I too am hoping that Framework becomes our next work platform. I’d expect that it would be hard to currently match the level of support offered by the big vendors. I’ve never had to deal with Dell business support but I can say HP isn’t bad and Lenovo seems to be next day with motherboard replacements.

To quote the FAQ

Currently, Framework offers front-line support for minor issues every day of the week and escalation support for more complex issues on weekdays, Pacific Time from the United States. Typically, the first response time is one business day or less, although it may vary during periods of high volume. To create a support ticket, either use our support form or contact us by email at [email protected].

My speculation with Framework is you should keep your own spare parts on hand and be ready to swap parts to get a machine going. Then deal with warranty or restocking parts after the fact. It’s probably a little more hands on approach than most businesses are currently doing with current vendors.

I don’t look at it as a show stopper if I’m being honest. I don’t mind taking apart a laptop and replacing a motherboard if needed. It really comes down to a warranty and ROI for me. Most business hardware is 3 year warranty, Framework currently offers only one year. So that is a little bit of a con. As far as ROI thats much harder to calculate. A large percentage of our hardware has a 5+ year deployment cycle. We lose a minimal amount of machines to physical damage, so replacement parts isn’t super high on pro column. The biggest pro is the ability to do a motherboard refresh every few years but I’m not sure that would help in the ROI calculator.

Currently I just got my AMD FW. I’m in a holding pattern for the moment I haven’t decided if the next laptop I purchase for regular employee use will be a FW laptop or not yet. I figured I’d wait a little while and see how I like the machine after a few months then try to make an educated decision.

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.

Sometimes it depends on what options you picked. If they happen to be out of stock on one of the items on your order like a RAM or SSD they will skip past you until they get whatever happens to be backordered.

If you want the cheapest way to get a working Framework laptop directly from Framework then this is for you. You still get the flexibility to upgrade over time and that is somewhat the whole point of owning a Framework anyway.

If your willing to always be a generation or two behind current you can save a fair amount of money.