4 ms·

From reports I've read the Framework laptop has poor build quality. This comment from here actually: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29807585 https://news.

by imiric 5y ago

From reports I've read the Framework laptop has poor build quality. This comment from here actually: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29807585 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29807585 I'd like to support their cause, but like you, I have way too many machines that already work well enough, that I can't justify another purchase unless it would offer a substantial improvement over my current setup (old ThinkPads). Plus I really can't function without a Trackpoint ;) So I'm holding out a generation or two to reconsider. I hope they improve.

gorjusborg 5y ago
Are you talking about personal testimonials, or published data? If it's published data, mind sharing a link?
- imiric 5y ago
  It was a recent thread here on HN. Let me see if I can find it... This comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29807585 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29807585 Some of these issues could be subjective, and I shouldn't decide based on that single report alone, but it was enough reason to reconsider the purchase, especially since, like I said, I really don't need a new machine.
  - duck 5y ago
    I would say all that is subjective regarding what they specified as "build quality". I'll add my own take to it - I got mine early last month and haven't noticed any of those. That said, I do think the battery is the weak spot, but I think part of that is on the OS side (I'm running Pop!OS).
  - gorjusborg 5y ago
    Thank you for sharing!
  - rpdillon 5y ago
    Had mine since July, batch 1. No build quality issues at all from my perspective...one of my favorite keyboards to type on. Battery is not so good, though.
vaylian 5y ago
> From reports I've read the Framework laptop has poor build quality. Sources please. That's news to me.
- cptskippy 5y ago
  Yeah, the cited source doesn't rea mentioned build quality. It's mostly software bugs, muffled speakers and fan noise. None of that is build quality.
  - ask_b123 5y ago
    From the cited source: > Build quality is clearly a step down from my old Thinkpad X1 Yoga. The hinge doesn't feel as strong, some keys are mushy/creaking and I'm skeptical my Framework will survive as many falls as my old laptop.
    - sangnoir 5y ago
      That is not the same as saying the build quality is poor though: it's clearly a comparative statement. "The Tesla Model S is cheaper than the Model X" does not imply "The Model S is cheap". Replacing "Model S" in the sentence with a beat-up '97 Honda civic and it may be true, but there is not enough evidence contained in the sentence to support an absolute statement.
      - xvector 5y ago
        If a "hinge doesn't feel strong" and the keys are "mushy and creaky" that 100% indicates poor build quality. Perhaps our individual thresholds for quality differ, but either one of those two statements are dealbreakers for me.
        sangnoir 5y ago
        Our individual thresholds for quality differ, that's for sure, because my definition is "Was the object built well, considering it's constraints?" As an example,if something is made of plastic (or "polycarbonate"[1]), I expect it to flex to a degree, and it can still be very well made (e.g. old school Nokia phones had incredible build quality and industrial design) 1. I hate that plastic had to be re-branded in this manner because a small-but-vocal contingent decided it "feels cheap" on phones, or somehow lowers build-quality. This resulted in glass-backed phones which ironically had to be kept in plastic cases to take advantage of plastic's superior elasticity.
neurotrace 5y ago
I've had my laptop for a while now and haven't noticed any build quality issues. It definitely feels nice and light but it seems sturdy enough. I'm not in the habit of dropping my laptop on the ground but I do chuck it on to the bed from time and to time and it doesn't seem any worse for wear.
stormbrew 5y ago
> From reports I've read the Framework laptop has poor build quality. I'm gonna be really honest here and say that people have a very distorted subjective idea of what a 'sturdy laptop' is like. A lot of marketing money has been spent to make people think the only way to have a strong object is for it to be made of a rigid metal or glass material, so people go "oh my god the lid can FLEX this thing will break if I drop it!" but that's not at all how things work. The truth is you can't really just guess at whether a thing will survive falling or whatever by looking at or touching it. The only thing that tells you anything really is actual experience and/or testing. (personally, I think my framework laptop feels plenty sturdy for all the subjective anecdata that's worth, it's just not designed in a way that's trying to scream at you "you can run it over with a truck and it will work perfectly")
- brokenmachine 5y ago
  Sometimes I think that I must be the only one who doesn't throw his laptop into a backpack full of hammers while jogging everywhere.
filmgirlcw 5y ago
That’s not my personal experience at all. Yes, my $4000 14” MaxBook Pro has objectively better build quality, but I think the Framework is at least on-par with the $2000 XPS 13 I bought first (and later returned for the Framework). Can’t comment on the trackpoint, which is something I’ve never personally liked, but if that’s a deal breaker, you’ll probably have to have a Thinkpad. But I’ve been very pleased with the build quality of my Framework.
loganlinn 5y ago
I came across similar anecdotes of build quality and turned my nose. I found myself wishing I could hold a Framework laptop twist it like I was ringing out a wet rag. Surely this is a good test of build quality, I thought to myself. But in a moment of clarity, I realized this and other pseudo signals of build quality that Youtube reviewers and other armchair experts were attempting to use to draw comparison (to a unibody macbook pro) were either irrelevant or pedantic. Why is a unibody the pinnacle of build quality? Shouldn't longevity be? I checked my Apple elitism at the door and I put my name down for a Framework in September and got it in October. Happy ever since. It's a great little laptop and would highly recommend others.

