Framework Laptop 12

[...] Love my OG Framework 12. I never minded the lack of keyboard backlight since I can touch-type, but having programmable keyboard firmware will be a must so I can kill the Airplane Mode key that is interpreted by the EC instead of by the OS. It's the “lose your match” button if I ever accidentally press it :p

[...] I've assembled a couple of DIY keyboards, and I bought a Framework 12 laptop. It doesn't take too long (Framework estimated 15 minutes, but it was more like 45, because I am slow and methodical), and I like knowing what's inside it. [...]

Got Qwen3.8 to run on my Framework 12 Intel Core 13 Gen Raptor Lake i5-1334U small laptop with 48G RAM stick: llama serve -hf unsloth/Qwen3.8-27B-GGUF:UD-Q4KXL but it failed my basic prompt to compose a vim regex to match CamelCaseWords downgraded a bit with Q4KM from ollama run qwen3.8:27b and /set nothink and at least 1 regex matched FooBar prompt eval at 2.8 t/s eval at 0.94t/s I particularly enjoyed this usage of the regex: /%\1\%/ ... onward for 700+ characters of \%\/ :-)

[...] Ironwail issue for Dawn of the Machine support: And the new update to the KEX Remaster would't even launch for me; just crashes immediately with a “see CRASHLOG.TXT” message. I had to add +rrhirenderfamily "d3d11" +d3d11compileShaders 1 to my Steam launch options, and it plays but with lots of texture glitching. This is on Intel 11th-gen integrated (Framework Laptop 12).

Related to this is one and only thing I would say I hate about my Framework Laptop 12: its Airplane Mode key. I keep Fn-lock enabled at all times and use the Fn/LCtrl-swap option in the UEFI just like the one on ThinkPads, but if I ever accidentally hit non-Fn-locked F10 the key code is interpreted by the EC instead of by the OS, so there's nothing I can do in the OS to disable it. Even worse is that it's adjacent to PrintScrn, so it's the “oh fuck I wanted to take a screenshot and just dropped myself from the match” panic panic panic key.

I bought one: I was hesitant about the 8 GB of memory at first. But I'm happily running Chrome with like 20 tabs and some other apps, and performance isn't an issue. [...] I really wanted a Framework 12, but I got $180 credit on a ipad AIR 4, and sold a 2017 Macbook Pro for $150 (US), so that effectively made this a 280 upgrade, and reduced the risk in me going for it. [...] love the keyboard, it’s such an improvement over the older laptops. Worth getting rid of that old Macbook Pro for this alone Keyboard isn’t backlit. [...] The screen! [...] I'm optimistic that the next version of Framework 12 will have better screen and be a nice aluminum body...but until then.....

I regularly follow Jeff Geerling's blog and I value his opinion (usually), and I understand his points - he does make very good points in this article. However, the conclusion really irked me: As I mention in my video, the Framework 12 isn't a bad laptop, it's just a bad value, especially in comparison to the Neo. Saying it is bad value is off the mark completely. [...] I own a FW12 and for me the main driver was a light laptop with good battery life[1], that I can install my own Linux on it, and the drivers all work from day one on a new laptop. [...] On top of that, I decided I will not have any more android devices if I can choose otherwise[2] - and the FW12 is a good tablet replacement. [...] So for me, personally, it is great value, and the Neo would just become a secondary device I would very rarely use. Low utility means for me low value, YMMV. [1] The battery itself is great. [...]

I have both the Framework 12 and the Framework 13. While I agree that the 12's display is not the best in class, it has one of the nicest touchpads I've ever used. [...] Both my Macbook and the FW13 have touchpads that feel a bit more "sticky".

The 12 for me has a very strong appeal as a smartphone / tablet replacement. I've had smartphones and/or tablets for approaching 20 years now, and they've always struck me as very frustrating compromises. [...] The Framework Laptop 12 is smaller than my most recent tablet (a 13.3" e-ink), though somewhat more massive. [...] Paired with a limited-feature phone and possibly a few dedicated devices for specific uses (camera, audio recorder), I'm good. [...]

Bought the Framework 12 as my personal daily driver (limited hobby projects, Obsidian, light browsing) and for the hardware to grow with my use cases. [...]

I have a Framework 12 and I absolutely love it. [...] But what I love most is how durable it is, which matters a lot because I'm honestly pretty careless with my stuff. [...] My Framework went flying across the entire room and slammed into the wall, and there wasn't even a single scratch on it. An aluminum laptop would've had a nasty dent at the very least. [...] Same story with the keyboard. One of the keys was making this annoying clicking sound, so I just detached it, stuck a little piece of tape underneath, and it was good as new. I only felt comfortable doing that because I knew that worst case, I could get a whole new keyboard for 55 dollars. Honestly, not having to handle my laptop carefully is worth so much to me. I also don't stress about battery care, whatever to preserve long-term battery life, because replacing the battery costs, you guessed it, 55 dollars.

