Sometimes technology feels like a never-ending expense. It’s not like a beautiful piece of sustainable clothing that you can invest in, take care of, mend when broken and have for many years. Most of our devices are designed to have a shelf life.
First, the battery starts to die quicker, then the loading time becomes slower and then finally, when your device is too old to download the latest software… you know you’re going to have to fork out some serious $$$ for the latest model.
When this happens with laptops it can be a bit financially stressful, as you’re unable to go on a plan like you are with a phone – you often have to buy them outright.
How good would it be though if you could take your laptop apart, put a few new parts in, and it’s as good as new again? It sounds too good to be true, but with this latest creation by Framework, it might actually be the new reality.
Framework is the latest company that has designed a…well…framework, that allows you to switch out different modules and create a forever upgradeable laptop.
According to Framework, their new computer allows you to swap out nearly everything. You can even purchase a ‘kit’ that allows you to build your own laptop? That may be going a bit far for those of us (me) that aren’t as tech-savvy as people assume.
When it comes to upgrading the Framework laptop, the only constant process is the 2.9-pound aluminium chassis, which is the laptop’s outer frame. Apart from that, you can replace everything, including the 11th generations Intel Core processors and the 55W battery.
This method of upgrading parts is achieved by an expansion card system that lets you insert USB-B, USB-C, HDMI, DisplayPort, MicroSD and other inputs or slots into the laptop.
Framework has launched this laptop, already offering all the parts you could possibly imagine, but they’re already working on adding more such as headphone amps, microcontrollers and more.
The laptop comes with a 13.5 inch 3:2 screen, and a 1080p 60fps webcam. The memory can be upgraded to 64GB DRAM and 4TB SSD.
This incredibly designed laptop, which could save us thousands of dollars and change technology offerings for the better, isn’t on the market just yet. The company hasn’t announced pricing yet either, although it promised that it would be affordable.
There’s also no clear date around when the computers will be available, stating only that they’ll ship in the summer of 2021. We’re ready.
For more information on Framework, head to their website.
Read more stories from The Latch and subscribe to our email newsletter.