Now modular laptop makes repairs and upgrades easy

A new machine from Framework will allow people to change their own ports, processors, and even the screen.

a startup called Framework has built a laptop that would—at least on paper—allow people to easily change just about any part, including the external ports, the internal components, and even the display.

Framework's machine looks like a typical high-end laptop. It's 0.6 inches thick and weighs just over 2.8 pounds with a 13.5-inch screen. The spec sheet includes familiar parts like Intel's 11-gen Core processors and Windows 10 Pro. When it comes to connectivity, however, things get more complex and unique.

The ports on the side of the machine live inside swappable modules called expansion cards. Each one is about the size of a matchbook, and they come in a variety of types, including USB-C, USB-A, HDMI, Display Port, a MicroSD reader, or even additional solid state storage. The process to swap them is simple: pop out one module and slide in another.

The internal components promise similar modularity. Laptops are typically locked down tightly, with many components glued into place. Framework, however, claims users can upgrade just about everything inside including the RAM (up to 64 GB) and solid state storage (up to 4 TB), and battery. The company has promised to even release new mainboards down the line so people can upgrade to the latest generation CPUs without having to ditch their entire machine.
While the upgrades are an appealing sales pitch, the repairability also makes this a very attractive idea. Laptops are notoriously difficult to repair for professionals, let alone DIY enthusiasts. Designing a laptop is like a high-stakes game of Tetris in which companies have to cram many delicate components into increasingly small spaces, while still leaving enough room inside for the cooling system to prevent everything from literally melting down. It also has to survive the rigors of constant jostling in and out of laptop bags. As a result, laptops often have internal components glued in place.

While Framework's swap-friendly initiative will make repairs and upgrades much easier, it will have to prove itself when it comes to durability. Moving parts provide opportunities for failure, and Framework has more of them than an average machine. Some of the solutions seem very clever—the bezel around the display attaches magnetically, for example—but will have to prove themselves in the real world where computers take all kinds of abuse.

Durability isn't the only challenge a machine like this will face. While some components like RAM and SSDs are readily available with broad compatibility, early Framework adopters will have to trust that the company will continue to support the project down the road. Other companies have tried similar initiatives with specific components. In 2019, Dell's Alienware brand offered Area 51m laptops that promised simple processor and graphics processor upgrades. But, the program ran into problems almost immediately. In order to make the CPU swaps easy, Alienware included a socket that fit standard desktop chips. However, Intel changed the socket specs in the following generation, which made moving up to a new processor impossible.