Framework (2nd Gen) Event | 2025 Launch Event

The CEO opening with a statement that "we're the only company that can announce a product and it look the same each year with applause" made me smile but Apple has definitely locked in that title. To their credit, as a Framework 13" owner, these machines are built such that you won't have to keep replacing it over and over. Because of things I'm working on the side, I immediately noticed a few mentions of companies in the hardware. Namely, Honeywell; a household brand that keeps you cool and also working on literal energy weapons — once sci-fi shit, but now they're in the new Framework 13 boards to keep them cool. Cool?

They mentioned that the stock shipping versions will come with a Microsoft CoPilot button and the DIY versions will be without. I understand that Microsoft has the weight of manufacturing control when it comes to this but I do wish that, in a different world, more PC makers would push back against Microsoft in some capacity.

Curiosity and Ambition

I was extremely eager to see the new desktop release by Framework. I have no need for such a device — I already own enough machines reflective of my class in society. The novelity of a small PC, especially one small enough to port around is attractive — as someone who needs to have a separate machine when doing presentations or tech work in the community, this would help out quite a bit.

The "AI" advertising is lazy. This is not Framework's fault but it's potentially clear that AMD is pushing hard to get more "AI"-centric cards into the world, perhaps to challenge NVIDIA (in some capacity). And it seems like this is the only approach for boards available as all of them are branded "AI". In a different world, I'd be more interested in a more generic board (which doesn't feel too impossible — look at the laptop board offerings).

Marketing language aside, it's clear that this is something that they can still push to tinkerers since the casing for the PC is relatively standard: with their experimental RISC-V board, I'd be eager to see them consider developing an equivalent to allow for truly open computing - from the silicion to the software.

Tangentially, I do loathe the adoption of the "elevated keynote" thing that the tech industry adopted from Apple. I can't give Apple the full share of blame — Microsoft and IBM did this in the past. At the end of the day, they all want you to buy — regardless of need.

The 2-in-1 12" laptop is a really interesting product offering. It's extremely niche of a idea — and it's definitely something that can help folks escape the Apple ecosystem if they're aggressively locked into the portable computing landscape. I would love this as my introduction machine; I have a now-defunct Dell XPS 2-in-1 that got a lot of use in its tent and tablet mode for reading and watching media.

Things I'm Interested In

I'm personally considering getting the following:

• The purple translucent bezel for the Framework 13": I already have the solid one and my machine's dominantely this color so it feels apt.
• An Ethernet expansion card for personal projects around wired systems.
• A 32GB RAM stick; I've been great with a solo 32GB for virtualization work but I'd like to give my host machine more breathing room as I work on things, like media editing and game development.
• A bigger battery because my battery life over the last two years has taken a nose dive. I do use this as my primary machine and I rarely shut it down (it's usually in suspension, docked or completely off when I travel).
• The 2.8k display also feels like a necessary bump with the media and game work I'm doing as well.
• A hat because my hair's finally short enough that I can wear caps and I like the logo.

Some of these parts will lead to me having spares, which the community tends to have plenty of. When I do retire this PCB, if not because of wear, I'll turn it into a HDTV receiver or donate compute cycles for some sort of open computing project.