Framework takes aim at ‘janky, locked-down, disposable, underpowered, and frankly, boring’ entry-level laptops with its new 12-inch touchscreen

What’s in an inch? We’ve already got the great Framework 13 laptop, so why does the company believe the world needs a Framework 12 laptop as well? Well, it’s not just a smaller version of its current machine, this is a new touchscreen convertible notebook, but one that’s been specifically created to be an entry level laptop for “students and young people around the world.”

Traditionally, affordable, entry-level machines can feel cheap and not always particularly cheerful. And Framework is particularly excoriating about this category of PC.

“We build products to fix what we see as a broken industry,” reads the new Framework blogpost, “and few categories are as emblematic of the problems with consumer electronics as entry-level laptops.

“They tend to be janky, locked-down, disposable, underpowered, and frankly, boring machines. Shamefully, these are the products that PC brands market for use by students and young people around the world. Instead, we believe these are the people who most need thoughtfully designed, long-lasting computers.”

The idea then is to bring Framework’s design ethos into a smaller, cheaper, “more flexible” shape, and one that also comes in a range of colors, too. I will say, I’m into the pastel tones of these new little laptops; the bubblegum one is my jam. It’s not just a pretty facade, either, with the two-tone look the result of an over-moulding process which improves the durability of the device using “shock-absorbing TPU over rigid PC/ABS with an inner metal structure for robustness.”

It’s also claimed to be the company’s “easiest product ever to repair” but right now we don’t exactly know what that means.

So far, we only have this small preview about the new touchscreen machines, so there’s no images detailing what’s inside them, but presumably Framework will be re-using the same mainboard design to keep costs down. It has said it will be fitting 13th Gen Core i3 and Core i5 chips into these machines, which ought to make them pretty powerful devices despite being a few generations old.

Along with that there will be support for up to 48 GB of DDR5-5200 and 2 TB SSDs, with a 12-inch 1920 x 1200 touchscreen display with an impressive 400 nits peak luminance. And you can have your choice of Windows 11 or Linux, too.

Pre-orders for the Framework 12 open in April, and we’ll likely get a better idea of what’s inside the machines as we get closer to that date, with deliveries expected to be in the summer of 2025.