framework-12

1. hardware
2. laptop

Some draft notes about the Framework Laptop 12" 2-in-1 laptop, not to be confused with the larger Framework 13".

Currently in pre-order / shipping, as of 2025-07-08.

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

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)

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

Works well! Like the "retro" look compared to GNOME.

Seems like KDE's "touch mode" (which makes UI elements bigger) does not trigger? It's still relatively useable.

Out of the box, auto-rotation and virtual keyboard don't work.

The virtual keyboard gets fixed by installing maliit-keyboard, then selecting it in the "virtual keyboard" dialog, which i found in this discussion.

To fix the rotating display issue, you need to install iio-sensor-proxy hack at udev and then reboot:

sudo apt install iio-sensor-proxy
sudo sed -i 's/.*iio-buffer-accel/#&/' /usr/lib/udev/rules.d/80-iio-sensor-proxy.rules
sudo udevadm trigger --settle
sudo systemctl restart iio-sensor-proxy
sudo reboot

To see if the sensors work, try: monitor-sensor --accel. For example, a normally sitting laptop flipped to the side and back should show this:

anarcat@dorothea:~$ monitor-sensor --accel
    Waiting for iio-sensor-proxy to appear
+++ iio-sensor-proxy appeared
=== Has accelerometer (orientation: normal, tilt: vertical)
    Accelerometer orientation changed: left-up
    Tilt changed: tilted-up
    Accelerometer orientation changed: normal
    Tilt changed: vertical

In my case, after installing iio-sensor-proxy patching its udev, and restarting services, the above worked, but Plasma didn't pick it up, I had to reboot for the fix to be complete.

This is a known issue with some component part of Ubuntu and Debian

I filed this as a new topic before finding this.

night mode is only night light, would like reverse video too.

loving the info center, no idea how i got there or how to get back

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!

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