I excitedly bought a Framework 12 when it first came out, since I figured it'd be a nice thing to travel with (my typical laptop is the 11th-gen 13). [...]

[...] I have used 2in1s since college because I like the flexibility in positioning that 2in1s provide that regular laptops rarely or never do. The ability to open them to nearly 180 degrees when I'm using them on a surface that is low relative to me, I also like to hook up a second portable monitor and keyboard/mouse and fold it into a tent shape to provide more room. I use "tablet mode" for reading due to the smaller footprint (this is especially useful on public transit), but with the right desktop (Fedora Gnome for me) the rest of the laptop is relatively comfortable to use in tablet mode as well. When the Framework 12 was announced I immediately snatched one up and it has been excellent so far at all of these. I will concede, though, that for a regular laptop without 2in1 functionality, I am a little confused at the value proposal. Maybe someone wants a comfortable pinch and zoom experience?

You can't even get secondhand instances of the software like I did as a youth with CS3. [...] I will cherish mine forever lol Still using Photoshop CS3 for my daily image-editing needs in Windows 11 on my Framework Laptop 12. [...]

As a long time Linux user I only recently tried my first framework (12), and shortly after got the 13 too because I realized that this is the laptop for me. [...] But it's so refreshing as a linux user to use a laptop actually designed for linux, and have everything work so great out of box like battery and wifi. Sure I've always used Laptops famously Linux-friendly, but it was still hit or miss, especially with new releases, and you always felt like you were breaking warranty somehow. [...]

And it won't even be necessary for many people since a lot of work has gone into FreeBSD's Wi-Fi support recently: Personally even as a FreeBSD fanperson I wouldn't want to rely on wifibox no matter how elegant it is to use. It would forever irritate the “omg ugly hack” part of my brain lol I installed FreeBSD 14.3 on my Framework Laptop 12 and the stock Intel AX211 Wi-Fi card Just Worked™ out of the box in FreeBSD 14.3 after a fwget to download the proprietary firmware blobs (removed from base between 14.2 and 14.3, FYI) while USB-tethered to my Android with a simple dhclient ue0: - -

[...] It sounds promising. [...] I already pre-oredered a Framework 12 with Core 5 and as for the enclosure I’ll probably get an AOOSTAR AG02 or AG03. @Chazb0t I’m getting a Framework 12 for similar reasons. [...] If the eGPU setup turns out to work well, I think it’s worth the money for me. [...]

[...] Hoping for longer battery life under light load and curious about the fingerprint reader. Battery life is already sufficient for my light use, but would be epic to stretch one charge 10 - 12 hrs. Hoping for a backlit German keyboard in the future and a better screen. [...]

I don’t think a Framework 12 with an eGPU is a good value, but Nirav has a video of trying it: Normally the 7900xt gets 297 - 315 fps @ 1080p and he’s getting 274, so it looks you lose maybe 10-15% to overhead? [...] image1452×1000 179 KB The whole reason I want to get the Framework 12 is when I travel I’m tired of hauling a laptop, tablet, ereader, and steamdeck everywhere. [...] I’m planning on playing Order of the Sinking Star on my new Framework 12 natively, it should run fine. [...] Compared to steamdeck performance, as long as you don’t mind playing at 720p: image1529×739 63.8 KB image1590×775 30.2 KB

[...] I’ve been looking for a small, lightweight laptop to use as my personal take it anywhere machine and I’ve ended up getting very stuck between the Framework Laptop 12 and 13. [...] I already have a Lenovo Legion 5 (2020) which will remain my main desktop machine until I eventually get a new dedicated desktop PC in the coming years, Framework isn’t a replacement but more of an entirely different machine. [...] It’s small and easy to carry, has 360° hinge, has touchscreen has, stylus support, has, tablet mode AND THE COLOR OPTIONS. [...] I don’t just like the idea of the stylus in theory but also I can see myself using it for handwriting, PDF annotations, handwritten notes, doodling/drawing and occasional touch interaction. [...]

