Framework 12

Last year my Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 9 started to act up, in a way that I lost trust in how long it will still survive. My X1 developed some fun problems with the rear USB-C port. Data works fine. It also detects if a power supply is connected but it does not charge. A USB tester between the power supply and laptop shows 99999 Ohm resistance. Doing some research it appears to be a known failure for Gen 9 and once the first port fails the second is only a matter of time, meaning at a not-too-far-away day in the future it will not be able to be charged anymore. Lenovo "graciously" offered to replace the board for 1000 Euro. Getting a board on Aliexpress and replacing it myself would be around 750. I passed it on to my dad for bookkeeping and will wait for it to fail and then likely replace the board myself. Safe to say that I needed a replacement.

So I placed an order for a Framework 12 and a few weeks later it arrived, ahead of the confirmed date. Per my own policy I do not write about hardware without having used it for a few months. Issues usually do no show up on day one and you do not setup a device every other week, so any "unboxing experience" is in my opinion meaningless. After several months with it, here is the story of how I ended up owning a bubblegum colored laptop... and actually liking it.

What do I need?

Which hardware to buy depends greatly on the use-case, so let me try to walk you through mine before we dive into the mini review.

I do not use laptops a lot. At home I have a proper desk setup. I rarely travel and work. And all of my work happens on hardware rack mounted in the basement. But when I am visiting a client on site I need working hardware, that is not negotiable. So not knowing when my laptop decides to turn into a paperweight is a no-no from a business perspective. Sadly I also cannot get away with only a MacBook, the cost of doing business with certain industries.

My list of what I require from a laptop is fairly short:

While not mandatory there are a few nice to haves too:

My sweet spot for laptops I do actual work on while out of office is a 15" screen, lightweight and long battery life. To summarize, the 15" MacBook Air is the perfect notebook for me. I still cherish the first notebook I bough with my own money, a HP / Compaq NX 7000. (And I still remember the function keys to press down hard on when the GPU popped out of the socket. Something they fixed in the 7010.)

For the Lenovo replacement I did not shop for 15" as I consider it a secondary / service notebook. Do not get me started on how stupid this sentence sounds, even to myself. The joys of running a business - you sometimes have expenses that make your neck hair stand up. But looking at smaller sized screens also opened the chance to add touchscreen and convertible to the list, hoping it might be a decent iPad replacement. Even if I would not use the convertible functionality, a display that can open 180 degree is so much nicer than whatever Apple does with their MacBooks.

Framework 12

The Framework 12 checked all boxes. Actually all of them. Plus it comes in a fun bubblegum color that has two advantages. You can easily spot it in a large production warehouse and most likely no one would consider stealing a bubblegum colored notebook.

(I will try keep this section short. There are tons of Framework laptop and 12" reviews out there, I do not think I would add much more to it.)

I opted for the DIY version. I got an NVMe on sale and someone messed up memory pricing and I got a 48GB module for 92 Euro. I am still considering selling it today and buying a second laptop for what I could get for a 48GB memory stick. Best investment I ever made. I do not need that much memory, but it was actually cheaper than a 24GB module for whatever reason, so a purely opportunistic purchase.

Assembly was straight forward. I do not like the included screwdriver, the sharp top meant to pry things always pressed into my palm, so I opted to use my trustworthy iFixIt toolkit.

Everything worked out of the box with Fedora Kinoite. It is kind of refreshing that the days are over where getting Linux to run on a device was its own adventure. Considering the Windows 11 setup process when provisioning a CI VM recently, I have to say the setup was so much more pleasant.

I have see some critique that the processor is two generations old and not the fastest. Let me tell you, coming from the X1 Gen 9 this little machine flies! I do not compile Chrome on the go while also compiling a Linux kernel and having a video call where I share development progress on my 3D FPS though, like so many people seem to do when I trust online discussions.

The touchscreen and pen support are surprisingly good. For reading manga, browsing the web and watching YouTube videos this device can replace an iPad for me. Except the speakers. They could be better, but they are workable. The pen lags more than the Apple Pencil, but it's not a big deal when only creating some architecture diagrams. It is heavier and clunkier to hold. While it can work as a tablet it is not a nice experience coming from an iPad Pro.

Battery runtime is a bit variable, the best I've seen was closing in on 12 hours or so. Under regular mixed usage I can easily hit 8. Standby battery drain is noticeably worse than on a MacBook.

The case is plastic. I assumed this would annoy me, as I really care about the feel of things I use on a daily basis. But it is actually pretty nice plastic, the flex is okay and I am less worried about scratches than with a MacBook or the X1.

