Framework 13 Pro: The Modular Laptop is Real!

I have finally got my hands on the newest...

Framework Laptop, the Framework 13 Pro.

And if you're wondering why you should care about this machine,

I have one word for you:

modular. See, as a tech reviewer,

that word usually raises a bunch of little red flags in the back of my head.

Like, how many modular project... idea

stuff

have we seen... get presented and then never come out?

Like

Project Ara;

you remember Phonebloks, that one viral promo video?

Then a demo video at Google I/O,

then a 'we're still working on it' video,

and then we just never heard from it again.

Modular tech promises... worry me,

but sometimes they actually make it all the way to a finished product

like, something like the Fairphone.

And I've talked about the Fairphone on this channel.

It is an awesome idea that everyone can root for,

but not necessarily a product that everyone is willing to buy right now.

And earlier,

Framework Laptops also kind of started off on the same line for me.

Like, the idea of a modular laptop... is great.

Again, everyone is easily rooting for it,

but it has the same problem as the Fairphone,

where it doesn't

feel

as great,

but they slowly but surely improved.

And this newest one, specifically,

is making their biggest leap towards an actually

premium... modular laptop once and for all.

And they're calling it, in their own words,

the MacBook Pro...

for Linux users.

Our internal prompt for this product was actually

How do we build the MacBook Pro for Linux users?

You want MacBook Pro-level battery life in a machine that

actually respects your rights. How do we build

the MacBook Pro for Linux users?

That is really big talk, but...

if they can actually make it happen,

I don't see why I wouldn't love this laptop straight away.

So,

let's see. See, if you take Apple's word for it,

a lot of what makes their laptops so good is how tightly integrated everything is.

So

none of this is upgradable.

Memory, CPU, GPU,

everything is all part of the same chip,

and you need special tools to even get in to replace things like ports,

battery, et cetera.

But the result...

is a super premium, all-metal unibody, like, gold-standard,

pre-built laptop. Right?

So this Framework 13 Pro comes as either a build-it-yourself DIY or pre-built.

Mine here is a pre-built model.

So all I have to do after unboxing it is, is just decide which ports I want.

So I decided to go with three USB Type-C ports and one SD card reader.

But if I ever wanna change it,

if I ever want an HDMI port or a DisplayPort,

I can easily switch to that, too.

They sell a ton of other plug-and-play... modules,

microSD,

Ethernet, et cetera. That's already pretty sick.

And then build quality-wise, I mean,

right off the bat, immediately, this thing looks

fantastic. And it's not just 'cause it's matte black.

I mean, it is matte black,

but it also, it looks a lot like a MacBook Pro.

Actually,

I'd argue it looks maybe even a little bit better,

or at least a little more characterful...

while still being premium...

This is a full CNC aluminum chassis.

That feels great.

It hides fingerprints about as well as it possibly could.

It's got that Framework logo in the middle of the back...

And then it's a full-size backlit keyboard with a large haptic trackpad...

And that's a fingerprint reader up in the corner.

This deck

is basically the exact same thickness as a 14-inch MacBook Pro.

But since it's a Framework Laptop,

this whole top piece here can easily be replaced...

with a more colorful version.

This whole deck is actually called the Input Cover.

And in literally five to 10 minutes,

with the included screwdriver that comes in every box,

you can replace the whole thing with that more colorful one with

some accent colors on the keys. That is nice.

Same thing with

the display.

And I'll talk more about the panel in a second,

but...

you can see it has a little more character with the

transparent-colored bezels.

So you can actually see, like,

some of the magnets and the webcam assembly.

It's kind of cool.

This can also be replaced with a more colorful one or a

black one if you want to.

No tools necessary.

There is literally a whole parts replacement guide on their site

with detailed instructions and difficulty level,

and listing which tools you'll need,

which is typically...

just the included Framework screwdriver. I love...

that this

modular

laptop, built for repairability, and replaceability, and upgradability,

does not feel... compromised

in any significant

way as far as build quality... Now,

is it exactly as well-built as a MacBook Pro?

