I’m planning to use it basically as a capable tablet computer running Linux (and hopefully Android apps through Waydroid). Drawing, taking notes, reading web sites and e-books, use it as a robust, capabble, small laptop while travelling, stuff like that.
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So for me I travel fairly often and mostly use my PC for YouTube and researching new things so I’ve decided to ditch the PC life for a laptop and handheld(steam deck) and some retro consoles. Mostly looking to reduce my waste after buy a ROG phone and other devices like it that can’t be repaired I’ve hated not being able to fix and upgrade my things. So I’m doing both at once ditching my stationary stuff and find the most repairable alternatives I can.
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I just put my pre-order in the other day. This will be my primary computer, to replace a 6 year old Microsoft Surface Go with looming end of Windows 10 support. I’m excited to kick Windows to the curb, install Linux, and have more control of both my hardware and software!
The FW Laptop 12 checked so many boxes for me, it almost felt like someone designed it for me, personally.
- Small, portable, 2-in-1 formfactor
- Designed for Linux
- Longevity
- Reasonable price
- Hardware camera/mic switches
- It even comes in purple?!
I don’t do anything terribly resource intensive, just web browsing, productivity, file and photo management, and occasional light gaming, so the i3 with 16 GB of RAM should have me set for a good long while and is certainly an upgrade from my current Pentium Y and 8 GB.
One quick question, while I’m here - can anyone point me to info on what Linux distributions will be officially supported on the 12? I’m planning on installing Linux Mint, and as a newbie, official support would be great peace of mind, but I think I’ll be fine with community support, too.
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Historically, Fedora Workstation and Ubuntu LTS have been the “officially” supported distros. But the community (and occasionally Framework staff) on the forums here have been very active with many distros, sharing details on getting them working and helping to troubleshoot specific issues.
If you look at the top of the Framework Laptop 12 category on the forums, there is a Linux button. If you click that, it brings up all the threads that are tagged Linux. There are a bunch of threads for various distros that Framework created pretty much as soon as the FW 12 category was live on the site. They are all currently locked, likely until the laptop starts to ship. So even if they aren’t “officially” supported (no word at this time, as far as I’m aware), it seems that they are already prepared for discussions about each of those Linux distros on the FW 12, so any one of them is probably a relatively safe bet.
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I sold my Surface Go before Windows 11 required SSE4.2, but it was a pretty nice machine. I’ve been using an ASUS L210 for a year now, it barely does what I want, but it does work better on a lap.
I feel the same way and I am so hyped for the FW12.
I ordered an i3 in Sage, and I already have the RAM and SSD sitting in my desk.
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Daily traveler is my intended use case, we’ll see if it lives up to the hype in my head.
The Framework 12, on paper, offers the most pros with the least cons for my current interests and needs.
Really hoping the pen doesn’t suck, spoken honestly. Same as battery life.
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I haven’t preordered yet, waiting to see what the drawing experience is like with the stylus and touchscreen. I have a Framework 13 and Wacom Intuos Pro that frankly I expect to have the best drawing experience with, but I wouldn’t mind a single device that’s good enough and keep the nicer setup for home use on my desktop.
I’m also a sucker for smaller devices and smaller backpacks to fit them into, and while only marginally smally than the 13, it counts.
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Wow same. haha
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My use case for the FW 12 will be all day computing stuff. It will be replace my Mac Mini M1 and an older Acer Chromebook Spin 11.
I am more an desktop user then an laptop user. So it will get an place on my desk. But, I intend to use it also on other places. And for vacations.
I will run Linux on the FW 12. In the past I work a lot with Linux, so that will not an problem. And I am also running an home server with Linux.
The stuff that I want to run on the FW 12 is just an webbrowser. And for programming use, photo and video editing. Also I want to give Blender an try.
Running it as an Linux tablet will be nice too. I am now using an Mac Mini. There is not an need for now to replace that already.
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Laptop to take with me. I have one currently, but it and it’s charger is over 8lbs and that is NOT fun to lug around a convention haha (and now it cant keep a chatge so I have to being that charger everywhere)
I wanted something i can easily take out, present from, and write with wherever i want. The fact that i can still do light gaming (VNs) is great!
