Framework Laptops Can Save Computer Hardware's Future

The laptop you're using right now will probably be trash in five years. Not because it stopped working, but because something small broke and you couldn't fix it. Or the battery died and replacing it costs more than buying a new machine. Or the manufacturer just decided your model doesn't deserve software updates anymore.

This is stupid. And it's destroying the planet while emptying your wallet.

Framework laptops are trying to fix this mess. They're not perfect, but they represent something we desperately need: computers you can actually repair and upgrade yourself.

The Problem With Modern Laptops

Most laptops today are designed to die. Manufacturers glue everything together, solder the RAM to the motherboard, and make batteries impossible to replace without a heat gun and a prayer. When something breaks, you're supposed to buy a new laptop.

Apple pioneered this approach. Now everyone does it.

The excuses are always the same: thinner designs, better performance, structural integrity. But the real reason is simpler. Planned obsolescence sells more laptops. If your machine lasts ten years, that's two or three sales the company loses.

The environmental cost is massive. E-waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams on the planet. Most of it comes from electronics that could have been repaired but weren't because the manufacturer made repair impossible or prohibitively expensive.

Think about it. Your laptop has a perfectly good processor, screen, and storage. But the battery swelled up or the charging port broke. In a sane world, you'd replace that one part. Instead, you're looking at repair quotes that cost 70% of a new machine. So you buy new and throw the old one away.

Multiply that by millions of people every year. Mountains of e-waste pile up in developing countries where workers burn circuit boards to extract tiny amounts of precious metals, poisoning themselves and the environment in the process. All because manufacturers decided you shouldn't be allowed to replace a $50 battery.

How We Got Here

Laptops didn't always work this way. Twenty years ago, you could open up most laptops with a screwdriver. RAM slots were accessible. Batteries had latches. Hard drives could be swapped. Screens were held in with screws, not glue.

Then something changed. Companies realized thin and light sold better than repairable and practical. Apple's MacBook Air became the template everyone copied. Glued-in batteries, soldered RAM, proprietary SSDs. The race to make everything thinner meant sacrificing everything else.

But thinness wasn't the only goal. Making repairs difficult meant more people bought new devices. It meant third-party repair shops couldn't compete with official service centers that charged premium prices. It meant companies controlled the entire lifecycle of their products.

The shift happened gradually enough that most people didn't notice. Each generation of laptops got a little harder to open. Screws became proprietary. Components became integrated. Before long, the entire industry had moved to designs that treated repair as an enemy rather than a feature.

What Framework Does Differently

Framework makes laptops where almost everything can be replaced. The battery pops out with a single screw. The RAM and storage are standard parts you can buy anywhere. Even the ports are modular. You choose which ones you want and can swap them out later.

Break your screen? Order a new one and replace it yourself. Want more RAM? Buy it and install it in five minutes. Battery wearing out after a few years? Replace it for $50 instead of junking the whole machine.

This isn't revolutionary technology. It's how computers used to work before manufacturers decided repairability was bad for business.

The modular port system is particularly clever. You get expansion cards that slot into the sides of the laptop. Need two USB-C ports and an HDMI port today? Install those. Need more USB-A ports next year? Swap out the cards. No dongles, no compromises, no buying a whole new machine because it doesn't have the ports you need.

Framework publishes detailed repair guides for everything. They sell every part individually on their website. The schematics are available. The BIOS is open source. They're not just allowing repair. They're actively encouraging it.

The laptop itself is well-built. Aluminum chassis, good keyboard, decent screen. It's not trying to compete with high-end gaming laptops or ultra-premium ultrabooks. It's a solid, functional machine that does what most people need a laptop to do.

The Business Model That Actually Works

Framework isn't a charity. They're a for-profit company that needs to make money. But they've figured out how to do that while still prioritizing repairability.

They make money on the initial sale, obviously. But they also make money selling replacement parts and upgrade modules. Someone who keeps their Framework laptop for seven years might buy a new battery, upgrade the RAM twice, swap out some expansion cards, and maybe replace the screen after an accident. That's ongoing revenue without forcing the customer to buy a whole new machine.

