Framework announced the Framework 13 Pro including full Linux support right from the beginning.
Some quick information about the Device:
- will use Intel Core Ultra 300 (Panther-Lake)
- updated Battery Design with (up to) 20h Battery life
- custom designed Display Panel with Touch support (keeping the 3:2 aspect ratio)
- LPCAMM2 for upgradable/replacable RAM without compromising on Speed/Low Power of LPDDR5X
- milled Aluminium Unibody chassis
- Full Linux support right from the start (including Firmware update via LVFS, Fingerprint Reader, etc.)
- Haptic Touchpad
- and all the repairability features Framework is known for
You can watch their YouTube Video for a quick summary:
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnOpIQJnYWU
- Invidious: https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?__goaway_challenge=js-refresh&__goaway_id=5a21ef489cbc0e9e48ccded2c92f2b68&__goaway_referer=https%3A%2F%2Finv.nadeko.net%2F&v=GnOpIQJnYWU
I was looking for a new laptop to replace my old Lenovo Yoga 370 and initially disregarded the Framework 13 because of some downsides (low Battery Life, bad Camera, etc.) and was looking to go with one of the following devices:
- HP Elitebook X g1a
- the new Dell XPS 14
- Asus Expertbook PM5 G2
or also a MacBook pro. I am using Linux since more then 10 years and never touched MacOS at all. So I was not sure if MacOS would work for me. But this announcement made it easy: It will be a Framework 13 Pro with Intel X7 358H!
So, no weird firmware issues with Framework, like Tuxedo had?
Let’s hope that “Ubuntu certified” means that all the Hardware and its Firmware is propperly working. But to be 100% sure we will need to wait for the first units to ship and some reviews.
The machine hasn’t shipped yet, and won’t until July. Framework has a page for downloads of their BIOS updates for their various generations of mainboards, and for Linux users all firmware can be updated by LVFS via fwupd as far as I’m aware.
I have my preorder in for the 13 pro, and I know full well there may be some firmware growing pains with the new chip architecture, but I think 6 generations in, they’ve proven themselves capable of addressing any issues that arise.
Framework is getting first-party support for Ubuntu (and thus Ubuntu-derived distros) and will be “ubuntu certified” so probably not.
There are issues, but at least Framework releases firmware updates
My 7040u is rock solid on Fedora. I’ve seen some pretty bad shit with the Ryzen AI series, but people tend to only post about issues.
Currently regretting an “upgrade” to the Ryzen AI series… although many of its most glaring issues (that weren’t issues on the 7040) appear to be fixed in Resolute Raccoon based on testing a daily release of it as a live boot.
Interesting, I thought that the Ryzens were better than Intel’s offerings?
What were the issues?
The 7040 discussed here is the 1st gen Framework 16" offerings and also an AMD cpu. The newer AI300 series chips don’t seem to play as nice with the older linux kernel available in Ubuntu Noble Numbat 24.04.4 without enabling HWE, HardWare Enablement. Suspend fails on the newer 2nd gen out of the box although I think in my case tracked that to the newer WiFi rather than the mobo/cpu and appears to be solved on the new LTS, long term support, due for release tomorrow. Also been getting some mouse cursor ghosting that wasn’t seen with the 7040 not full lines but half a cursor left rendered on the screen until something mouses over it again and the touchpad stutters upon engagement and jumps which is possible a known Wayland issue but is dramatically more noticeable on the AI 300 than the 7040 once using the touchpad it is fine but initial use there is a slight but noticeable lag. I mean none of these other than suspend (if you don’t know about it and torch your machine in a bag) are breaking usage.
edit newer AI300 also doesn’t seem to kick over to the GPU as reliably but haven’t troubleshot that as intending to upgrade the software shortly. Also Framework doesn’t suggest installing that older version of Ubuntu on said hardware so it seems they are aware of it but those of us who prefer LTS versions as opposed to interim releases have had issues?
This made me feel better about not understanding the benefits of attic halo and buying 7040