First impressions

missed first post
lid tighter
had trouble finding the power button!
secureboot couldn't boot grml, but could boot trixie. trick is there is another BIOS than the main one, press F2 real fast while booting, and pick "Administer secure boot" to disable it to boot grml. but trixie boots fine with secureboot.
play laptop, considering entirely password-less setup
installed Trixie RC2, went flawlessly, but Debian's installer is still too complicated for what it does, and (IMHO) should be spun out into a new applications running on top of live images, briefly considered Fedora, but was scared of novelty
installed KDE Plasma because I was really confused by GNOME when I tried it last, and like what I saw on the Steam Deck
really nice to see it's actually a touch screen (I expected to be disappointed and have the screen work only with the stylus)
becomes warm on my legs, presumably because syncthing
power usage seems decent, after installing the base system, a bunch of apps, running syncthing, battery is at 45% with, presumably, 1h36 remaining... so I guess not that great?
MPP pen works fine, but software support (like touch) is not great in Debian (e.g. I had trouble using Krita, let alone Gimp)

Framework Laptop 12 is compatible with MPP 2.0 and USI 2.0 stylus types. The default setting is MPP-compatibility, and you can switch to USI mode in BIOS settings.

TODO: maybe software setup goes into dorothea?

Downsides

no keyboard backlight
poor screen color accuracy (66% sRGB), but it turns out that's similar to the Steam Deck LCD
no thunderbolt, which means no "one wire for everything" kind of setups, which means i can't use it to replace my current setup on a whim (but i can use it with a DP adapter, and treat the monitor as a dock, presumably, to be tested)
a bit too heavy for a tablet
nowhere to put away the pen
no stock case if you replace the board, although Framework 12 - REFINED provides 3D designs to print one

Open questions

which sleeve/case
will the screen suck? maybe a matte protector (so far not noticed any issue, colors do look a little washed out)
how will battery life be? (installer doesn't show battery, oops!)
will the sensors work for auto-rotate? (apparently, but not in the Debian installer either)

Specifications

Note: this is the 2025 specification, they've launched a new build in 2026 with a new Intel Core 3 which improve battery life as well, a fingerprint reader, Thunderbolt 4 support in the back ports, and a backlit keyboard. They have not fixed the bad display though.

CPU: Intel i3-1315U, a step down from the current 13", but still comparable, but is more recent (2023-Q2 vs 2022-Q1, 6/8 cores instead of 12/16, 1.2GHz vs 1.7GHz base speed, but similar turbo at 4.5GHz and better TDP at 15W vs 28W)
color: sage
memory: DDR5-5600 - 16GB (my original setup on the 13", was mostly fine)
Release Year: 2025
Thermals: Thermals 64 x 5.5mm cooling fan. Single 8mm heat pipe, PTM7958 Thermal Pad - Size B
Integrated Graphics: i3-1315U Intel® UHD Graphics, 1.25GHz, 64 Execution Units
Storage: 1x M.2 2230 NVMe™ SSD slot
Memory: 1x SO-DIMM slot supports up to 48GB DDR5 (running at DDR5-5200 speeds)
Wifi: Intel AX211 Wi-Fi 6E
Weight: 1.3kg
Dimensions: 18.45 x 287.00 x 213.88mm
Display: 12.2" LCD, 16:10 aspect ratio, 1920 x 1200 resolution, 60Hz refresh rate, >400nit brightness, 50% NTSC color gamut, 1500:1 typical contrast ratio, DC Dimming, MPP 2.0 and USI 2.0 stylus support, Soda-lime glass
Ports: 4x user-selectable Expansion Cards, USB 3.2 Gen 2, USB-PD, DisplayPort Alt Mode
Audio: Stereo 2W speakers, dual high-sensitivity 67dBA SNR MEMS microphones with hardware privacy switch
Built-in 3.5mm combo headphone jack
Battery: 50Wh
Camera: 1080p 30fps with Omnivision OV02C 2MP image sensor and 80 degree field of view 5 element lens, with hardware privacy switch
Power Adapter: 60W GaN USB-C (optional, bring your own)
Keyboard: Full size (19mm key spacing), non-backlit, 1.5mm key travel
Mechanical: 360-degree hinge, Chassis made of overmolded shock-absorbing TPU over plastic with an inner metal structure
Security Slot: Kensington Nano Security Slot™ or compatible
Ships with a Framework Screwdriver
Warranty: 1 Year Framework Limited Warranty

Configuration

I did something special with this machine, as opposed to the rest of my fleet, and just configured it by hand. I installed it using the beta Debian installer for trixie, which went flawlessly.

KDE

See kde.

