GoKawiilis a reviewer covering laptops and the occasional gadget. He spent over 15 years in the photography industry before joining The Verge as a deals writer in 2021.
Framework laptops always come with compromises in exchange for their unique DIY premise. Even though you pay extra for one compared to sleeker options from competitors, it’s easier to excuse minor flaws for modular ports, easy repairs, and an impressive range of upgradeable parts. So what happens when Framework goes “Pro”? We get a one-of-a-kind jewel among notebooks.
The 13 Pro corrects and improves many shortcomings of the regular Laptop 13. It has a bright and sharp touchscreen, the best haptic trackpad not made by Apple, and an impeccable build and feel. Take all that and marry it to a great Intel chip and cutting-edge user-replaceable LPCAMM2 memory — both of which help to better balance performance and extra-long battery life — and you’ve got something really special.
But what if this all happens in the throes of RAMageddon, with ever-increasing tech prices? Well, it’s now expensive as hell, of course. Our higher-end prebuilt review unit of the Laptop 13 Pro with a Windows license was meant to cost $2,299 when it arrived at my door, but after fresh memory price increases it’s now a nausea-inducing $3,099.
An $800 price increase before reaching a single customer. We’ve seen lots of recent sticker shock, but this one especially hurts.
Component report card Screen: B
Webcam: B
Keyboard: A
Trackpad: A
Port selection: A
... continue reading