framework announced the Laptop 13 Pro, a new 13.5 inch modular notebook the company is pitching as "the MacBook Pro for Linux users," Framework CEO Nirav Patel said at an event in San Francisco, according to Sean Hollister's hands-on report.
The Laptop 13 Pro uses fully machined 6000 series aluminum, adds a haptic trackpad, and debuts a custom 3 by 2, 2.8K IPS touchscreen with variable refresh from 30 to 120 hertz and factory color calibration.
Framework equipped the machine with a larger 74Wh battery and Intel Core Ultra Series 3 "Panther Lake" chips, and it supports LPCAMM2 compression mounted memory and PCIe 5.0 storage up to 8TB and 14,000 megabytes per second, the company said.
Speakers are certified Dolby Atmos and fire to the sides, and the laptop keeps the same 15.85 millimeter thickness as the prior model while weighing 1.4 kilograms versus the earlier 1.3 kilogram build, Hollister reported.
Framework opened preorders, offering a prebuilt starting model at one thousand four hundred ninety nine dollars with an Intel Core Ultra 5 325, sixteen gigabytes of LPCAMM2 memory, and five hundred twelve gigabytes of storage, and a DIY option at one thousand one hundred ninety nine dollars.
A higher tier Core Ultra X7 358H configuration lists at two thousand ninety nine dollars with sixteen CPU cores compared with eight, thirty two gigabytes of memory, one terabyte of storage, and increased integrated graphics cores, the company said.
Modularity Availability And Market Position
Framework emphasized compatibility across its ecosystem, saying users can swap the new mainboards, displays, keyboard, trackpad, or the larger battery into existing Laptop 13 chassis, and Framework offered mainboard pricing at four hundred forty nine dollars for the Ultra 5 325 and seven hundred ninety nine dollars for the Ultra X7 358H.
The company plans to stock LPCAMM2 modules in its marketplace and listed prices at two hundred thirty nine dollars for sixteen gigabytes, four hundred thirty nine dollars for thirty two gigabytes, and eight hundred forty nine dollars for sixty four gigabytes of LPDDR5X memory.
Patel framed the design as aimed at developers, calling it "the ultimate developer laptop," and Framework claimed the new battery can narrowly outlast a 14 inch M5 MacBook Pro during a twenty hour 4K streaming test, according to the report.
Reviewers on site noted tradeoffs, with Framework capping the panel at one hundred percent sRGB to favor battery life, a seven hundred nit peak brightness that is not class leading, and a hope for better speaker performance compared with prior models described as "mid at best" by Antonio, Hollister wrote.
