Framework Laptop 13: What Real Users Actually Think

I always find it weird when I find such jarringly different opinions than the 'majority' on stuff like this. My work computer is a MacBook, personal laptop is the FW13. What I can't figure out is how do you have chassis flex? I've never actually tried putting my full might into snapping a laptop in half, but I just put a fair bit of pressure into my chassis and for the life of me can't figure out how you're getting it to flex.

Have you looked at current generation MacBook pricing lately? Or tried to repair a MacBook? My experience with cheap laptops has been that they're cheap for good reason - And accordingly need to be fully replaced more often. Is Framework expensive up front? Yes - It doesn't pay off until you start realizing the cost savings over time.

It does seem as Thinkpad 'lifers' like myself or people who have bought and used other premium laptops in the 1000 to 1400 range are less impressed with almost everything about Framework laptops other than the repair-ability. That is a huge shame and missed opportunity because a big % of exactly those folks are people who become interested in making their next machine a Framework.

The TLDR is I like my framework and my framework likes me.

I primarily use mine for coding as well. I really like the 3:2 screen ratio for that. The extra height makes the screen feel bigger.

I have a FW13 Ryzen AI series and it's perfect. Long time Mac user here, but bioinformaticist so need a proper Linux OS. Very happy with the FW.

tldr: Professional laptop buyer understands that the repairability/upgradability design is included in the price but is disappointed nonetheless because now he realizes it.

if you're not using for '3D rendering or gaming' the 370 is overkill. The 7640u would be enough. Mine running Ubuntu is lightly warm most of the time, it can get warmer on using youtube. The 7840u or 350 would give you a better igpu.

I've had mine since launch, upgraded the main board once and a few bits and bobs here and there. Mine has been wonderful, the entire time. When my son needed a laptop for school I got him one of the newer Core Ultra ones. Just a couple of days ago his display went out (no damage) and it was awesome being able to swap the display from my much older laptop to his and get him running again in a few minutes while I order a replacement.

Battery is a bit worse than previous gen. Not sure if something needs fine-tuning (BIOS, drivers?), or if it's just what it is, but Intel does seem to have the upper hand (by quite a bit, 8h vs 24h of battery runtime with same size battery) with the 268V. AMD needs to step up their game because Intel caught up again!

I'm going to disagree on the keyboard, it rivals the MacBook typing experience and certainly beats my work issued ThinkPads. It has one of the most balanced travel lengths I've experienced in a keyboard. It is super satisfying, if anything I'd call the ThinkPads mushy, MacBook overly stiff and the FW13 just feels just right, it really is a highlight feature.

I just got my AI 370, so far I'm really liking it. Screen is good (I have the 2.8k one). Keyboard and track pad are decent. Fan is quieter than my Dell XPS and it doesn't seem to spin up so frequently. 'Building' it took about 10mins (I did it while I was on a Teams call).

Seconded on the track pad, love the rest of the machine, but I only recommend framework to die hard right to repair folks cause that track pad is a deal breaker.

If you need battery life and a unbeatable price/performance ratio, go with the MacBook. If you need a usable os like Linux and need reparability or just don't want to throw money at Apple, go with the FW.

Honestly if you are gonna buy a framework 13, as ironic as it seems, try limiting the amount of times you tinker and touch the internal parts of the laptop, it's fragile, that is from experience.

Okay.. listen to me.. get the Mac. When you start hitting comparable price points where you can either get a MacBook or an alternative PC .... I have experimented and I always end up going with MAC. The trackpad, the battery life, the power. Nothing is comparable.

I'd like to suggest that people consider posting roughly when they purchase month/year and the board they installed because, as OP has pointed out, there are differences between the generations that I think are important to consider.

Framework 13 is my forever laptop. I had a Razer Blade Stealth in 2017 running windows and had it for years and converted to linux. Eventually I jumped around brands for 5ish years hating my asus, msi, and system76. I was suspicious when I first got my framework but I fucking love it. The ratio is fire for software dev and all things terminal. The graphics and processing get the job done for me. It's sturdy and lightweight. This is the modern thinkpad and I am converted.

Had mine for about 6 months and I agree with most everything you said. I'd argue that the speakers are pretty bad, along with the screen color accuracy. I'm running Ubuntu as well on a 7840 and I can get about 6-7 hours once I updated to Ubuntu 25.04.

The Framework will have fan noise during normal or even very light use; the MacBook Pro only under extremely heavy load. The webcam and speakers are much worse on the Framework. Battery life on the Framework is significantly worse.

I mainly use it for coding and gaming and it has been great. The main issue in my opinion is the battery life (i get around 5/6 hours on max brightness with chrome and vsc), but that should be better on the ai 350 chip.

The Framework 13 is an okay laptop, but I don't really like the aluminum case, it feels cold and you can get arm hair stuck in the gaps, which hurts. The repairability is good, but the downside is that the laptop is not as robust as a laptop where everything is glued and clipped. Framework also seems to have some problems providing BIOS updates in a reasonable time.

I have the 7840u FW 13 with the lower quality display. I don't care about the keyboard or trackpad or build quality because it's better than where I'm coming from, and I don't like how MacBooks feel. However, the fact that I can scratch and make grooves in the chassis just with my fingernail is crazy and goes to show how soft the metal is.