[...] I have been using the FW 12 as my daily use machine since it released. [...] Performance: The difference is noticeable. [...] For general use, the Framework 12 is more than fast enough. [...] But the amount of times I’m doing anything that takes meaningfully longer is really small, so the performance difference doesn’t really bother me. Heat: The Framework 12 gets noticeably warm on the bottom more often than the FW 13, but since it’s plastic, it isn’t bothersome very often. [...] Display: The display on the FW 13 is higher resolution and the color is definitely better. [...] You don’t have to have an artist’s or color grader’s eye to notice the deficiency of the FW 12 display. I do hope they eventually release a better display for the 12. [...] So if there is something on screen that I know is supposed to be red, I might notice that it looks orange. [...]

Got the measurement of the Anker A9215 (Anker Nano international Travel Charger): 19.1 W / 11.88 V The charger has two USB-C outputs: USB-C1 Output: 5V⎓3A, 15W / 9V⎓2,22A, 20W / 12V⎓1,67A, 20W (20W Max.) USB-C2 Output: 5V⎓3A, 15W (15W Max.); 2-Port / 3-Port / 4-Port: 15W Max. (shared ) Charges only from USB-C1 (power charging led between the USB-C expansion slots lights up as well). Mistakenly used USB-C2 yesterday and 15W is not enough to charge. Edit: Also can confirm that 5V does not charge the laptop (5V⎓3A on USB-C2). [...] When the laptop is turned off the power meter and charging led indicator of the laptop constantly switch on and off like described in this thread FW12 can't charge with 5V USB-C Framework Laptop 12 I have a USB-C powerbank which supports 5V/3A (15W) output via its USB-C outputs. To my dismay, it cannot charge my 12 because apparently the laptop only charges at 9V and above. I don’t care about actual charging, as I just treat my powerbanks like removable extra batteries; extending runtime is the primary goal. Is there some kind of small voltage converter device I could buy to fix this or a BIOS update? Charging from USB-C1 with 12V is solid though. [...]

From the OP descriptions and resources, a desktop or another more powerful laptop will always be in the picture. So if true portability and flexibility is desired the Framework Laptop 12 seems the better fit. All of Frameworks products are getting better over time.

[...] I run it on a Framework Laptop 12, an old MBP, and a recently built gaming PC (VR primarily). There are tradeoffs, but I haven't enjoyed working on computers this much since the 2010 era, first learning to build web apps with Ruby on Rails. [...]

Sysadmin who likes to code in his free time. I’ve bought my last MacBook Pro in 2015 and replaced it with a framework 12 this year.

Well, it's Framework we are talking about. My plan is to buy it because at some point of its lifecycle my Framework 12 motherboard will be used as a new node in my Homelab. :)

[...] I make good money, fell in love with the Framework 12 at first sight, maxed it out with 64GiB RAM and 2TB SSD, and never even thought about “comparing” it to other companies' machines before buying. [...] :p Peep my one-wire desk setup, and that awesome tablet mode:

[...] It isn't hard to justify buying something like the Framework 12 in principle. [...] When parts get broken, or a fancy new part is better, I buy the parts and upgrade it rather than buy a whole new device. [...]

Have gone back to Linux after 23 years, Ive only had to go to the console once to make all hardware of my framework 12 work since i chose to use a non supported distro. That's definitely a breath of fresh air compared to the old times, where getting wifi to work was a major hassle, anyone remember ndiswrapper? ouch.

Some non-Surfaces too. I’m using a Microsoft Surface Pen “Model 1776” a.k.a. “Ver.4” a.k.a “Surface Pen with no clip” with my Framework Laptop 12 folded all the way around into tablet mode.

Don’t own a Framework 12 yet, but any visual novels made in Ren’Py will run perfectly fine on a majority computer hardware. I also know Hades 1 and 2 have ran pretty well on the Framework 12. Once I get my unit, I’m planning to try out a variety of low spec indie titles.

Full disclosure I do not own a Framework Laptop 12, but I have gamed on worse devices than the lowest specced 12, so can confidently recommend Terraria, you should easily reach 1080p60 (effectively max resolution/refresh rate for the game anyways). [...]

Hytale released this tuesday as everyone knows, and I got my framework laptop 12 stylus delivered earlier in the day. Today has been a really good tuesday.

Hello, I am well aware that the Framework 12 is not designed for nor powerful enough to run most of the modern games. [...] In this topic, I would like you to share your recommendations on which great games (probably mostly older ones) are playable on the Framework 12, including target resolution/FPS and the version of the FW12 machine (i3/i5). [...]

do you think the $230 bump is worth the add’l perf on tap? [...]

I have the Framework 12". It's hard to justify the price unless you put value to Framework's gimmicks and mission. [...]

I have a Framework 12 laptop running Ubuntu. I use it mostly for dev (so I don't care about gaming, Windows, etc.). I mostly like it, but I have two gripes: - the touchpad is atrocious - battery life is mediocre