This creates better incentives. Framework wants you to keep your laptop as long as possible because you'll keep buying parts for it. Traditional manufacturers want the opposite. They want your laptop to become obsolete so you'll buy a new one.

The company started with a successful crowdfunding campaign and has grown steadily since then. They've shipped thousands of laptops. They've released updated mainboard versions that existing customers can buy to upgrade their machines. They're proving that treating customers with respect can be profitable.

Why This Matters Beyond Just Laptops

Framework laptops matter because they prove a different business model can work. You can make good hardware, sell it at reasonable prices, and let customers repair their own stuff. You don't have to trap people in an upgrade cycle.

Other companies are watching. If Framework succeeds, it shows there's a market for repairable electronics. That could push larger manufacturers to change their approach, or at least give consumers a real alternative.

Right to repair legislation is gaining momentum around the world. Europe is requiring manufacturers to make spare parts available. Some US states are passing similar laws. Framework shows what's possible when companies build repair into the design from the start instead of fighting it.

But the implications go beyond policy. Framework is demonstrating that consumers actually care about this stuff. People are willing to pay a bit more upfront for a laptop they can keep longer. They want to own their devices instead of licensing them from corporations.

This matters for phones, tablets, appliances, cars. Basically everything with electronics in it. If the Framework model works for laptops, it can work elsewhere. We could have smartphones with replaceable batteries again. We could have appliances that last decades instead of years. We could have cars where you can fix the electronics without going to the dealer.

The Environmental Imperative

The environmental case for repairable electronics is overwhelming. We're mining rare earth elements from conflict zones. We're using child labor to extract cobalt. We're generating millions of tons of toxic waste every year. And for what? So people can have slightly thinner laptops that they'll throw away in three years anyway?

Electronic waste is projected to reach 74 million metric tons annually by 2030. Most of it ends up in landfills or shipped to developing countries. The recycling rate for electronics is abysmal. Less than 20% globally. The rest is burned, buried, or dumped.

Making electronics repairable dramatically extends their useful life. A laptop that lasts ten years instead of three means 70% less waste. It means fewer resources extracted from the ground. It means less energy spent manufacturing new devices.

Framework laptops aren't carbon neutral or zero waste. But they're a huge step in the right direction. And they prove you don't have to sacrifice functionality to reduce environmental impact.

The current model is insane. We're treating finite resources like they're infinite. We're externalizing the environmental costs onto poor countries and future generations. We're building an economy on disposability when we need to be building one on durability.

The Limitations

Framework isn't a miracle solution. The laptops cost more upfront than comparable machines from Dell or HP. The performance is good but not cutting-edge. And you still need some technical knowledge to do repairs. This isn't plug-and-play for everyone.

The company is also small. If Framework goes out of business, all those modular parts might become paperweights. That's a real risk with any young hardware company.

And let's be honest: most people won't repair their own laptops even when they can. Convenience wins. But having the option matters. If you can fix it, someone will. And that someone might be a local repair shop instead of a landfill.

The modular design also means some compromises. The laptop is a bit thicker than ultra-thin competitors. The expansion card system takes up space that could be used for a bigger battery. You're trading absolute optimization for flexibility.

Framework laptops also can't compete with Apple's M-series chips on performance per watt. They use standard Intel or AMD processors, which are good but not revolutionary. If you need the absolute best performance or battery life, you'll look elsewhere.

The availability is limited too. Framework primarily ships to North America and Europe. If you're in Asia, Africa, or South America, getting a Framework laptop is difficult or impossible. A truly sustainable solution needs to be globally accessible.

The Repair Skills Gap

One challenge nobody talks about: most people don't know how to repair electronics anymore. Two generations ago, people fixed their own cars, radios, and appliances. Now we're conditioned to throw things away and buy new.

Framework is trying to change this, but it's fighting decades of learned helplessness. Their repair guides are excellent, but they still assume a baseline comfort with opening up electronics and following technical instructions.

This isn't Framework's fault. It's a societal problem. We've outsourced so much technical knowledge to specialists that basic repair skills feel intimidating. Changing a laptop battery seems hard because we've been told it's hard.

