No interest in this exactly, but I am interested in the idea that third parties are now targeting the Framework form factor explicitly to sell upgrades/replacements outside of the Framework marketplace.
Yeah, there’s a lot of critiques of the product/packaging/etc, but this feels like huge validation of the Framework model - this is an unrelated 3rd party looking to get a chip in consumer hands who decided to use the FW chassis. That’s Exactly what we all were hoping for when Framework first launched.
Yeah this is what annoyed me about Pine64's Pinebook Pro 2 plans... No upgrade kits, they wanted to completely change the form factor!
The chassis of my PBP is great (brittle plastic notwithstanding)! That's the last thing I want to replace in the device.
Its about time, I hope System76 comes up with their own version of the Framework laptop, because I would love to buy a laptop where I can swap out all internals, motherboard etc. but I really also want to work with System76 because I love what they are doing with POP_OS! (though I prefer arch these days, I can still use their Desktop environment etc) and love that they make Linux hardware specifically.
We have needed a "Jeep of Laptops" for a while, maybe someone needs to spec out a fully open source design that any manufacturer can target.
> We have needed a "Jeep of Laptops" for a while, maybe someone needs to spec out a fully open source design that any manufacturer can target.
I'm not sure if this counts in your book, but releasing all this stuff is closer than anyone else is to that dream.
I wish someone made a keyboard that doesn’t suck, ideally split as well.
Similar to a sibling comment, and perhaps not really applicable (since this isn't a company making something people can buy...), but the MNT Reform is amenable to fitting a custom/ergonomic keyboard also (I hadn't seen the Framework in the sibling comment, it looks very cool!).
I don't know how to link to it directly, but midway down this article there's a picture and some more links of an MNT Reform (apparently completely home-built) with a very cool, "thumb-centric", column staggered ergo keyboard:
Although to be pedantic, that's not an "ortholinear" keyboard (as in a square grid) rather a keyboard with column stagger (which you should use).
I wonder if you could make it for a FW13 too? I know QMK doesn't work for 13.
Edit: I see now that it uses a separate microcontroller, so yes if you could make it fit then it should work.
It should be possible to make a dumb version of such a keyboard wired the same as the stock one, just with the keys moved around. It would need some OS configuration to be truly useful, though.
It also bothers me that the meaning of "ortholinear" has been lost, but at least it's a sign that the hobby has grown to a certain point.
Yes, something like that. Ideally for a reasonably sized 13-14” laptop.
Just made a top-level comment about the same thing.
A big part of the core functionality of a laptop, as opposed to a PC, is is that of a typewriter:
* Notes in class
* Minutes in a meeting
* Entries in a journal or travelogue
* Writing the next great novel
etc.
Why have manufacturers simply taken that away from us, in favor of a terrible excuse with ridiculous tactile feedback?
I actually like short travel very light linear switches, mechanical or not.
I don’t like row stagger and non-split keyboards, for ergonomic reasons. That’s definitely a niche preference, but if anyone would cater to it you’d expect it to be Framework or similar.
You're right that Framework is exactly where I would expect flexibility on this: I mean, just looking at their landing page - you see a laptop without the keyboard and ports. Framework offers 176 (!) kinds of "keyboards":
(Answer: it's basically just keyboard covers, and the many options are due to variations of colors and languages. But I would take a hot pink / toxic green keyboard with ancient tibetan labels if the keys were non-chicklet, with decent travel, sizes, and feedback. 7 rows if possible.)
Apple: "We can't make great products if we don't completely control everything"
Framework: "Let us show you how it is done!"
Exactly. This is exactly we get in return for compromising on quality and price with framework. Other tech is cheaper because of planned obsolescence or lock in. Im glad to pay more money to have this freedom
My first thought was, "How many units could they possibly expect to sell given this target?"
FTA: “the company has introduced a mainboard that can be installe in the Framework Laptop 13 or in a mini PC case“
⇒ their market likely isn’t enormous, but it is larger than that of Framework Laptop owners.
Sounds like the board also somehow works inside a mini-itx chassis or something?
Given it's a Framework 13 mainboard, you can probably put it in any Framework 13-compatible enclosure:
The Legion Go is basically that with some joycons and a screen. I keep mine in my entertainment center when I'm not using it handheld, and play plastic instrument games on the big screen.
Looks like this would be an easy entry point to a DIY Steam Machine that takes up ~no space under your TV.
Wow. That's amazing truly. They really are entirely open source. You can even 3D print one.
It's not standard mini-itx. Since the physical form factors for their laptop boards are published publicly and are somewhat stable, are "desktop" cases for them.
This board uses the CIX CP8180 SoC, which has worse performance and significantly worse efficiency than even Apple's M1 chip. See Jeff Geerling's review of a desktop with this SoC: https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2025/minisforum-stuffs-ent... If you need an ARM Linux laptop, it's probably a better choice to get a used M1 or M2 MacBook Pro and put Fedora Asahi on it.
But has Asashi managed to have support for bells and whistles like graphics acceleration and sleep by now?
This SoC may actually have Linux drivers.
It does have graphics acceleration and you can even play AAA titles with fex [1] since last year. But many bells and whistles still don't work --- for example, the video decoding hardware, proper sleep, etc.
