Framework is great, but it’s just so insanely expensive.

I was buying a new laptop about 2 years ago. A framework one cost more than twice the price of a regular ultrabook with comparable (but better) specs.

Sure, you pay more for a Framework, and you can upgrade it later instead of buying a new laptop. Makes sense, but even then - a Framework one is more expensive than 2 laptops with similar specs. It only gets cheaper on the third upgrade. Which for me may be 10 years away.

Personally I’m not thrilled about investing in a laptop that will pay off in a decade. Who knows what laptops will be like by that time. Hell, it’s not unconceivable that devices like Framework will be outlawed. Or that Framework goes out of business.

It might make sense for people who upgrade often, but I don’t. Or for people who don’t, but are wealthy enough to pay the premium anyway. If anything, I feel like having a Framework would make me want to upgrade more often, which would be a waste of money.

Framework’s whole thing is upgradable laptops. The increased cost is what you pay for the upgradable platform instead of buying a new laptop.

Repairability has already been proven multiple times by several OEMs like Lenovo.

Even if the repair process itself becomes tedious, the mark of a quality OEM is offering parts and schematics that allow repair shops to disgnose and fix broken machines.

Unlike Apple, which actively prohibits their vendors from selling any parts to anyone except Apple.

I can’t afford that kind of money on a laptop!

I’m a Linux nerd FFS… I’ve never owned a new laptop in my life!

Honestly if the average person can’t buy it at Best Buy or Target, they won’t. Most people don’t know about this stuff.

Wherever a random coworker or family member asks me which of two laptops to buy, it’s always between a couple of prebuilt machine at a big box retailer.

I love the idea of Framework myself, but I can’t afford to buy one.

Too niche for the average buyer, too expensive for the rest of us.

I haven’t owned a laptop since smartphones and tablets took off. It’s become a redundant form factor. Framework would be my go to choice if I ever did need one though.

My Thinkpad X1 Carbon 6th Gen is quite repairable thank you very much, and it was like 400 bucks, and it comes with an i7, 16gb of ram, and a 256gb ssd. It’s only marketing that has people convinced they will fall behind unless they have the latest and greatest.

How much? With what money?

Come now, these products that cost 3x what they should don’t get to claim it did not work out due to lack of demand. No one has pissing away money anymore and products made for some odd not rich but well off tech people is just not going to happen.

That’s because they’re really expensive and actually quite mediocre. I really wanted to love my framework, but the build quality is way worse than the price tag would suggest.

$1100 isnt laptop money. Apple and Alienware poisoned the market 15 years ago. What happened to the dream of a $100 laptop? Wasn’t there a whole movie or three about making this stuff affordable?

Best ive seen for value is chromebook. I think i bought 4 laptops one year for nieces and nephews for less than the cost of a single used MacBook pro or whatever was popular at the time. They do all the Facebook and Gmail that 95% of people actually need a computer for.

They are expensive up front. I have one of the first 11th generation Intel ones. I bought a new CPU fan last year instead of getting a new laptop. One of my kids dropped it, and I’ll need a new screen for it here soon.

Instead of buying 3 laptops, I bought 1 and repaired it. Super worth it.

s/willing/can afford/

I would gladly buy one, if i had disposable income.

I bought a 13" years ago. I thought I would have upgraded the cpu/motherboard, battery, speakers, screen by now but I could never justify the cost for the benefit. So it is the same as the day I bought it. I have bought cheap laptops for kids schooling and had to replace one for what would have been a repairable fault on a Framework but there is a massive price difference and could not justify another Framework. It is a shame. Their stuff needs to be a lot cheaper but it is a chicken and egg with volume.

When they made a cheap “chromebook” class plastic school laptop for kids it ended up costing more than a vastly more powerful mac (even before Apple released their cheap models). The low volume manufacturing had heaps of problems reported on their forums. Its strictly for the fans sadly. People with lots of disposable income who buy one in every colour. I would have loved to buy a similar looking product at a mainstream price and with modern specs but it makes no sense with current cost of living pressures.

speaking of Framework. did anything turn out of their “big tent” approach as they were saying it? was there any continuation of that thing?

for those who have no idea, there was some controversy around Framework when they were collaborating with omarchy and its founder of some specific beliefs

Yes, pretend it’s something wrong with the right idea (a repairable /upgradable device) and not the fact that America took a giant, wet trump all over the entire economy and a combo meal at mcdonalds is $16 with a small, non-refillabke drink and everything else is exponentially fucked from there.

Give us a reasonable pre-trump PC market, with this being a slight premium above that, do projections to normalize cost of ownership over say 10 years and it would grow. But we live here, so no.