For now, you can check out the Fairbuds.
I do not know how much this counts as ‘beside laptops’ but I would most like to see a 2-in-1 convertible version of the Framework laptop (ideally using the same motherboard standard) with stylus support. Pen input is quite essential for me to sketch diagrams, blueprints or just help me organize my thought. I have mostly used HP x360 series 2-in-1s, which have a nice feature set (reasonably bright display, a touchscreen with Wacom AES active pen and a matte glass finish, built-in 4G LTE). At the same time, the current 2-in-1 market is extremely frustrating. You are usually limited to Intel CPUs (and weaker ones at that) and soldered memory (usually 32GB) max, both of which seem quite limiting to me.
I am personally not quite convinced that the “flip” (360 degree double hinge) form factor is the optimal one (converting between laptop and tablet mode is slow and cumbersome) but I get that it is the easiest to make and I’d be fine with that. I’d be fine even with just a pen-enabled screen in the current clamshell form factor. I even looked into DYI-ing using screens from major-brand convertibles such as HP. But given the lack of documentation and official ways to source parts, this is hard. And I am not the only one interested: 1, 2.
For me, the best 2-in-1 form factor I saw was the Sony Vaio Duo, which I was able to switch from tablet to laptop mode with one hand, in which I was holding it. The HP Dragonfly Folio form factor also seems intriguing in some ways (however, it cannot be fully closed in the ‘screen up’ orientation to become a proper tablet and also the port selection is abysmal).
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+1 for a small phone, if it’s feasible for it to have long term security update support. I’m posting this on a pixel 5a that is completely fine and doesn’t need to be replaced at all, except it’s 3 months away from being end of support for updates.
Really sad how many perfectly fine phones just get abandoned from a software support perspective. I know newer pixels are getting 7 years, but even that’s kind of bad when compared with computers.
I guess some way to use the fw16 GPU module as an egpu would be cool although I might have read somewhere that it was being worked on already.
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Like a ton of people here I would also love a Framework phone, but I wanted to stress that I feel like Fairphone is almost excellent but really lacks the upgradable aspect that Framework has been offering. The lack of upgradeability is a dealbreaker on the Fairphone 5 for me, as I don’t want to be stuck with a below mediocre CPU on a phone that I expect to keep for a good decade. Being able to upgrade the CPU would also resolve the problem that Qualcom and co will not maintain software for a particular CPU for decades (albeit the competition from Apple and Google for example may require them to offer this at some point).
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Last I looked, Fairphone didn’t have the correct bands for US carriers. Has that changed? I mean a phones primary purpose should work.
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Sorry I don’t live in the US. Fairphone 5 seems to support only some US 5G bands, which is fine to me.
Right, so my point is, Framework being a US company, making a phone that works in the US “like” the fairphone would be perfect.
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Partly inspired by the discussion in this thread:
FW16 keyboard module (numpad form factor) version/derivative of the Precursor security token/subsystem, by bunnie et al.
What i would really like is a modular smart watch, similar to this:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2106691934/blocks-the-worlds-first-modular-smartwatch/posts
Apart from that, a all-in-one (like an iMac) might be a good place to go, many of those face the same challenges as a laptop w.r.t. repair-ability, and it could even work with existing expansion options, including the gpu expansion bay.
Similar to that, a monitor or TV with docking options for the expansion cards would be great, so that you can connect your framework 13 or 16 to the monitor.
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Ouch, looking at the kickstarter comments, it was another project run by scammers who squandered the backers money without leaving any behind to actually make product. Framework should buy any patents they still have and produce that product. Looks like not a bad watch…as long as the battery is replaceable.
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An Android phone with repairable parts and replaceable (without major disassembly) battery. Something like my current Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro 6, but with Framework/FairFone parts availability
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One relatively simple thing: a modular dock that’s compatible with the expansion cards. I’ve tried finding a fitting USB-C hub to build my own but so far I haven’t found one that supports display out but doesn’t come with the HDMI port preassembled.
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I remember in the 90’s a coworker found a laptop tossed in the dump that had (i presume a thermal) printer built-in. I think the paper went in bottom, maybe like a printing calculator or fax type print.
A LTO tape unit, or at least LTO interfacing. I have to run old Linux or windows in a tower, with fan blasting on HP interface cards.
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I mean if you are doing a dock with full featured ports you may as well expose them directly instead of putting them behind expansion cards, that seams kind of inefficient and wasteful.
A sas card in an egpu enclosure would probably do most of that.
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You could say the same about modular ports on the laptop itself. So far I haven’t found a dock that matches my needs, except maybe some 15 port monster that costs 300 bucks. I would love to be able to configure a dock with exactly what I need and change it up when my needs change. Maybe I want to switch from HDMI outputs to DP, maybe I don’t need 2.5Gbit/s ethernet anymore and can free up that port for something else, maybe someone finally builds a decent digital audio out expansion card that I can put in there once it’s ready.
Not really, no. On the laptop you already do got the full featured ports and you can break out their capabilities however you want. On a dock you would have to have hardware to get the full featured ports and the reduce them.
You could get one of those 4 port tb4 hubs to do most of what you want there but using a full blown tb4 port for a mouse just kinda feels wasteful.
There is the in-between solution where you make one with a bunch of usb ports that take expansion cards and an mst hub that takes display expansion cards you would get that but not every slot work with every card and the cost of the expansion cards adds up too.
The more reasonable option would be just something that has a bunch of usb, maybe networking and a bunch of display-ports (you can adapt to hdmi if you really need to). But turns out that’s what most comercial docks allready do.
I’d like Framework to build more things that add synergistic value to their existing platforms, rather than creating yet another platform ecosystem that isn’t interoperable like the FW13 and FW16.
For example, build a NAS platform sharing the FW13 mainboard that allows standard SFX or Flex power supplies, front panel connections for power, reset and USB. Or build a router platform using the FW13 mainboard.
Basically rather than building new platforms, build new products using the existing platforms.
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I would like to Capacitive Touchscreens or at least a capacitive touch digitizer overlay option for the displays.
Other than that, what would be interesting to see a Framework Version of GPDs Mini PCs, so 7 inch customizable laptop!