I’ll reiterate two ideas mentioned previously that interest me. A printer with pdf support built-in, sensible modern connection protocols, and open firmware would be amazing. I love the thunderbolt dock idea with expansion port support built-in.
My contribution to this list that I haven’t seen mentioned by anyone (though I could have just missed it) is a portable external screen, preferably OLED with 16:10 aspect ratio. Lastly, I realize this is CPU bound but support for ECC memory would be fantastic.
@Philippe I’m with you. I think there is a lot of room to work with within the current space of laptops. I really would love to see AMD CPUs/APUs and USB4 support with high bandwidths and PCIE support to make it easy to hook up eGPUs. Maybe a second m.2 slot in a larger form factor or the possibility to use the USB4 PCIE lanes to attach high bandwidth SSDs as an expansion card instead of using an USB interface. The latter would bring the possibility to install windows on that “expansion card” even if windows to go is dead.
As for a docking station it would be really nice if there was one that supports the framework expansion cards. A fully modular dock where you can take with you what you need and slot it back in at home. The “Niche expansion cards” thread is full of useful and creative ideas so there will be no shortage for expandability on the dock.
Peripherals should be less of a concern. There are many highly repairable and customizable mechanical keyboards out there. As for mice it’s a little different. A short time ago I was on a hunt for a replacement for my 10a old Logitech M180 and because I have roccat peripherals on my main desk I will go with an upcoming product of them. I will not say there is a shortage of good mice, but I hate using the ones with integrated batteries (the new roccat kone air has changable ones). A repairable alternative would be awesome.
Literally, a Framework Smartphone would be a dream!
Since none of the other repairable phone companies (i.e. Fairphone) sells products in Canada, this would be something I’d buy.
It would need to be a high-spec phone, though. I’m not a fan of the low-end specs and hardware offered on Fairphones, which I understand, but I believe that higher-spec hardware = longer product life.
Also… an Xbox controller with easy to replace bumpers and thumbsticks would be an instant buy for me. I’m not a heavy gamer, but have gone through far too many controllers, including Microsoft’s top-tier Elite 2 controllers, simply because a button fails and replacements are either poor quality or not easy to install.
Honestly, keep iterating and adding on to the current laptop. People all over the forums and this thread have already said it, but it can be repeated:
Screen options: Resolution, touch, matte, “secure view” (low viewing angles for business security)
Trackpoint and keyboard options
More module options
Chassis options (perhaps a thicker one for more battery?)
Processor options (AMD, ARM)
I feel like there is a lot the Framework team should be doing that could improve the current product that is available versus making something else / in addition to it. If it were to be something else:
More laptop sizes (people have been begging for a 15 inch or bigger), possibly with a dedicated GPU
Phone (for those of us who can’t get our hands on a Fairphone. It would be a rough market to break into though, so wouldn’t be my first choice)
Tablet (since a community project is already starting this, seems like it may be a logical jumping off point)
Computer accessories / peripherals (probably the most logical space to grow into, IMO, since it starts becoming more of an “ecosystem”)
Sometimes, I feel threads like this are just like government polls…“We want your opinion…but won’t listen to anything you have to say, and even if we listen, we won’t do anything about it”…to drive community engagement and steer perception.
So are there other threads by Framework or are you just trying to compare to ‘government polls’
I’m sure that the opinions are listened to, but then the results in them selves are not definitive of action just another weight to add to future plans.
Afterall, consider the sample pool and size of this forum and twitterverse… we don’t know what weighting measure to apply to the responses… (e.g. what we say here could just a blip against investors on a 1:∞ scale)
Yes…but let’s not ignore the rest of the accompanying factors (all the other straws, or, time & chaos).
So really, there’s no visibility / pre-established structure to know how this will go. So, “I” feel that’s what it currently ‘is’. I’ll likely feel differently if there’s additional data points to suggest actions.
We see the direction when we see it…and that’s whenever Framework decides to announce new products. That’s just how they operate. Curbing my enthusiasm.
I get you are expressing your feeling but that is just a consequences of how you think. If you want a positive outcome then there exists the negative. If you want for nothing and yet still play the game it’s just a matter of which cards and which pack you deal.
I’m not sure Framework ‘should’ build anything but they are asking and in doing so are showing thier ‘need’ to move on, so why not blow across thier bow with a whisper, maybe they will hear that above the raging sea.
I would love to see a framework phone, however, I believe that is an impossible market to be new in (even though nothing.tech seems on the surface to be succeeding as a newcomer). Personally, I would love to see some sort of wall mount case with touch screen that you can install a standard framework board into, can be used for like smart home monitors or a kitchen display or maybe even a powerful in car entertainment system? I don’t know… just trying to think of something that will help to further re-using existing products.
I would love to see a motherboard option containing the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 (same as is used in the Lenovo X13s and the Windows on Arm devkit) for the specific reason that this ARM processor is of significant interest to the Linux community, but there currently no way to buy it without getting a copy of windows bundled in.
Given that you guys have the DIY edition of the framework laptop, it should be easy to both make a version that will give Windows users great battery life and also offer up the device without windows installed for people who have no interest in running it.
Modular car dash. Car stereo DINs seem to be very proprietary and maybe you guys could partner with Ford or some other car company and establish a universal car stereo/dash slot for customizeable car tech!
Also, this doesn’t really deviate from laptops, but a 2 in 1 version or upgrade kit for the Framework Laptop would be amazing! As a college student I would love to be able to annotate notes on my laptop as well without sacrificing framework modularity.
In Framework’s defense, that is the point of the forum, community engagement. They never said that they were going to implement all the ideas that community members offered up here, they just want to see what ideas we can come up with, maybe if someone suggests something that no one at the company has thought of before it’ll get added to an internal list. I’m not sure where this expectation of feedback came from, but this feels more like a large group brainstorm (and probably the reason Nirav put it into the ‘General Topics’ category)…