Not... Not a hundred percent.

It's probably 85% as well-built as a MacBook Pro.

It's not unibody.

So when I twist this laptop,

I can actually get the top piece to separate from

from the bottom pretty easily, which doesn't feel great...

It also passes the one-finger open test, but then the hinge

wobbles a bit more than some other laptops I've used once it's open.

But it's overall, really, it's pretty great.

This is their best build yet.

They're finally doing what people have been asking for

a premium... modular...

laptop. So

what about that modular part? Okay,

so I feel like you can think about each individual

piece, like each spec of

of this laptop

along

two different axes...

Like, how good is it...

against something like a MacBook Pro?.. And

how repairable or replaceable

is it... against something like a MacBook Pro?..

And...

I think you'll pretty quickly start to notice a theme here

like this display.

It's easily the best ever.

It's actually a custom display. It looks great,

it has the numbers to back it up on paper...

and it's a 3:2 aspect ratio, which is underrated.

I love that This is 100% aimed to be...

a productivity laptop.

And I think everyone else seeing the 2880 by 1920 resolution will appreciate,

you know, those few more vertical lines of text,

or code, or whatever you're reading...

And if you're in a brightly lit office like me,

you also appreciate the anti-glare finish.

That would have cost an extra 150 bucks if you're getting it on a MacBook Pro.

It also just... happens

to be a touchscreen too.

So

there's a lot going for this thing.

It's pretty great.

It is

100% of sRGB, but not of DCI-P3 like the MacBook Pro.

So I mean, if you do

MacBook Pro type of stuff, photography, video editing, then that difference

might matter to you. But...

otherwise

I feel pretty comfortable saying this screen is

80 to 90% of what a MacBook Pro screen is.

But you can take it off and replace it with a single screwdriver...

For the MacBook Pro, that's like a 20-step,

60-minute iFixit guide where you need about six different types of

screwdrivers and suction cups.

Not to mention good luck getting your hands on actual Apple parts

for any sort of reasonable price

So the Framework is 80-something percent of the quality

and a million percent more modular.

80% of the quality, way more modular.

So the keyboard, the keyboard's really nice.

It's a full-size backlit keyboard.

The keys have some nice travel.

They're a little less clicky than I personally like,

but I can still type really fast on them.

See, it's got the function keys, the haptic trackpad is large

and honestly,

it looks literally like 90% of the MacBook Pro size.

And the fingerprint reader in the corner, it is a bit slower,

but it works all the same.

So really solid keyboard deck, maybe 80, 90% of the MacBook Pro,

but

you can take it off and completely replace it with a single screwdriver.

Good luck doing that with a MacBook Pro.

Now the computer itself.

This one's got 32 gigs of fast LPDDR5X RAM.

It starts at 16, but it's fully upgradable...

1 terabyte of SSD storage. PCIe Gen 5

also fully upgradable.

It's got a 74-watt-hour battery inside which is way bigger than the last gen...

Also fully replaceable.

It's maybe a bit harder to give it a percentage for like how

good of a performer it is versus, you know, Apple Silicon with like the M4,

M5 chips,

because obviously Apple's system-on-a-chip is a massively

different architecture

with its own advantages.

But what I can tell you from experience...

is the Framework has easily handled

all of the productivity type of stuff that I've thrown at it,

because that's just, you know, word processing, and email,

and Slack, and Notion, and task managers,

stuff like that.

It's snappy and it's great at that. No problem.

This one I'm using here is actually the higher-end chip,

the Ultra X7,

but the whole Intel Core Ultra Series 3 chip lineup...

is efficient...

and with solid enough integrated graphics to even play some light games.

If you wanted to go just purely on benchmark numbers,

you could again say like 80% of the MacBook Pro,

but a million percent more modular again.

