Laptop 13 Pro

Framework, founded by Nirav Patel in 2020, built its name on one stubborn idea: a laptop you can open, repair and upgrade without a service contract. The first Laptop 13 shipped in 2021, followed by the 16-inch and 12-inch models, and for years the machine looked the part of a good engineering project rather than a good-looking one. The Laptop 13 Pro, announced on 21 April 2026 with deliveries from June, tries to fix that.

It is a new design in CNC-machined aluminium with a dark graphite finish, 15.86mm thick and plainly aimed at the MacBook Pro. The 13.5-inch 3:2 display (2880 by 1920 pixels, 30 to 120Hz, up to 700 nits) has an anti-glare finish and is the first touchscreen on a Framework 13. A haptic touchpad from LiteOn replaces the mechanical one, the keyboard keeps its 1.5mm of travel, and a 74Wh battery, about 22 per cent larger than before, comes with a 100W GaN charger. Weight is about 1.4kg.

The repairability is intact, and the party piece is the memory: Intel's new Core Ultra Series 3 chips require LPDDR5, so Framework uses LPCAMM2 modules that still slot in and out by hand. The Expansion Card system (USB-C, USB-A, HDMI, DisplayPort, Ethernet and more) carries on, and the DIY Edition needs no thermal paste. A pre-built version ships with Ubuntu Linux, with Windows available for a fee, while the DIY edition leaves you to supply memory, storage and an operating system.

The drawbacks are mostly commercial. Memory prices have risen sharply, Framework withdrew the 64GB option for later batches, and orders ship in waves, so the wait can be long. The entry-level Core Ultra 5 trails rivals in rendering benchmarks, the webcam is grainy, and the speakers sound flat. The new base and battery do not fit the original Laptop 13, which will disappoint existing owners. Even so, the result is the first Framework that a design-minded buyer might choose for how it looks as well as how it works.

Photographs courtesy of Framework