Tough, Tiny, and Totally Repairable: Inside the Framework 12
Tough, Tiny, and Totally Repairable: Inside the Framework 12
We asked: Can it be done? A convertible touchscreen laptop that’s also repairable, really? The Framework 12 is a pastel repair geek’s dream.
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I had to double-take because I thought this was their 12th model. But no, they just suck at product versioning, like every other tech company.
The number only indicate the screen size. The other two laptop models are the Framework 13 and 16. The only thing that made it confusing for you was your assumptions, since it all seems pretty straightforward to me.
Yes i realised that after researching their product line. And there are currently 5 different 13's, and seemingly no easy way to differentiate revisions without listing the complete specs.
I just wish companies would make it easier to tell which of their products is newer/older.
Eg: 13" 2021, 16" 2022, etc..Revisions don't really make sense for Framework in the same way as most other tech companies though, simply because of how upgradable and swappable the laptops are. My 13 probably has parts from two or three different "versions" at this point, and works like Lucky Charms.
I guess it doesn't really work in their case because they only update certain parts each time, while all other parts stay the same revision, so you do need to refer to the specs to know which model you're referring to.
Lenovo ThinkPads used to do that, but you had to know the system.
T580 as an example:
- T is the series
- 5 indicates 1[5]" screen size
- 8 indicates the year 201[8]
- 0 doesn't really mean anything
So a T490 would be 14" and from 2019.
Though, I'm unsure of their naming scheme for newer models like T14 or T15. I think the 14 or 15 just tells the screen size, and then they add a "Gen 2", "Gen 3" etc. to indicate the age.
This naming scheme breaks down the moment they release another line of 12", 13", or 16" laptops. It's a bad naming scheme.
They wouldn't because they don't have the manufacturing capacity to dilute their product line like that. The whole concept of the Frameworks laptop is to keep as many parts as possible between generation so its always upgradeable between generation. We'll see how well they can stay on this course.
The whole point of making a easy to repair and upgrade laptop is that people wouldn't have to buy the latest model to get upgrades, they can just buy the parts they want to upgrade and swap them in their existing laptop and if the come up with a upgraded Framework 12, they can just add the year it comes out to the title
I'm confused, do you have an example of a laptop that uses numbers for their model number iteration rather than their screen size or feature set?
No. Which is why I said they suck at versioning, like every other tech company.