So really the only things that have fallen short that aren't

quite in line with that theme are

the speakers... Unfortunately...

they're...

I know it says like Dolby Atmos-rated or whatever,

but don't let that fool you. These are

barely half the speakers...

of the godlike MacBook Pro

and

the webcam is... pretty bad.

Not that the MacBook Pro has some amazing webcam,

but

yeah, I don't know why this one's so bad. It's 1080p,

but it's ridiculously noisy, has tons of artifacts,

it looks terrible in any sort of video call or recording that I try.

Very strange. Really, really bad webcam.

What I do appreciate, though, is...

the physical switches

to disconnect

the webcam or the microphone independently...

built into the bezel... That is nice.

So just a quick note,

you've probably noticed by now that I'm using...

Linux

on this Framework, and it's...

been a hot minute since I've dailied a Linux machine,

but they've come a long way.

You can, of course,

choose to configure Framework 13 Pro with Windows 11 if you want,

but honestly,

I probably wouldn't.

Like, they're all okay,

they're fundamentally pretty similar as far as UI and capabilities.

The real difference is obviously way more in developer support.

So in a world where this is a productivity laptop

and... so many people are

sick of... Windows,

I definitely think if you can get all the tools you need

in a Linux environment,

there's never been a better time to try it.

Like Firefox is the main web browser that is nice,

but there's plenty of others.

Chromium, Vivaldi, Opera, etc...

Then there's GIMP for photo editing, plus some other tools like that.

There's Blender, 1Password,

Discord, Todoist, Steam,

and even some other games in the App Center.

And certainly less of the Copilot and...

AI and ads and stuff that's been tainting the Windows experience lately.

So,

just as a note, just a small,

subtle thing. The Ubuntu experience:

pretty nice. So have they done it?

Have they actually built a modular laptop that's worth buying over...

a MacBook Pro? Now, the

the word "worth"...

is a bit loaded these days with...

tech, as we all know, because of this memory shortage crisis.

You know, this laptop is not only worth...

more expensive than previous Framework laptops,

but Framework actually recently, as I was making this review,

bumped up the price of this laptop...

So you could have pre-ordered one before for $1,500,

now it's $1,600,

and the higher-end one went from $2,100 to $2,900.

So it has the high price tag

to match the premium build. But

it's close to the MacBook Pro as we've been saying,

right?

It's 80 to 85, 90% of the MacBook Pro, but...

not... 100%...

And there are some other Windows and Linux computers that maybe

get a little bit closer.

So the day that you buy the laptop,

the day one, the day zero that you get, this is the day that it feels

the least worth it. But

the longer you keep this laptop,

the more it feels worth it.

Especially the second you do your first upgrade or replacement part,

the second you spill something on it and

and then just replace the keyboard deck or replace the ports or whatever was

damaged without having to do a whole new expensive repair or get a new laptop...

That is when the tables turn and this feels...

way more worth it.

So you know, on day one, a MacBook Pro is also amazing

and you can use it for years and there's a long time with software support,

but if your needs

change

or if the software you use suddenly has bigger requirements or things

evolve and you need more RAM... or you need

something... about it, to be upgraded,

you literally can't do that.

So Framework's over here where literally their main selling

point is that you can do that,

they're also committed to a long time of software updates...

And speaking of commitment, like...

this is a company that,

this is a fun fact that almost didn't make it into this video,

but they will let you buy the new motherboard and put it in...

the old

Framework laptop, like the 5-year-old Framework 13...

to take advantage of the faster Wi-Fi and better memory and all that

other stuff on the older machines.

So with that backwards compatibility, they are actually committed

to a long time with this... modular idea.

So as a customer, if you can commit to this...

idea for a long time too,

that's what makes it worth it.

That's what makes the Framework pretty special

and why I'm glad it exists.

Super cool. Let the people

now vote with their wallets.

We'll see either way.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks for watching, and I'll catch you in the next one.

Peace!