by imiric 5y ago

gorjusborg 5y ago

Are you talking about personal testimonials, or published data? If it's published data, mind sharing a link?

imiric 5y ago
It was a recent thread here on HN. Let me see if I can find it... This comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29807585 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29807585 Some of these issues could be subjective, and I shouldn't decide based on that single report alone, but it was enough reason to reconsider the purchase, especially since, like I said, I really don't need a new machine.
- duck 5y ago
  I would say all that is subjective regarding what they specified as "build quality". I'll add my own take to it - I got mine early last month and haven't noticed any of those. That said, I do think the battery is the weak spot, but I think part of that is on the OS side (I'm running Pop!OS).
- gorjusborg 5y ago
  Thank you for sharing!
- rpdillon 5y ago
  Had mine since July, batch 1. No build quality issues at all from my perspective...one of my favorite keyboards to type on. Battery is not so good, though.

vaylian 5y ago

> From reports I've read the Framework laptop has poor build quality. Sources please. That's news to me.

cptskippy 5y ago
Yeah, the cited source doesn't rea mentioned build quality. It's mostly software bugs, muffled speakers and fan noise. None of that is build quality.
- ask_b123 5y ago
  From the cited source: > Build quality is clearly a step down from my old Thinkpad X1 Yoga. The hinge doesn't feel as strong, some keys are mushy/creaking and I'm skeptical my Framework will survive as many falls as my old laptop.
  - sangnoir 5y ago
    That is not the same as saying the build quality is poor though: it's clearly a comparative statement. "The Tesla Model S is cheaper than the Model X" does not imply "The Model S is cheap". Replacing "Model S" in the sentence with a beat-up '97 Honda civic and it may be true, but there is not enough evidence contained in the sentence to support an absolute statement.
    - xvector 5y ago
      If a "hinge doesn't feel strong" and the keys are "mushy and creaky" that 100% indicates poor build quality. Perhaps our individual thresholds for quality differ, but either one of those two statements are dealbreakers for me.
      - sangnoir 5y ago
        Our individual thresholds for quality differ, that's for sure, because my definition is "Was the object built well, considering it's constraints?" As an example,if something is made of plastic (or "polycarbonate"[1]), I expect it to flex to a degree, and it can still be very well made (e.g. old school Nokia phones had incredible build quality and industrial design) 1. I hate that plastic had to be re-branded in this manner because a small-but-vocal contingent decided it "feels cheap" on phones, or somehow lowers build-quality. This resulted in glass-backed phones which ironically had to be kept in plastic cases to take advantage of plastic's superior elasticity.

neurotrace 5y ago

I've had my laptop for a while now and haven't noticed any build quality issues. It definitely feels nice and light but it seems sturdy enough. I'm not in the habit of dropping my laptop on the ground but I do chuck it on to the bed from time and to time and it doesn't seem any worse for wear.

stormbrew 5y ago

> From reports I've read the Framework laptop has poor build quality. I'm gonna be really honest here and say that people have a very distorted subjective idea of what a 'sturdy laptop' is like. A lot of marketing money has been spent to make people think the only way to have a strong object is for it to be made of a rigid metal or glass material, so people go "oh my god the lid can FLEX this thing will break if I drop it!" but that's not at all how things work. The truth is you can't really just guess at whether a thing will survive falling or whatever by looking at or touching it. The only thing that tells you anything really is actual experience and/or testing. (personally, I think my framework laptop feels plenty sturdy for all the subjective anecdata that's worth, it's just not designed in a way that's trying to scream at you "you can run it over with a truck and it will work perfectly")

brokenmachine 5y ago
Sometimes I think that I must be the only one who doesn't throw his laptop into a backpack full of hammers while jogging everywhere.

filmgirlcw 5y ago

That’s not my personal experience at all. Yes, my $4000 14” MaxBook Pro has objectively better build quality, but I think the Framework is at least on-par with the $2000 XPS 13 I bought first (and later returned for the Framework). Can’t comment on the trackpoint, which is something I’ve never personally liked, but if that’s a deal breaker, you’ll probably have to have a Thinkpad. But I’ve been very pleased with the build quality of my Framework.

loganlinn 5y ago

I came across similar anecdotes of build quality and turned my nose. I found myself wishing I could hold a Framework laptop twist it like I was ringing out a wet rag. Surely this is a good test of build quality, I thought to myself. But in a moment of clarity, I realized this and other pseudo signals of build quality that Youtube reviewers and other armchair experts were attempting to use to draw comparison (to a unibody macbook pro) were either irrelevant or pedantic. Why is a unibody the pinnacle of build quality? Shouldn't longevity be? I checked my Apple elitism at the door and I put my name down for a Framework in September and got it in October. Happy ever since. It's a great little laptop and would highly recommend others.