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Heh… we are so different. I’ve come to like heavier EDC gear as carrying it is exercise I didn’t have to pay for! As a hacker and entrepreneur who spends way too much time shackled to a desk, that means a lot.
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I’m the techie at home and the one who uses the laptop the most (linux/basic gaming). My gf couldn’t care less, but she’d like to have a tablet. We have a small girl who will probably be introduced to computers in a few years. The laptop 12 would be a great solution to use connected to the dock for me for my stuff, stolen by my gf to read the news in the morning and to be used as a playtool for the little girl until she’s gonna inherit it down the road.
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I had been using a work issued Dell XPS 17” as my daily driver for the past 6 years but recently left that job to go back to school. I’ve wanted to purchase a Framework machine for years but never could justify buying a laptop for myself when my work provided one. I had played around with PopOS on the Dell and really enjoyed it (I’ve used Ubunutu and Debian in the past among other distros).
I’ll be using the FW12 as my daily portable computer for attending class, typing and writing notes (excited for the stylus), typing papers, and doing online searches, coursework, and some light software development. I placed my order for the DIY model on launch day so I’m anxiously awaiting shipment notification.
Sidenote: does anyone know if I can update my shipping address on an existing order myself or do I have to contact support?
Welcome to the site!
If you log into your account and access your order, it shows all the details of the order, including the shipping address for the order. Under the address there is a link to change the shipping address.
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Thanks for the welcome. I found it per your directions and was able to get it updated. Thanks @BigT ! Has anything been announced about ship dates for group 1 units scheduled for June?
Nothing announced yet.
My current routine is to visit the forum multiple times a day in hope of news. Also re-visiting the same videos and website pages over and over again.
Edit: AFAIK this is the first thread sharing serious indicators that at least Batch 0 seems to start shipping soon
Still… nothing official. Just rumors and predictions 
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I’ve been on the forum multiple times per day since April 9th, FW Reddit also.
My habit will only get worse when there is more news, and a tracking number lol.
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My worst addiction is scanning YouTube for new videos every few hours. So looking forward to the first actual reviews and impressions of actual users. Found this one obscure video yesterday:
Really nice to see their genuine team member showcasing all their cool tech.
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I’ve been using a Samsung Chromebook Pro (XE510C24) for years, and in my opinion it’s the perfect form factor for a light-use portable computing device.
- Small, high-resolution OLED display (12.3" 2400x1600) with a sane aspect ratio (3:2)
- 360 degree convertible with a touchscreen and an internally docked Wacom EMR stylus
- Lightweight (2.38lbs); easy to lift with one hand
- Long battery life (the specs claim 9 hours on 39 Wh)
- Completely fanless
A web browser and an SSH client cover 90% of my portable computing needs, and I’ve got a real desktop for anything the chromebook couldn’t handle. I’ve used it for web browsing or email on the couch, and I’ve taken it when traveling if I didn’t expect to need a real computer. It’s just so easy to bring along that it’s been my default portable device for quite a while. And it’s much more ergonomic than my phone if I do end up needing to do something remotely.
My only issues with it are:
- 4GB of RAM is not enough anymore
- It’s no longer able to receive ChromeOS updates
I can’t find an equivalent chromebook to replace it directly. On my desktop I run Linux (Debian stable), so I’ve been looking for a compact laptop with a similar form factor that has acceptable Linux support. There are surprisingly few options that fit this niche. The Samsung Galaxy Book3 360 or Galaxy Book Flex tick some of the boxes, but the Galaxy Book line appears to have generally poor Linux support, and they’re significantly more expensive.
The FW12 isn’t quite perfect in my eyes (please consider an EMR stylus!), but it’s as close a match as I’ve been able to find. I think it’ll be able to drop into the “extremely portable web browser with a keyboard” role that I’m looking for, so I’m excited to give it a try. I was actually on the brink of giving up on a 360 convertible and purchasing a FW13 as a stopgap, so the FW12 announcement was extremely timely for me.
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Great job, Daniel! I enjoyed seeing you discuss the various products and options. Thank you @wolfie for posting this!
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