But skills can be relearned. The right-to-repair movement isn't just about access to parts. It's about rebuilding a culture of repair. Framework is part of that. So are YouTubers who make repair videos. So are community repair cafes and makerspaces.

If repairable electronics become normal again, the skills will follow. People will learn because they'll have a reason to learn. And once you've replaced a battery or upgraded RAM once, it stops being scary.

What Needs to Happen Next

Framework proves the concept works. Now we need other companies to copy it.

Imagine if Lenovo or Dell made a repairable laptop line. Imagine if Apple stopped gluing MacBook batteries in place. Imagine if we treated computers like cars. Things you maintain and repair instead of dispose of when one part breaks.

This requires pressure from multiple directions. Consumers need to buy repairable products when they're available. Legislators need to keep pushing right to repair laws. Tech reviewers need to make repairability a standard part of their evaluations.

Framework can't save computer hardware alone. But they're showing it's possible to build good laptops that don't treat customers like disposable income sources.

We also need repair to become easier and more accessible. Not everyone wants to open up their laptop with a screwdriver. We need local repair shops that can service Framework laptops. We need better documentation and training. We need parts to be affordable and available globally.

The industry needs to shift its metrics too. Companies optimize for thinness and lightness because those are easy to measure and market. We need to start measuring durability, repairability, and total cost of ownership. A laptop that costs $200 more but lasts twice as long is cheaper in the end.

Education matters too. We should be teaching basic repair skills in schools. Kids should learn how computers work by taking them apart and putting them back together. Understanding your tools makes you less dependent on corporations to fix them for you.

The Psychological Shift

There's a deeper issue here: how we think about ownership. When you buy a modern laptop, do you really own it? You can't repair it without voiding the warranty. You can't modify it. The manufacturer can push software updates that slow it down or break features. You can't even open it without special tools.

This isn't ownership. It's conditional access that the manufacturer can revoke at any time.

Framework laptops give you actual ownership. You can do whatever you want with them. You can upgrade them, repair them, modify them. You can keep them running for a decade if you want. Nobody can take that away from you.

This psychological shift matters. When you own something, you take care of it. You repair it when it breaks. You maintain it. You form a relationship with it. When you're just renting or borrowing something, you treat it as disposable.

Our entire economy has shifted toward disposability. Subscriptions instead of purchases. Licensing instead of ownership. Products designed to be replaced instead of repaired. This makes corporations money, but it makes people poorer and the planet sicker.

Framework is pushing back against that. They're saying you should own your laptop and everything that means. It's a small thing, but it represents a bigger idea about how we relate to our possessions and the companies that make them.

The Bigger Picture

This isn't really about laptops. It's about how we make and consume technology.

We've built an economic system where throwing things away is cheaper than fixing them. Where companies profit from products that break. Where the easiest path is always the most wasteful one.

That system is collapsing under its own weight. We can't keep mining rare earth minerals and filling landfills with functional electronics just because one component failed.

Framework laptops won't fix everything. But they prove we can do better. We can make computers that last. We can give people control over the things they own. We can build hardware that doesn't assume you'll replace it in three years.

The technology exists. The market exists. What's missing is the will to change how things work.

Framework is making that change. Now we need everyone else to follow.

The stakes are higher than just laptops or even electronics. This is about whether we can build an economy that's sustainable in the long term. An economy that doesn't externalize costs onto the environment and future generations. An economy that treats people as owners and participants, not just consumers.

We're at a turning point. The old model of planned obsolescence and disposable electronics is breaking down. People are getting tired of buying new phones every two years. They're frustrated with repairs that cost more than replacements. They're worried about e-waste and climate change.

Framework shows there's another way. It's not perfect. It's not going to solve everything. But it's a start. And sometimes that's all you need. Someone willing to prove it can be done differently, so others can follow.

The question now is whether the rest of the industry will follow, or whether Framework will remain a niche player serving a small market of people who care about repairability. The answer depends on us. What we buy, what we demand, and what we're willing to accept from the companies that make our stuff.