Framework Laptop Unveils Two New Models 13th Core and AMD Ryzen 7040 Series

Framework Laptop has announced two new models, the Framework Laptop 13 (13th Gen Intel Core) and the Framework Laptop 13 (AMD Ryzen 7040 Series). 

The company has scaled up performance, delivered an AMD-powered version for the first time, and refined the daily user experience, such as a higher capacity battery, matte display, louder speakers, and more rigid hinges. Both the Framework Laptop 13 (13th Gen Intel Core) and Framework Laptop 13 (AMD Ryzen 7040 Series) are now available for pre-order in the countries where the company currently ships to, including the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Netherlands, Austria, Ireland, and Australia. The first shipments for the 13th Gen Intel Core systems are expected to be in May, while the AMD Ryzen systems will be shipped in Q3.

Framework Laptop plans to launch in Belgium, Italy, Spain, and Taiwan later this year, and customers can sign up for the company's newsletter to receive notifications on availability in these and other countries. As before, the company is using a batch pre-order system with a fully-refundable $100/€100/£100 deposit required at the time of pre-order.

Framework Laptop has pre-built configurations starting at $1049 USD, which work out of the box with Windows 11, as well as the Framework Laptop DIY Edition starting at $849 USD, which allows users to bring their memory, storage, and operating system, including Linux. Customers can now also select their Bezel color and Keyboard on the DIY Edition when ordering, and a range of new Bezel colors will be available later this year.

System upgrades
As we planned the latest set of upgrades, we carefully studied the feedback that all of you have provided around the Framework Laptop over the last two years. We focused on improving the lived experience everywhere we could.

We've developed a higher capacity 61Wh battery that is compatible with all existing Framework Laptops via a firmware update that we'll be launching this spring. The new Battery - 61Wh is the same form factor as the original battery, and achieves 11% greater capacity through advancements in lithium ion chemistry. We've kept our focus on longevity too, with 80% capacity typically available after 1,000 cycles of use.

We've also refined the display; the Display Kit - Matte maintains the same resolution, color gamut, contrast, and brightness of the original display, but with a matte top layer that lets you work better in a wide range of lighting conditions. The new Hinge Kit (2nd Gen) - 3.5 kg increases screen stability with a force profile that's easy to open with one hand and keep secure at your desired angle. Both of these items are now available for waitlisting in the Framework Marketplace.

We have also integrated our Speaker Kit - 80dB into the Framework Laptop 13 (13th Gen Intel Core) for increased loudness. For the Framework Laptop 13 (AMD Ryzen 7040 Series) we're tuning the audio circuitry to achieve both loudness and fidelity with the original Speaker Kit.

Mainboard performance
The 13th Gen Intel Core processors have incredible performance with both 4 or 6 Performance Cores with Hyper-Threading and 8 Efficiency Cores. This means that the top version we offer, the i7-1370P, has an incredible 14 CPU cores and 20 threads. The total solution offers both performance and efficiency improvements over the last generation. Between the new processor, higher capacity battery, and firmware optimizations we've made, you can expect to see 20-30% battery life improvement across a range of real world use cases in both Windows and Linux.

For the AMD Ryzen 7040 Series processors, we'll be sharing more detailed specifications as we get closer to shipment.

Optimized for Linux
We continue to focus on solid Linux support, and we're happy to share that Fedora 38 and Ubuntu 22.04 will work fantastically out of the box for both the 13th Gen Intel Core and AMD Ryzen 7040 Series models. We have thorough setup and troubleshooting guides and will continue to provide official support for these two distributions. Manjaro XFCE 22.0 and Linux Mint 21.1 are also working great, and we're detailing the documentation for those as well. You can check compatibility with popular distros as we continue to test them on our Linux page or in the Framework Community.

Module re-use
Finally, we want to ensure that as we release all of these great updates, that we're not encouraging the generation of e-waste through upgrade behavior. To address this, last year we released open source design documentation and a 3D printable case for the Mainboard. This year, we're going even further by partnering with Cooler Master on the new Cooler Master Mainboard Case. This is a small form factor case that can turn a Framework Laptop Mainboard into a minimal PC. It's available this spring for $39 USD, and includes both a stand and VESA mount capabilities. We've also launched open source documentation around the display and battery modules to encourage and enable development of products that re-use those.