Installed packages

krita
darktable
syncthingtray
emacs
vlc
git-annex

couldn't install darktable, flatpak or llm from the app center, weirdly.

flatpaks

element
supersonic
koreader
zotero
signal desktop
speech note
organic maps

Firefox

Installed add-ons

ublock
wallabag
url to qr code
clean urls
bitwarden

logged into

sonic.anarc.at
jellyfin.anarc.at
photoprism.anarc.at
grafana.anarc.at
kagi (and changed search engine)

BIOS updates

There's already a BIOS update! At first it was not installable with LVFS, but I have recently been able to do it, see the BIOS updates page and the forum discussion.

UKI

Moved to 2025-08-20-luks-ukify-conversion.

Re-encrypting root filesystem

Moved to 2025-08-20-luks-ukify-conversion.

Other reviews

The Framework 12" received mixed reviews, in general. Most complained about the old CPU shipped with the device, and pricing.

Phoronix: An Upgrade-Friendly, Convertible 2-in-1 Linux Laptop:

The only downside is the performance if you are wanting to run any moderately demanding workloads but for those looking at a well-built, upgradeable, and all-around dependable mini Linux laptop or convertible tablet that can run your favorite modern Linux distribution, the Framework Laptop 12 is another great addition to the Framework Computer family.
The Verge: plastic fantastic

The quirky 2-in-1 has an endearing design that could be a great fit for students. But Framework once again has to prove itself.
Ars: A sturdy, thoughtful, cute design that just can't compete in its price range

I hope that Framework does what it's done for the Laptop 13 over the last four or so years: introduce updated components, iterate on different elements of the design, and gradually bring the price down into a more reasonable range through refurbished and factory-second parts. As a $1,000-ish computer, this leaves a lot to be desired. But as the foundation for a new Framework platform, it has enough promise to be interesting.

Overall, the pros and cons seem to be:

plastic seems sturdy (MIL-STD-810)
modular ports with "child locks" are better than the Framework 13" "latch" design (and i don't really like the 13" design either)
too expensive
mediocre colors and large bezel

Order history

pre-orders opened on April 10 (at least, that's when the email was sent!)
pre-ordered on April 9th (!), with the following spec:
- base setup: 827.00
  - CPU: Intel i3-1315U, a step down from the current 13", but still comparable, but is more recent (2023-Q2 vs 2022-Q1, 6/8 cores instead of 12/16, 1.2GHz vs 1.7GHz base speed, but similar turbo at 4.5GHz and better TDP at 15W vs 28W)
  - color: sage
  - memory: DDR5-5600 - 16GB (my original setup on the 13", was mostly fine)
- keyboard: US English - Gray
- 65W power adapter: $64.00 (i thought i had a spare one of those, but seems not, and those are so useful!)
- expansion cards:
  - DisplayPort (2nd Gen) $25.00 (wanted to test the 2nd gen)
  - HDMI (3rd Gen) $25.00 (same)
  - 1TB (2nd Gen) $169.00 (same)
  - USB-C (Translucent Green) $12.00 (wanted to test the green, i have two more space USB-C, so this is actually too much)
  - 2 x USB-A $24.00 (like my current setup, i often run out of USB-A when i have a single one)
- total: 1146$CAD + tax, est. 1317.60$CAD, before 100$ deposit
- did not pick their NVMe drive, as the 1TB drive is 220$CAD, for about that price I got a 2TB drive at B&H for 269.29$CAD (shipping and taxes included!) instead
as of 2025-07-08, still not received confirmation of shipping, changed a few minor things with the order (added a 1TB drive, removed one USB-C module, added USB-A module), even though others have received theirs, seems like the colored ones are in a different batch which is rumored to have started shipping today, although that might be confused with the colored batch 0
2025-07-10 00:52 +0000: "step 2" (preparing your batch) email
2025-07-15 14:19 +0000: "step 3" (payment complete) email
2025-07-15 21:50 +0000: requested shipping delay
2025-07-16 04:49 +0000: response from support, will ship within 5 business days, too late to delay, ask Fedex for a temporary hold with the confirmation number
2025-07-16 09:54 +0000: "step 4" (your order has shipped) email
2025-07-16 01:37: shipment info at fedex
2025-07-16 03:44: picked up in Taoyuan TW
2025-07-16 08:46: Ta Yuan District TW
2025-07-17 02:26: Sennan-Shi JP
2025-07-17 12:58: Memphis, TN
2025-07-17 12:36: Winnipeg, MB
2025-07-18 04:20: Mississauga, ON
2025-07-18 05:17: Mirabel, PQ
2025-07-18 07:45: Saint-Laurent, PQ
2025-07-18 12:01: Delivered!
2025-08-19: noted an issue with the touch screen a couple weeks ago, disabled touch screen, submitted support request

The laptop was supposed to ship "in July", and it did!

Created 2025-07-08 23:22. Edited 2026-11-03 19:28.