such as a 3840 x 2400p OLED from Samsung.
0.05" / 1.27mm wider? I’m sure one could make that fit. On the left and right sides, it looks like there is a plastic surround around the magnets that could be cut or filed down to gain 1.27mm.
I read on the other thread that samsung oled use a different pinout, different voltages. So even if it dropped right in physically, it wouldn’t work.
0.0457" / 1.1607mm wider to be precise.
13.5" 3:2 is 11.233" x 7.488".
13.3" 16:10 is 11.278" x 7.049".
13.3" is a common size for 16:10 displays for the same reason as 13.5" is a common size for 3:2 displays: Both are slightly wider than a normal laptop keyboard.
The data I’ve seen for the Samsung panel do not elaborate beyond “eDP”, but I bet it’s possible (although not easy) to create a compact conversion board that converts between the different pinouts and voltages as necessary.
I doubt that anyone will do it, however this community is not to be underestimated.
Just keep in mind, while the samsung oleds use the same 40pin edp connector as the lcds, it has a very different pinout than them and has different power requireements.
Kinda blew up a t480s main-board that way (mostly fixed that later but boy was that ugly).
Conversion board would definitely be necessary (level shifter for some of the control lines, buck converters for panel + and - and well converting the pinout) but also relatively simple, it would have to be done though and since all of the panels I know of are too big for the 13 I have put that project on ice for now.
Reviving this thread to encourage you to keep digging. I’ve now spend too much time this rabbit hole, and someone in one of the threads pointed out that the HP Spectre x360 has a 13.5" 3:2 OLED screen.
This laptop: HP Spectre x360 2022 OLED has a Samsung SDC4160 oled screen that is of a dimension that will fit the FW13.
I’m not great with circuit boards, but the main problem I have with this is that there are no listed suppliers or datasheet, and most OLED screens seem to come as an assembly of the whole bezel + digitizer + screen.
Hoping you will take up the OLED mantel - would be happy to work on this with you if you’d like.
There are three dimensions not two. What about the thickness ??
I have not handled any oled screens before but I doubt the actual panels are any thicker than lcd panels. There is also some room to play in the actual FW13 case in terms of screen thickness, and the thickest part will likely be the pcb and connector, which can theoretically be placed below the panel if thickness needs to be reduced.
Also, you will be very hard-pressed to find actual thickness measurements on panelook and the main physical limitation on the case is the width and height. Exceeding this will mean you will have to machine your own aluminium back cover. Exceeding thickness just means you have to 3D print your own plastic cover.
They /are/must be/ as there is an extra layer for the touch sensitive part.
Comment was off topic, as my brain clearly was. There may be hope for an upadated screen but sadly not for my brain.
Honestly I have very little idea on how the touch element / digitizer works. I get the impression that the digitizer doesn’t sit on the lcd / oled panel and is on the glass top/bezel of the device. That seems to me why touchscreen replacements always seem to come with with the whole top assembly.
I am happy to be corrected on any of this though.I’ve spent a lot of time just trying to figure out lcd panels, connectors and such and haven’t really been able to dig into oleds/touch as the free/public information on these are severely lacking.
In case anyone needs this:
The dimensions that your panel can have is approximately 290(w) x 202(h). I would ± 1mm to these measurements as though i have accurate calipers, I’m not the most proficient at using these tools. The depth also varies along the back, and there are padding, etc on the back but in general you would have about 3mm or so to play with.
The actual visible window on the top bezel is 286(w) x 191(h), again with ±1mm in accuracy.
Lastly, the thickness of the bezel itself, and not including the raised sides, is about 1mm.
Are you sure this actually fits?
Very careful with samsung oleds, they sometimes use very weird pinouts and non standard voltages for some of the io pins as well as the power supply.
Something is going very wrong when an oled panel is thicker than an lcd.
Yes sorry,my brain is a bit clogegd and fogged, I was thinking of a touch screen
The linux hardware device stats that i linked indicate that it does:
LCD Monitor SDC4160 3000x2000 285x190mm 13.5-inch
Interestingly, there is also a model number SDC4148 with similar specs. Neither this nor the above model are listed on Panelook. The active area measurements correspond almost exactly to the visible window of the top bezel.
Samsung Electronics LCD Monitor SDC4148 3000x2000 285x190mm 13.5-inch
An the linux hardware stats do have accurate physical sizes and not just what they put into the edid for the active area?
When looking at the laptop it comes in it has similar slim bezels but is almost a cm taller so that sounds like it could be a bit of an issue.
And it also looks like it’s just 60hz and has a digitizer which dampens my interest in it quite a bit.