The steamdeck is one of the few handhelds that don’t have a way to connect an egpu XD
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Aw boo! But still, giving it a better user interface for computing tasks is an interesting use case…
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lapdock is definitely an interresting idea
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I’d love to see this! Especially as just a different mainboard. I would want to have a touchscreen display panel too though… something I’ve wanted on the regular laptop too.
Id throw in on this. A custom lapdock with solid frame, keyboard and track pad. The screen being replaceable is a huge thing also. Just need a different mainboard to handle the inputs.
I wonder if you could get a mainboard from a cheap lapdock and put it in a framework frame and hook it up??
You may get lucky with the display connector (the display side is somewhat standardized so if you get the right one it could work) but the keyboard and touchpad would almost certainly not work without some active adapter board.
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I just received my Nexdock 14” (2025) and realized “this could have just been a Framework 13 mainboard”. I love using it with my Android phone for desktop mode (like Samsung DeX) and it works great with SBCs and even game consoles via HDMI.
Rather than create an entirely new product, the Framework team should just copy what companies like Nexdock are doing but make a mainboard that can utilize the already developed supply chain for the Framework 13. I’ve not torn down my Nexdock but there’s definitely some kind of very barebones operating system, a scaler for the screen and PMIC with PD…definitely achievable for the skill set of Framework’s hardware team, they’ve already done this on three laptops. The only blocker I imagine would be the HDMI-in, I’ve no idea how that is handled.
I’d much rather have just been able to purchase a mainboard for $200 and reused my old 13 chassis than buy an entirely new Lapdock with a worse display and build quality (and slightly worse keyboard). But there’s not much competition in this space. If it’s too expensive to build a 13 version, I’m sure they could just retool for the Framework 12 and test the market with less risk by releasing a full Lapdock version of that machine if they aren’t willing to sell mainboard for the 13.
This guy made a little video on some of the issues the new Nexdock has, I don’t think there’s a Lapdock on the market that’s “perfect” yet. Framework could definitely corner this market quickly I think.
There’s also a wireless version that Nexdock abandoned for some reason, I’m assuming cost. It would be dope if they included Airplay/Miracast or an equivalent in the firmware.
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I’d also be interested in a high quality lapdock. I’d definitely buy one. I hope that the Framework Team will consider the suggestions in this topic.
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I’d love to buy a framework lapdock. I’m thinking about giving it a shot myself with a framework 12 chassis (touch screen is important for a lapdock if you’re using it with a phone with desktop mode, since some apps aren’t as easy to use with a mouse), but I don’t have one to tinker with and it’s a lot of money to even attempt it, not to mention the amount of time it would take. Plus, it seems like the main tool for using the keyboard and trackpad via usb by @Arya is primarily available on tindie, which has been down every time I’ve checked.
My biggest concern is battery management, since it’s physically dangerous to get wrong and I’m not knowledgeable on how to do it right. If framework released a “mainboard” for the 12 that enabled it to be used as a lapdock I’d instantly buy it!
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You could just skip the battery bit.
Make the lapdock powered by a usb c power adapter.
Have the circuit for usb c dp alt mode, usb devices (keyboard, mouse) and usb pd to charge phone from the power adapter.
Then if you need battery, just get an external power brick with usb c out.
If you did want the lapdock having a battery, some usb-pd chips have their own firmware and gpios. You could maybe use that to act as the EC for controlling the charging. Thus saving on the cost of an EC.
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It’s not that dangerous as the battery has it’s own protection circuitry and will disconnect itself if you do something it doesn’t like. You may be able to get away with just a regular powerbank chipset if you don’t need access to the battieres own diagnistics/fuel gauge.