The Party Trick

As for all Frameworks, the party trick is swapping out ports. I opted for four USB-C, a NIC, one USB-A and one HDMI adapter. Having the adapters to swap ports is more pleasant than carrying a bunch of adapters and they feel more secure than a USB-C network adapter. A friend 3D printed a little carrying case, so everything is neatly packed away.

The other fun thing he printed for me is a case for a USB-C NVMe adapter. I had the old NVMe from my SteamDeck sitting on a shelf. Now it is a really nice and fast storage extension. The print did not go too well, otherwise it would be fully covered. But I do not care too much about the missing back cover. (I believe the adapter I got while the same name and type is not exactly the same one used in the Thingyverse description?)

Being able to change the load out of your laptop and not dealing with multiple adapters feels a lot nicer than I expected. There is not much of a logical explanation I can give. But it feels nice. The vibes are good, I guess?

Quality and repair

The first keyboard cover had a misaligned trackpad that could not be fixed by loosening the screws and fastening them. Something like this can happen. A few photos and 5 emails later and Frameworks support sent out a new keyboard cover and asked for the old one to be returned.

But this experience also showed how stupidly easy it is to service this device. If they would have sent me a different trackpad it would have taken me five to ten minutes to swap it.

You can buy the shell itself, so if I am ever sick of bubblegum I can make it a fancy, fun, corporate grey in a matter of an hour or so. Or I can simply replace a part that is broken. I am still looking forward to the 3D printing scene offering replacement shells one day. The moment I can get an all transparent case I will throw money on whoever delivers it first. I miss transparent cases for electronics.

There have been a good amount of quality issues reported across most Framework products and the 12 is not exception. I either got lucky or it is not the majority that sufferes from certain production line defects. But it also shows that Framework does not have the same manufacturing capacity and quality the big four (HP, Dell, Lenovo, Apple) have.

It is also worth mentioning that Lenovo is making great progress kn repairable laptops as well. But this is not for all models (swapping the keyboard of my X1 required complete disassembly from the bottom up) and you are beholden to Lenovos support department if you need a part. Godspeed.

Framework the company

For a long time Framework felt like the industry darling. With their support and advocacy for the right to repair it was very easy to root for them and even accept a few shortcomings or the before mentioned quality issues that sometimes showed up.

All companies will mess up at some point. This is human nature and none of us are above that. The question always is how you handle the situation when it occurs. Let me tell you, Framework could not have done a worse job, even if they tried. I will not re-iterate the whole thing, but it feels wrong to talk about Framework without mentioning it. (Naturally they waited till my laptop was delivered before messing up :D)

Sending a tech bro with the worst possible, disgraceful and hostile to many humans takes (which are very much made worse considering the more recent development causing existential threats to a large amount of people) free hardware was not smart. Promoting his pet project made it worse. Doubling down and inviting people who actively work to make others suffer and challenge their existence into Frameworks "big tent" is an (insert bad word) move.

I still appreciate their efforts to push for right to repair and it is the one small thing that makes them a bit "better" than the other big four, but their "small company doing good" image is certainly tainted or maybe even gone completely.

Who is it for?

Enthusiasts who want a repairable laptop and do not care about paying a premium for this privilege and want to get away from the big four vendors. So a very small market.

Enterprises buying thousands of laptops have support contracts and hot spares. It is easier and cheaper for them to swap the device and call it a day. But the error rate that seems to be around 7 to 8 percent out of box is far too high for any large scale deployment.

Individuals who want the best bang for the buck? Get a MacBook (Air) M1 or M2 on sale. You will not beat this performance to quality. And if you cannot stand macOS you can still run Linux on it.

I could see a point for a small business with 20 to 30 laptops who keep one or two replacement parts for each component around and have one person managing all of that. When the answer to "I broke my keyboard" turns into "get a coffee, I'll quickly swap it" by the single person who drew the short straw and is now the IT manager.

I am pretty happy with my Framework 12. It is everything I expected and a neat little Linux box to carry around. Replacing components is still tied to Framework providing them, so I will not have an instant turn around if something happens. But depending on projects it might actually be worth taking the SMB route and having a spare mainboard which likely would end up in one of the server racks till its needed.

I am curious how "upgradable" it will be in future. Framework delivered new boards for the 13". So maybe there will be a Ryzen AI Pro Max Ultra whatever one day. Time will tell if their marketing promises will hold up.

posted on March 4, 2026, 8:04 p.m. in hardware, review