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Framework proved repairable laptops can work, but almost nobody is willing to buy one
(www.xda-developers.com)
this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2026
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I wanted to buy one, but they are veeery expensive, almost twice for a similarly specd laptop. Plus thet don't offer OLED screens.
bullshit, similar spec laptop AT WORST is ~100-150 USD more, if you are looking at 2x price, on similar spec, you are looking at a no name brad with the worst of the worst parts, that will 1000% fail in less than 6 months and will fall apart in less than a year.
I went to see to compare against a Thinkpad (E14).
Framework Laptop 13: $1140 for the Ultra 5 125H, 8GB, 256GB Lenovo E15: $1120 for the Ultra 5 225u 16GB, 256GB
Lenovo price is a "sale" on their site off the "list price" of $1340
Framework wins:
Framework loses: No Core 5 in stock. I don't need a 7, that's $2-300 I don't need to spend
Framework Neutral: No 256SSD in stock. But I do have the option to get no SSD and just buy my own. Arguably a win for me but not ideal for some
I'm unclear if Laptop 13 is the correct comparison vs a Laptop 13 Pro. The E14 is a mid-tier pro model, not a top of the line, which is where I tend to chill with laptops since they're not my dailies anyway).
Anyway, as someone shopping for a laptop, I see that prices are the same. Given this, Framework wins.
HOWEVER: If I was actually shopping for a laptop, I would buy a used older-model E14 on Ebay for say $400. I know it would last, they're repairable, and for the cost I could buy spare parts now. Because this is a secondary (1/week) device for me, I wouldn't spend $1100 on a laptop in general. Not when Thinkpads are ppossibly the next-most-repairable laptop out there.
Ultimate calculus - Framework isn't for me. Yet.
Now, if I had the money for activism? Sure, let's get more of these into the 2nd hand market, stop the waste. Or no second hand market at all, just upgrade like a Desktop.
At some point, I may have no need for a desktop. At that point, $1100 for a primary PC is a good price, esp if I can build on it. If I was a laptop user, me who like custo and upgradeability - Framework is a fair value, good price even.
Anyway, to the point of the comment chain above me, I would say it's a 1:1 price. If you're shopping in that spec range anyway. If you need lower spec than Core Ultra 5H, say Ultra/Ryzen 3U, Framework doesn't target that audience - and neither do quality [major] OEMs (you might find a great sale somewhere of course). But basically a well-built mid-tier laptop just costs $1000-$1200 new these days (I'd have said $800-$1000 before the price hikes recently).
your however is pointless. This is not a second hand market, you are comparing apples to cars. They are not the same. Your first points are somewhat ok.
No activism here, obviously you dont grasp how cheaper this gets long term even compared to second hand laptops. I have the 13. I will give you few examples now - talking in general here, not a specific laptop but a good majority.
My SSD dies I change it, yours is soldered (ESPECIALLY ON MAC) you BUY a new laptop.
My Ram dies or i want to upgrade it, I change it, yours is soldered (many have it now like asus, acer etc. for no reason, no LLM usability or speed chase) you BUY a new laptop at best sell off this one at a loss and buy a new one.
I break my display or display frame, I change the display EASILY or the display frame with a simple snap - YOU BUY A NEW LAPTOP your old is salvaged for few parts and is useless as 99.9% of people cant change their laptop monitor as its hard and in some cases deliberately made impossible to do.
My needs change, i need to change from HDMI to Display port or USB C port for display out etc. (real case for me) I simply buy 2 new ports for 40 usd, you buy a new laptop at best sell this one off at a huge loss.
I drop my laptop and my chassis break, I buy a new chassis, you buy a new laptop and trow this one in the bin with few salvaged parts.
this one is specific to linux users ... i buy the laptop, EVERYTHING works out of the box, you thinker and there is a 50/50 chance few of the parts are not optimized or they outright dont have drivers for linux.
Now here is the kicker ... I use my laptop for 5 years, I dont wnat to spend 2k on a laptop, I simply by a new mobo and upgrade only that, and you know what ? I can re-use my old mobo in a case as a PC, homelab, server, media station OR sell it on a big re-sale market and re-coup some of my money, thus the purchase of my new mobo gets cheaper.
Ow my old laptop is too old now and the camera quality is bad, the speakers are weak the fingerprint is slow, the touchapd is old ? good news ... there are 3 generations of reversions, my hinges are weak ? again, new revisions your battery is old ? ha ... good nows again, there are 3 types of batteries that you can buy NOT from china re-branded second had batteries for your laptop that under the hood are re-used old ones charging you as new ones, but a new one, bigger, better, faster you ? you buy 2x batteries from china, spend 400 usd because there are none sold officially anywhere because your manufacturer moved long time ago to newer models and then after you lost those money as you got scammed you buy a new laptop.
I can go on much more btw ... but this got too long :) I think you get the picture :) There is no activism here my friend, its smart purchasing and investment in NOT spending shit ton of money and owning what i use. You do not own your computer. I bet your lenovo, if something breaks, try your luck with the lenovo warranty ... see what happens (speaking from experience there).
Edit3: I thought about it and you're right, the point is irrelevant in the context of this thread. Really should have been a separate comment re/ the target market.
The cheapest 32 GB + 1 TB + 1 HDMI + 1 USB A + 2 USB C + Charger + Windows 11 model I found is the Framework 12, which has a slower CPU than my actual laptop. Those specs costs $1400 USD, shipping to muy country would costa some extra $100 USD. I bought my Lenovo laptop with those + OLED display for $900 + shipping. Fair, is not double the price, but also far more than $150 USD.