Framework

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Discussion around the Framework mission of building products that last longer by making them upgradeable, customizable, and repairable. Consumer electronics can be better for you and for the environment.

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Do you think Framework will ever abandon the OG FW13 design? (and have 2 models?) (alien.top)

submitted 11 months ago by sugadugaduga@alien.top to c/framework@hardware.watch

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One thing I've wondered about the FW is if it will look pretty much exactly the same 3, 5 or even 10 years down the line.

Not that I think theres anything wrong with the design (its just about perfect), but I wonder if FW will release a "new version" that isn't fully swappable with the old version.

My guess would be they release a new "shell" that may or may not be compatible with the old motherboard, maybe smaller bezels, or whatever new thing is popular at the time. Maybe they just decide to release a very similar shell, but that is made from new materials with some minor changes that make things so that they arent fully backwards-compatible.

I think they'll release updated boards for the old gen for maybe 2 generations before only making new board for the "new"design.

Im predicting this will happen in around 3-4 generations from now.

What do you think?

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[–] glumpoodle@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (2 children)

If they do that, they very likely lose me as a customer.

[–] bertramt@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

It really comes down to execution and timeframe. If they abandoned the current chassis design tomorrow it would be a problem. It's hard to predict exactly where things will be in 10+ years and to expect that the current chassis will be the best design for a computer in 2035 is very hopeful. At some point the current chassis might be a technology limiter preventing adoption of some new standard that most people will want.

I'd hope even if they launch a new chassis they continued to make new boards for the old chassis for a period of time. I'd expect in the end they will continue to make new boards for the current chassis until there isn't enough sales to justify it. Maybe in later years of chassis support they might skip some generations of CPUs and only launch a new board every few years or something. I'm hopeful of many years of support for the current chassis and a fair amount of overlap if they adopt a new chassis.

[–] mechkbfan@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

It's all relative to the length of time and execution. Like if it was 20 years, wouldn't that be enough?

Also you don't know, what you don't know. I bet there's a tonne of things now I wish they could change but can't.

So I'd be interested in a v2 if that gives more opportunities for modifications, better cooling or sound, ortho layout, etc.

Best situation would be to offer a v2 while still maintaining support for v1.