475
Framework proved repairable laptops can work, but almost nobody is willing to buy one
(www.xda-developers.com)
this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2026
475 points (90.6% liked)
Technology
87575 readers
3642 users here now
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Our Rules
- Follow the lemmy.world rules.
- Only tech related news or articles.
- Be excellent to each other!
- Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
- Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
- Politics threads may be removed.
- No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
- Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
- Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
- Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.
Approved Bots
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Value for money on what timescale? Most seem to only think about the price vs the functionality a few days after purchase. Longer term, the ability to upgrade and repair components instead of pitching the whole thing would be higher value for money, but that's not how most consumers think.
A compact design is nice, but not the be-all-end-all if Framework can get in a reasonable size/weight range.
Battery life is an oxymoron here... the main issue I have with laptop battery life is after a few years of use it dwindles, eventually to zero. When the battery isn't replaceable, or is a proprietary form factor which costs nearly as much as a new laptop - that results in horrible battery life and value for money performance, but does generate new unit sales for non-repairable laptops.
Framework uses batteries that die after a few years (mine turned into a spicy pillow after 25 months). My M1 MacBook Air from 2020 still has 88% battery health according to the OS.
My Framework lasts about 5-7 hours on battery. My MacBook lasts about 15 hours on battery.
Replacing the battery on my Framework cost me about $80. Having Apple replace the battery in my MacBook would cost $160.
Let’s say my MacBook’s battery is about to go bad (it’s not). Battery replacement every 6 years, vs battery replacement every 2-3 years (let’s be generous and say 3 years) with Framework. That means after 6 years, both laptops will just be getting a new battery, and you will have spent $160 on new batteries for each one. Sounds like there’s no benefit to Framework battery-wise.
First gen framework 13 and the battery is still strong for me.
That’s good. This was mine two weeks after the warranty expired.
I would be more inclined to give them a pass on maybe a bad batch of cheap batteries if the laptop didn’t have a nearly 40% price premium over competitors. If you’re going to charge a much higher price, I’m going to expect a much better product.
For me, the battery-sucking expansion cards soured the taste for me. I have to leave them all unplugged and plug them in when I need them, which is obnoxious.