Framework Laptop 13 reviewed, again: Meteor Lake meh, Linux upgrades good
The updated Framework Laptop 13 features Intel's Meteor Lake CPUs, a high-resolution display for Linux users, and maintains flexibility for upgrades, though CPU performance gains are modest.
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The Framework Laptop 13 has been updated with a new motherboard featuring Intel's Meteor Lake-based Core Ultra CPUs, alongside enhancements aimed at Linux users. The latest iteration includes a redesigned keyboard and a higher-resolution display, which is particularly beneficial for Linux users struggling with fractional scaling. The new 13.5-inch display offers a resolution of 2880x1920 and a 120 Hz refresh rate, improving usability at 200% scaling, which is crucial for Linux environments. Despite these upgrades, the review notes that Intel's Meteor Lake chips provide only modest improvements in CPU performance, although they enhance battery life and graphics capabilities. The Framework Laptop continues to be a flexible option for users, allowing for easy upgrades and customization. However, the company still faces challenges regarding software updates and long-term support. The laptop officially supports Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS and Fedora 40, with community support for other distributions depending on kernel compatibility.
- The Framework Laptop 13 features Intel's Meteor Lake-based Core Ultra CPUs and Linux-friendly upgrades.
- A new high-resolution display improves usability for Linux users, particularly at 200% scaling.
- The laptop maintains its reputation for flexibility and upgradeability.
- Intel's Meteor Lake offers modest CPU performance gains but improves battery life and graphics.
- Framework officially supports specific Linux distributions while community support exists for others.
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3 comments> Putting Meteor Lake aside for a moment, what's really surprising here is how much better the 12th-gen Framework Laptop does in this test than it did when we originally tested it. It still doesn't last as long as the 13th-gen board in the same laptop, but it's now very close, which can likely be attributed to some combination of BIOS and driver updates. It lasted a few hours longer in the PCMark battery life test than it did before, even with the new screen installed.
> This is one reason why it's important for companies to have robust, consistent firmware and software updates: You can correct and improve upon your products' performance pretty substantially after they release, in addition to providing ongoing security patches (this BIOS update also happens to be the one that makes the 12th-gen Framework's USB-C ports into fully certified Thunderbolt ports). The 13th-generation Intel Framework still improves battery life, but the wide gulf we originally observed between the two models has been mostly closed, and now the Ryzen version of the laptop is the one with the worst battery life (albeit by a narrow margin, and not one that erases Ryzen's CPU and GPU performance advantages).
> Battery life has always been one of the weaker points of the Framework Laptop 13, but a few years of continuous iterations have improved the situation quite a bit. You should be able to make it through a full workday with any of the Framework boards at this point, provided you have a relatively fresh battery.
Still waiting for an OLED screen option - but as long as external video doesn't work under Linux on a MacBook air - I think my next machine will be a framework.
Gnome on Wayland may still require weird workarounds because Gnome is written by people who hate their users, but on Plasma desktop partial scaling just works, including different scale factors between different screens.
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