It works really well unlike my previous laptops, an expensive Dell XPS (terrible in numerous ways) and a Tuxedo computers laptop (flat out didn't work). I can't compare with other Windows laptops. I didn't buy a Mac because the RAM price gouging is outrageous, even though Mac hardware is the best across the board.

I whole-heartedly agree with the chassis issue. The FW13 is priced as a premium product but feels and looks like a laptop from the 2010's. I can understand the argument about repairabilty, but I think they are not mutually exclusive. Look at the Surface Laptop 7, its earned an 8/10 from ifixit for repairability while feeling just as premium and solid as a glued down MacBook.

Literally the worst touchpad I've ever used, and I've used crappy laptops before. It doesn't need to be MacBook level of amazing but man, even my TV's keyboard+touchpad combo I bought for $20 feels better than the framework's touchpad. Incredibly uneven click zone that just triggers when scrolling fast with 2 fingers and you can't even adjust the pressure.

long term apple hater here so take my bias into account, but nothing beats NOT being locked into a proprietary ecosystem that actively makes it difficult to leave.

My personal experience was that I was very excited to get a 13" but ended up returning it. I love upgrading computers and I appreciate their mission. The product's decent, support's good, it's just the pricing and screen size that got me in the end. The cost-to-performance is just not there IMO.

Had my amd 13 for a year and a half now. Like it a lot. Con's are the trackpad, it feels and acts cheap but works. Also the styling on the frame is pretty dated, it doesn't look modern. Battery life is weak and looking weaker every day compared to most offerings now.

Running the original launch Framework and it is fine. Replaced my old Lenovo x1. Only issue i dislike is the trackpad but coming from Mac's, nothings the same. Solid unit and recommending to everyone who wants to support open repair, along with cheaper repairs.

So I have the FW13 9 HX 370 and love it. Is it premium feeling? Yes. Does it consistently have loud fan noises? No. Can you get more premium feeling and stronger cooled laptops? Yes, especially if you are open to using macOS however you obviously would then lose out on what makes framework laptops unique.

Pretty much all reviews say 6 hours with the Ryzen HX 370 just FYI. I'm holding out hope that some firmware improvements can squeeze at least another hour out of that configuration.

I own a FW 13 AMD 7840u and i agree. Its not a polished product. I share the same views around the trackpack and keyboard. Poor quality. However, for my use case, which is software development, i couldn't find an alternative. A must-have for me is a 3:2 aspect ratio display and full Linux.

I use it for software development (mostly VSCode, Node, Docker, VMs) and the fan can get noisy (usually when I'm on battery). It isn't any bother for me though as most of the time I am wearing headphones. OS: Ubuntu 24.04.

This is a super fair criticism and largely represents how I feel about it. I kept mine and still love it. BUT, holy cow, what you said about the trackpad is an understatement. It's probably the worst trackpad I have ever used. I love the machine but Framework, please give us a better trackpad. I end up using a trackball mouse most of the time to just avoid using it at all.

Bought the Framework in 2022, first motherboard was the intel 11 Gen, maybe 3h. Changed the main board in 2025, 7840U, same battery, same screen and if I am lucky if I get 3.5h. The main use case is coding, Docker, IntelliJ, Chrome, Terminal. I honestly don't believe people say more than 4h, because in my friend group (all developers) we have 4 Frameworks from the latest to oldest model and we all get more or less the same battery life.

It's good, but not as good as I thought it would be. Not really something I would recommend unless you like to tinker and troubleshoot. I bought this to replace my 2013 MacBook Air, and I thought the build quality would be better. The metal flexes and dings easily and I'm on my 2nd bezel. The battery life isn't that great as I'm only getting like 4-5hrs.

Also 11th gen i5, but updated to AMD a year or two ago. Despite significant abuse the unit is still rock solid. I shredded the display cable in the hinge, and FW replaced my display with a matte version at no cost. I really like the keyboard, and find the trackpad fine.

~4hrs on an AMD 7840U with the 61W battery. Battery life and battery degradation is pretty bad. The battery is advertised to retain 80% capacity after 1000 cycles, but I'm at 90% with only 144 cycles.

I sold my m1 pro 32GB for a 7640U framework. Super happy with my choice. I switched to fedora on my desktop and prefer using it on a laptop too. CPU isn't as powerful and battery life is worse but I'm super happy with my decision. Love knowing I can repair it without spending thousands of dollars or re-upping applecare every year.

i made the same jump from a 2020 air to a fw13 last year. honestly the 2023 model is still solid - build quality is basically identical to 2025, just newer cpu. the keyboard has more travel than mac, took me maybe a week to get used to. trackpad is good but not magic mouse good lol.

I got a 13 2 weeks ago with a ryzen 7 ai 350, 32gb of ram and its absolutly amazing. I use Omarchy and run some local llm like qwen 2.5 14B parameters. it's perfect for my developper formation.

you're describing a macbook m4 max OP, frameworks are good but they don't have premium build low heat and no fan noise, macbooks have all of that.