That part isn’t actually true though, right? The display adapters only have 3 slots they can go in (along with some other less obvious restrictions).
Currently noone really has a sensibe solution to get 6 “equal” port without adding a ton of complexity. The intel mobile chips come with 2 pairs of usb4 ports each sharing an uplink and the amd ones come with 2 ports with an uplink each. Getting more usb4 ports than the soc includes is a huge jump in complexity and I doubt either intel or amd are going to add more of them since most manufacturers barely even use the ones they already get.
It would however be much more consumer friendly if that was clearly marked, why not edge that into the space under the expansion card?
AMD should just get over themselves and freaking put in the second dp channel though, that bit is pretty annoying.
Etching it into the chassis would be pretty backwards, because if your wish comes true and the next gen SoCs have more ports, you could swap a mainboard in your FWL16 which has different limitations (or none) and now you have wrong information forever etched into your device.
I think in general the reviews are quite fair for the most part.
Performance is an important part of a laptop, and if it doesn’t perform as good as other laptops with similiar specs or in the same price range, that should be clearly shown in reviews.
On the other hand most reviews should have laid more emphasis on the modularity and upgradability of these devices. As Linus said somewhere (Review or WAN-Show):
If Framework was some random startup or if it was their very first product, everybody should be sceptical.
But they have already proven their initial intentions with the FWL13. They need to continue delivering on their promises and mission, no question. But with such a track record of great efforts to go right by their consumers and their own statements, more trust and more spotlight should have been given to the return (environmental, as well as financial) you will probably get a few years down the line compared to other “single-use” laptops.
Good point, removable labels then maybe I guess. Though my wish wasn’t for more port but that they add the second dp channel to the existing usb4 ones to be compatible with stuff that doesn’t use mst for mostly apple reasons.
Even 4 fully featured ports would be amazing. Many laptops in the FW16 size range don’t have that. There have been several laptops I was close to buying in the last couple of years that were really close (though without the maintainability of FW) where the deal breaker was “wait, you give me one USB4 port and then an ancient HDMI 1.4 port and a couple of USB-A v2 ports?” I would be happy to never see another USB-A port on a computer again. In the rare case I need to attach some legacy USB-A device or dongle, that’s what adapters are for.
I would look into your current machine, it seems to be double posting
Another two:
Finally, someone mentioned in the review that they were using a pre-production unit. Thank you PCWorld.
Also sounds like they had the same keyboard flex that LTT encountered. Hm.
The keyboard has reasonable key travel and a firm bottoming action, but key actuation lacks tactile feel and keyboard flex is significant in the middle of the keyboard. Don’t get me wrong: when I say it’s ok, I mean it’s ok. I typed several thousands words with no issue. Still, it might help if Framework could find a way to reinforce the center of the keyboard. I’d also love to see an optional keyboard with mechanical switches.
From PCWorld Review
I am guessing they ran into the same issue LTT’s Alex mentioned and did a hack-y fix for. It will be interesting to see if it’s a prevalent issue for Batch 1 customers.
Also from the same review:
The Framework 16 has upwards-firing speakers, which is a plus
I thought FW16 had sideways firing speakers?
It does have side firing speakers. The PC world reviewer is mistaken.
Directional confusion aside, it’s really encouraging to see some positive accolades about the sound quality from these reviews.
People keep commenting on the trackpad being too small. I just wanted to mention here that I’m actually a fan of this. I’m sick of large trackpads with terrible palm rejection. I spend a lot of time typing on my laptop and the last thing I want is the trackpad to start randomly changing the text.
I am batch 12 as well, and trying to guage the approximate ship date.
But I am glad and hope issues will be worked out mostly by then.
It’s rather too soon to tell really, I think by Batch 4 or 5 we’ll get a sense of how fast they’re getting through batches to send out. They haven’t even restarted production from the Lunar New Year break, that’ll be on the 15th I believe.
Batch 2 users are sharing in the Batch 2 guild thread that they’ve gotten the email that their orders are preparing for shipment…so that’s promising news that they’ll move at a decent clip.
Another French review here:
Another nice review from Level1Techs. Also talks about Linux in it and actually runs it!
Edit: Dedicated thread and another video: FW16 video reviews from Elevated Systems and Level1Tech!