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I'm waffling on my pre-order because I realized Frameworks don't have touchscreens, which I really enjoy when reading long articles. Kind of wild that they offe

I'm waffling on my pre-order because I realized Frameworks don't have touchscreens, which I really enjoy when reading long articles. Kind of wild that they offer all these other features that seem very niche, but a common one these days is absent.

hall0ween 3y ago
I'm on the flip side of this preference. If framework laptops had a touchscreen, I would have waffled on ordering one.
- squokko 3y ago
  Why? You can always turn off the touchscreen. I have on my laptop.
  - WD-42 3y ago
    They make the display worse.
    - whoisthemachine 3y ago
      Could you quantify this?
  - znpy 3y ago
    can you turn it off in hardware though?
- culturestate 3y ago
  > If framework laptops had a touchscreen, I would have waffled on ordering one. Is there some specific quality-related reason for this? I’m not a fan of touchscreens on laptops but absent some glaring technical issue I can’t imagine that being a blocker for my purchases.
  - voidmain0001 3y ago
    A touch screen adds weight and a glossy display. I purposely purchased the Lenovo T14S Gen 3 AMD without a touch screen as I prefer a matte screen, and the device is lighter.
    - jaywalk 3y ago
      Touch screens do not have to be glossy. I've used plenty of matte touch screen displays.
dopamean 3y ago
I've only been using Macs for a while now and was a thinkpad guy long ago so pardon my ignorance here but a touchscreen really considered common feature of a laptop now? Last I tried it I found the experience to be really awkward and not better than using a trackpad or mouse.
- dsr_ 3y ago
  I only want a touchscreen if the machine is lightweight and the hinges go all the way around, to put it in tablet mode. A nice 12-14" tablet is great for reading long documents, or for writing them with an external keyboard.
- whoisthemachine 3y ago
  At least in the laptops I look at (mainly Thinkpads), yes it is a common feature.
beezlebroxxxxxx 3y ago
I'm genuinely interested in this use case. Do you keep the laptop on a desk when you're using the touchscreen? I don't think framework has hinges that convert it into a tablet-esque form, so I'm kinda flummoxed on how a touchscreen is useful for long articles. Something about reaching out and touching the screen seems laborious compared to scrolling on a mousewheel or swiping slightly on a trackpad (or even just pressing spacebar). Laptops just don't seem to designed for that.
- zeven7 3y ago
  Not OP, but I enjoy touchscreens on laptops also. I can get by without it. I see it as a nice to have but not a necessity. It won't make or break a decision when choosing a laptop for me. Here are some reasons I like it when I do have a laptop with it: - I think it's a better zoom experience. You can get a similar experience with a touchpad, but it's just nicer to touch the screen where you are pinch zooming IMO. - Signing documents. I don't do this often but much prefer to use a touchscreen over a track pad when I do have to. - Some games are better. Again not a big part of my life, but occasionally I'll play some drawing game where a touch screen shines. - My kids understand a touch screen better. Occasionally I am on my laptop showing them something and them having the ability to reach over and touch the screen directly is a better UX for that situation. - I do kind of like to scroll with it sometimes, but I can't really say why. Again, not a make or break it feature for me, but all things being equal I'd choose to have it rather than not.
  - whoisthemachine 3y ago
    Wow some other great use cases - thanks for mentioning these. I do also use the touchscreen when playing among us, it gives the game a more tactile feel, while you still have a full keyboard for the requisite chatting.
- whoisthemachine 3y ago
  It's actually very nice, you can scoot the laptop closer to you while lounging on a couch, and scroll the screen naturally with your thumb. Again, reading long articles is my common use-case, but I've occasionally used it to read through large source files as well.
znpy 3y ago
on the other hand, i would think twice before buying a laptop with touchscreen. i don't use it at all and it's mostly a waste of battery power, as there usually is no way to explicitly power it down (except maybe opening the laptop and snipping the right cable -- but who wants to do that ?)
- whoisthemachine 3y ago
  How big of a power draw is a touch screen? I would think that's a solved problem given the plethora of touch devices we have.

hall0ween 3y ago

I'm on the flip side of this preference. If framework laptops had a touchscreen, I would have waffled on ordering one.

squokko 3y ago
Why? You can always turn off the touchscreen. I have on my laptop.
- WD-42 3y ago
  They make the display worse.
  - whoisthemachine 3y ago
    Could you quantify this?
- znpy 3y ago
  can you turn it off in hardware though?
culturestate 3y ago
> If framework laptops had a touchscreen, I would have waffled on ordering one. Is there some specific quality-related reason for this? I’m not a fan of touchscreens on laptops but absent some glaring technical issue I can’t imagine that being a blocker for my purchases.
- voidmain0001 3y ago
  A touch screen adds weight and a glossy display. I purposely purchased the Lenovo T14S Gen 3 AMD without a touch screen as I prefer a matte screen, and the device is lighter.
  - jaywalk 3y ago
    Touch screens do not have to be glossy. I've used plenty of matte touch screen displays.

dopamean 3y ago

I've only been using Macs for a while now and was a thinkpad guy long ago so pardon my ignorance here but a touchscreen really considered common feature of a laptop now? Last I tried it I found the experience to be really awkward and not better than using a trackpad or mouse.

dsr_ 3y ago
I only want a touchscreen if the machine is lightweight and the hinges go all the way around, to put it in tablet mode. A nice 12-14" tablet is great for reading long documents, or for writing them with an external keyboard.
whoisthemachine 3y ago
At least in the laptops I look at (mainly Thinkpads), yes it is a common feature.

beezlebroxxxxxx 3y ago

I'm genuinely interested in this use case. Do you keep the laptop on a desk when you're using the touchscreen? I don't think framework has hinges that convert it into a tablet-esque form, so I'm kinda flummoxed on how a touchscreen is useful for long articles. Something about reaching out and touching the screen seems laborious compared to scrolling on a mousewheel or swiping slightly on a trackpad (or even just pressing spacebar). Laptops just don't seem to designed for that.

zeven7 3y ago
Not OP, but I enjoy touchscreens on laptops also. I can get by without it. I see it as a nice to have but not a necessity. It won't make or break a decision when choosing a laptop for me. Here are some reasons I like it when I do have a laptop with it: - I think it's a better zoom experience. You can get a similar experience with a touchpad, but it's just nicer to touch the screen where you are pinch zooming IMO. - Signing documents. I don't do this often but much prefer to use a touchscreen over a track pad when I do have to. - Some games are better. Again not a big part of my life, but occasionally I'll play some drawing game where a touch screen shines. - My kids understand a touch screen better. Occasionally I am on my laptop showing them something and them having the ability to reach over and touch the screen directly is a better UX for that situation. - I do kind of like to scroll with it sometimes, but I can't really say why. Again, not a make or break it feature for me, but all things being equal I'd choose to have it rather than not.
- whoisthemachine 3y ago
  Wow some other great use cases - thanks for mentioning these. I do also use the touchscreen when playing among us, it gives the game a more tactile feel, while you still have a full keyboard for the requisite chatting.
whoisthemachine 3y ago
It's actually very nice, you can scoot the laptop closer to you while lounging on a couch, and scroll the screen naturally with your thumb. Again, reading long articles is my common use-case, but I've occasionally used it to read through large source files as well.

znpy 3y ago

on the other hand, i would think twice before buying a laptop with touchscreen. i don't use it at all and it's mostly a waste of battery power, as there usually is no way to explicitly power it down (except maybe opening the laptop and snipping the right cable -- but who wants to do that ?)

whoisthemachine 3y ago
How big of a power draw is a touch screen? I would think that's a solved problem given the plethora of touch devices we have.