Why?

I didn’t think I would buy a Frame.work laptop after the controversy about one of the Framework dude being dumb and sponsoring DHH, who I didn’t know who he was but after I looked him up is a garbage person. However, tablets are even worse.

Expensive: iPad Air $18,921 NT, Galaxy Tab $22,080 NT They aren’t expensive in dollars, but they are expensive for how limited they are. You can’t play Steam games on them. You can’t run OBS on them. You can’t use them as general purpose computers.

Planned Obsolescence/ewaste: Tablets don’t last as long as tablets. Android tablets only get updates for a few years. Not sure how many years iPads are supported. After that, if you’re lucky you might be able to put an alternative OS on there like PostmarketOS, Ubuntu Touch, or lineageOS but probably not. If you can’t get up to date software on it, then you just have to trash the tablet.

I tried to see what tablets are compatible with PostmarketOS (pmOS) PostmarketOS supports ASUS MeMO Pad 7. Hurray! It was released in 2013. Oh no. They also support Xiaomi Mi Pad 5. It was released in 2021, so only 5 years old. These are a non-starter. I’m not going to search out old hardware to install an alternative OS that ‘probably’ will work. This is no shade on pmOS but I want newer and better hardware that isn’t already obsolete.

This led me to look at laptops. I didn’t know what to buy my daughter for Christmas this year. She’s getting to the age that she needs a laptop. Looking at the framework12 laptop instead of a tablet seemed like a good way to go.

• assembled (made?) in Taiwan
• get to assemble it ourselves
• easy(er) to repair and change parts
• cute colors
• touch screen
• small form factor (12 inch is perfect)
• cute stylus
• can install linux on it
• lasts longer than a laptop (10+ years)
• it can be handed down to me or someone else

I know they are a problematic company but tablets suck even more. I showed a YouTube video of someone making the laptop and my daugther was hooked. She wanted it!

I bought it for her! This is the first new laptop I’ve bought since 2010. It was fun.

Framework12 Specifications

Configuration:

System: Intel® Core™ - i3-1315U Color: Bubblegum Memory: DDR5-5600 - 16GB (1 x 16GB) Keyboard: Traditional Chinese (Cangjie & Zhuyin) - Gray Power Adapter: Power Adapter - 60W - TW $1,600

Expansion Cards: 2 x USB-C (Bubblegum) $580 USB-A $290 HDMI (3rd Gen) $620

Add-ons: Stylus: Stylus - Bubblegum $1,920

Accessories Included: Framework Screwdriver

Product Price: $24,410

Bought Separately: WD 威騰 BLACK黑標 SN770M 500G M.2 2230 PCIe Gen4 NVMe PCIe SSD固態硬碟(WDS500G3X0G) $2190

Total Price: $26,600 NT

NOTE: Price of Framework12 went way up in price because of RAM and SSD prices. Current price for the same configuration is: $29,200 NT.

I am putting the price of when I bought it on 2025-12-06. I got really lucky about when I bought it. I hate AI! I also bought a WD SSD from PC HOME because it was cheaper than Framework’s price.

Unboxing

Such a lovely experience. The packaging is all cardboard. It is a well designed box. It is all nested together nicely and well marked. Reminds me of how the Apple unboxing experience is though this is unbleached cardboard, so better for the environment.

I let my daughter put it together under my supervision. It is pretty easy to setup. The mainboard has lots of markings, and even QR codes to help you put it together.

Installing Linux

I installed Linux on it, of course. I chose Bluefin for this system. GNOME is flashier and my daughter prefered it when I showed her GNOME vs. Cinnamon on a Nixbook.

I think GNOME will also be easier to get around with on a touchscreen if using it in that mode.

It installed easily on the hardware. I’ve installed Bluefin many times on different hardware and it doesn’t really give me trouble.

Here is the obligatory fastfetch…

❯ fastfetch -l none
  USER@framework

󱋩  bluefin-dx:stable 🔐
󱍢  Bluefin (Version: 43.20260106)
  Linux 6.17.8-300.fc43.x86_64
󰅐  3 days, 23 hours, 10 mins
󰔠  Forged on Nov 10 2025

󱍢  Murder Chickens: 3.1k (weekly)
  Bazaar Installs: 5.6k (weekly)

󰾰  Laptop 12 (13th Gen Intel Core) (A3)
󰻠  13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-1315U (8) @ 4.50 GHz
󰍛  Intel UHD Graphics @ 1.25 GHz [Integrated]
󰧑  4.46 GiB / 15.34 GiB (29%)
  37.22 GiB / 463.16 GiB (8%) - btrfs
󰍹  1920x1200 @ 60 Hz (as 1440x900) in 12" [Built-in] *
󰍹  1920x1080 @ 60 Hz in 24" [External]
  100% [AC Connected]
󰖺  ILIT2901:00 222A:5539 Mouse

󰕮  GNOME 49.2
  Mutter (Wayland)
  bash 5.3.0
  Ptyxis 49.2
󰏖  89 (flatpak), 42 (brew), 10 (brew-cask)

Performance

The overall performance seems good. I don’t have much to compare it with though as I usually use older hardware.

This is better than my 5 year old Asus laptop, but not by much. I sort of regret not getting the i5, but my kid probably won’t push this as hard as I will. To be fair, pitting the Framework12 (Intel i3) vs Asus (Intel i5) isn’t really a fair fight but I was just wondering how it stacked up.

Hardware

The color is beautiful! It’s so fun to have a laptop² that is small and not grey or black. Unfortunately, not all the expansion slots match the bubble gum color I chose though. The HDMI and USB-A expansion slots are the silver color, so that is a bit disappointing.

The keyboard feels solid. The trackpad is not perfect but it’s acceptable. It feels like it doesn’t track my finger as good as my Asus laptop. Also, there is a bit of a gap between the ‘input cover’ (keyboard top) and the edge of the frame. Also, when you push down on that part it isn’t solid - there is some give. I don’t like that but according to Framework support, that is normal.

The rest of the build of the laptop feels solid: the hinge, frame, and back of the laptop.

A small but important thing I really appreciate about the Framework are the screws on the back of the laptop. You need to unscrew 8 screws to remove the ‘input cover’ to get into the laptop. The screws are designed so that when you unscrew them, they stay connected to the whole. This is so great. I hate losing screws.

It really is so easy to take this laptop apart. I have no fear opening the laptop and worrying about breaking something. This is quite a well designed laptop.

It’s not a light laptop. It has some heft to it, but I know their focus is repairability and ease of opening and closing.

I am also so, so, so very happy to have a laptop without a mother flipping Windows key. It’s the super key! The framework laptop has a framework ‘gear’ icon. I don’t need to go online and buy tux penguins to cover over that #microslop icon.

Conclusion

I’m happy with my purchase. There was no way in hell I was going to buy a new device that doesn’t run Linux. Also, I want my kid to have access to a real computer with a real keyboard. I don’t want her to be a braindead kid that only knows how to use touch screen phones. The price is reasonble (for me) because of what I think is important.

I just hope the company rethinks their DHH sponsorships or other people they want to support. Focus on making awesome open, repairable, reasonably priced hardware!