A repairable mouse would be lovely. Something conceptually similar to the Razer Naga, just less landfill oriented, with parts availability, both for repair, and putting the repairable innards in a custom shell.
Different price ranges could be targeted by differently equipped kits: USB connector module with or without battery pack. Radio module included or not. Dumb side panel or nine key side panel. This would again run into raising the base price, but making it so you don’t have to replace the full mouse to go from office to MMO style, or make it vertical. It’d need more than napkin calculations to see the exact cost of adding durable connections for modules to a mouse mainboard. I think the only requirement this absolutely couldn’t satisfy would be ultralight mice, because no mainboard with connectors will ever be as light as a single optimized pcb.
Also, apart from the ewaste factor of even just one broken switch or rubber pad being irreplaceable, most gaming mice suck because of the trash software. If the framework mouse just had a simple setup tool, clear documentation, and stored configs on the mouse, it’d be already far more friendly, than the Logitech, Razer, Corsair and such bloatware always running in the back.
Let the existing specialized third parties use a good documentation for complex macros, and do not reinvent the wheel like other companies do.
“Nager IT”, a german project selling fairly produced computer mice, is looking for someone to take over this project:
Of course it’s not a “fair” product in every way but they try to be as good and transparent as possible. It’s crazy how huge the supply chain is for such a small device.
I know this is said many times, but with realy good ARM SOCs available now (think Snapdragon X Elite), it’s really time for a Frame.Work with ARM.
I need to buy one, but I would definitely hold if I know I can go back to Frame.Work (I had one from my previous employer and I loved it)
After being ripped off by Intel many many times, I’m not considering anything with Intel CPU in it, Frame.Work laptop 12 with AMD would still be a viable option. With ARM? I’m in!
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At this point, I mostly wanna see more upgrades and conversion kits for the existing computers you guys make. There’s plenty of consumer electronics that I’d love to see repairable versions of, but I’d rather see the possibilities of the 12/13/16/Desktop fully realized.
Stuff like more input modules for the 16 (I still think about the hypothetical piano input module you guys showed off), more mainboard options for the 12 for people who want more performance, kits or at least 3d printable files for reusing displays and batteries, that sort of thing.
I’d like to see a laptop upgrade based on the Intel Core Ultra Series 2 (Lunar Lake) as these have a fairly solid GPU and amazing battery life. At this point maybe better to focus on Series 3 (Panther Lake) which should be available end of 2025.
I have first hand experience with the Core Ultra Series 2 CPU in a Surface Laptop I got for work a few months back. Battery life is incredible, and this laptop runs cool (I do not recall hearing a fan). Intel has done a great job with Lunar Lake and Panther Lake should even be better. For most users, having 10+ hours of battery life in a cool running laptop would be more important that squeaking 5% more performance out of a heat loaded battery hog. My 2 cents.
I would suggest no new products, just continuation and ironing out the kinks of the now existing catalog.
For the 16 inch: a one piece trackpad board. A new motherboard & CPU. (AMD 9000 series or Intel 200hx). A new GPU. Has been pretty overdue.
13 inch: Intel 200h with thunderbolt 5.
12 inch: Maybe a Lunar lake board, a way to stiffen up the chassis.
Would be amazing, if these product get the same iterative improvements as the Framework 13 got.
Adding to that, maybe someone has said this already but I would like to see the Framework 16 mainboard be useable in a computer case like they done with strix halo
if companies like AMD are going to continue to make chips that vary from low TDP to high TDP ( strix halo for example ), it be good to see that we can take the FW16 mainboard out of a laptop casing and into a desktop case and then the user can reconfigure the TDP
I would love a repairable mouse that’s like Razer’s Naga! I’m still using a pretty old Razer Naga Epic that only works with their V2 software (soon to be completely discontinued). I got a Naga Trinity to replace it but that one lacked Wireless and eventually had issues with the left mouse click (click and drag not working well). I’ve kept both. It irritated me that the price went up and it loss features. Wireless now add like $60 or something on top of the price being over $100. I got my old Epic Naga for $100 and it came with a Wireless dongle/dock for it.
Turns out the Trinity was kinda pointless for me since I use the MMO keypad on other games as well. I found no need to swap out while playing another game like 99% of the time.
Build a laptop that you can release the full schematics to everyone. Not just a cut down version of them. Thus allowing everyone to repair their own mainboards if they wish.
Make the laptop unbrickable - I.e. failed firmware update does not brick the laptop and make it un-usable. Allow the bios and ec firmware to be replaceable/repairable without needing to be an electronics expert.
Make all the USB ports support USB-PD output for >= 15W and generally improve their compatibility with other devices.
Make the surface/keyboard more spilled drink proof.
In summary: Just make the existing products FW12/13/16 better and more compatible with other devices. Also making the product even more end-user repairable.
I think this is where Framework is hoping that the open nature of their products and the array of documentation they produce would spur other companies to get involved and release “Framework-Ready” types of products.
As I’ve mentioned in another thread, Framework only has so many resources … both financial and physical to get involved with products. They’re not going to be able to produce everything AND continue to develop and enhance their existing lines of products without substantial growth, which comes at a risk to both the company and their mission.
It’s sad to read that some of the most promising 3rd party projects on here appear to have died out… perhaps what’s really needed isn’t a product, but a process where folks can get access to further documentation or even Framework internal resources to help develop physical goods. i.e. A ‘Framework-Ready’ certification programme of some kind.
For example. On the FW16, quite a few people did not like the touchpad and spacers not lining up. It would have been nice if they published the entire specs of how to make a touchpad and spacers and where to go to get them made.
Maybe then, a user could have made a new touchpad that covered the whole touchpad and spacer area, and placated those users.
I know I would be happy with a touchpad that did not click at all. I am used to just tapping the touchpad and not clicking it to be the equivalent of a click.
But, the thing stopping me create my own touchpad/spacer is all the intricate plastic that needs to be stuck of the back of the metal front.
Becareful what you wish for, if all ports on an FL13 are loaded with 15W each then the battery will be flat in one hour without any power draw by the processor.
In effect you are having each port capable of nearly the equivalent power draw of a processor.
this might be a far out idea…hell I know it is:
But a phone that has two interchangeable ports. Basicly a crossing between a framework laptop and fairphone. Because basicly everyone is dropping aux..and I really like my aux, but sometimes an mini HDMI out or second USB C can be really really handy.
also a laptop with full schematics, or an ARM based computer.