Anyway, I've been using it on my Macbook Air M2 and it works fine for my use case [3]. Pretty smooth.
Graphics acceleration yes - and more fully featured than Panfrost for Mali at that, but I think sleep is still just s2idle.
Yeah, or if you don't mind something with performance this low, the RK3588 has much better kernel support (I have a couple here) and there's some companies offering laptop format for those now.
But as much as I love the RK3588 it's very much in the "low perf utility SBC" world than "good performing general PC". I use my two boards for NAS, Plex, Forgejo CI builders, etc.
I do recall that Jeff Geerling I think had some followup with that board that perhaps there could be firmware changes that improve the power efficiency later maybe?
I have an MNT Pocket Reform with an RK3588 and I do like the device, but yeah, it can be a little sluggish at times.
It is very usable for email, editing documents, code review, etc - but it will struggle if you're trying to multitask heavily.
This CIX SoC is a fair bit faster than the RK3588 though I believe.
There's an RK3688 coming next year (hopefully?) which looks like a perf bump.
Apple hardware, yes.
Fedora Asahi, maybe.
OrbStack^1 provides awesome flexibility and DX/UX, w/ minimal footprint.
Orbstack is just a less bug-ridden implementation of Docker4Mac, not really pertinent or earth shattering for running desktop apps on the daily.
What's wrong with Asahi?
Is _everything_ working? Last time I put Linux on a x86_64 Air Book I was given for free, everything was working _except_ resume from suspend would crash and reboot the system, and from the reading on it, it seems it is a know issue due to T4 security chip or something. Made me believe that if older chips doesn't yet work, the newer ones probably have more caveats. Or am I wrong?
Generally I'm reluctant investing in Linux on a hardware from company more or less hostile to it, but I also don't have any need for ARM laptop, and I'm happy with my Framework.
> more or less hostile to it
I wouldn't say the problem is hostility. It's complete non-interest. Apple wisely allowed us to load a non-chain-of-trust OS while maintaining the chain of trust in macOS, which is an incredible advancement still unmatched by other manufacturers.
And that's it. They have done zero work to accommodate Linux. At all. Perhaps if Microsoft ever figures out that NT used to run on more than one arch, Apple will revive Boot Camp for Windows and deem it useful to include Linux this time?
> Apple will revive Boot Camp for Windows and deem it useful to include Linux this time?
If Apple wanted to, they could already do that right now. Windows runs on arm just fine. Heck, windows on Arm in a parallels VM runs better on my macbook pro than it does natively on an x86 laptop.
If Apple would make some drivers, even just for Windows, I bet they'd sell more macs. But it would seem Apple either calculated that ecosystem/services lock-in is way more important to them than a potential boost in hardware sales for alternative OSes, or they are really reluctant to make drivers for Apple Silicon available elsewhere out of fear it'll expose some trade secrets, which they didn't have to worry about when they used intel.
> If Apple would make some drivers, even just for Windows, I bet they'd sell more macs.
The incremental bump in sales would be very small.
Even when Apple did provide bootcamp drivers to run Windows on old laptops, very few people used it as their daily driver for a Windows computer. I'm sure Apple has a better estimate of the market for people who bought Macs to use with alternative OSes back when they supported it, but they've calculated that it's not worth the effort.
The problem is indeed Windows. Could you point me to where you can legally buy a Windows for ARM licence?
You can buy it from the Microsoft Store inside of windows once its installed. That's how it works with parallels, or any other Windows on Arm device (say, for upgrading from Home to Pro).
The Macbook M2 Air running Asahi Linux is easily my favorite Linux laptop ever, far superior to any Thinkpad or Dell XPS I've owned, imo. I think things like Thunderbolt and some DisplayPort features are missing, but I have never needed this as it is purely a laptop for me. But it has everything else I could want: suspend/sleep, proper frequency scaling, great GPU drivers, USB/wifi/bluetooth, speakers, brightness/keyboard settings, etc. The webcam works I think but I haven't tried it. The battery life is great, though macOS is still quite a ways ahead in that department.
> "Some DisplayPort"?
There's still no HDMI/video out on the M2 air under Linux? No Ethernet 1 or 10gps?
I'd advise buying a MacBook air m1 over an m2 if the goal is to run Linux...
> early tests show that the SoC already draws about 16 watts at idle
Ooof. I feel like power efficiency would be the main reason I'd take the plunge and switch from x86_64 to arm64, given that there would be difficulties and trade offs software-wise to do so.
My 13th-gen Intel board in my Framework 13 sits at around 11W semi-idle (Firefox constantly burning 35% of one core for reasons that are my fault). And this is with Linux, where power management isn't always the best.
Regardless, I'm happy to see something like this. It might not be something I want today, but it's a step in the right direction.
> The Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus and Snapdragon X Elite have proven that ARM processors have earned a place in the laptop market
That’s a strange revision of fairly recent history. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Apple’s the one that proved out laptop ARM at scale.
I don't have much faith in Arm Linux. Tuxedo gave up.
Cheap Windows Arm laptops are flooding the market, if someone can pick ONE laptop to support they could easily buy them on sale , refurbished them with Linux and make a profit.
Looks likes their are some challenges with doing this.
Do you mean "desktop arm linux"? Because AWS, Google, and others all run Linux on their arm servers and that market segment is only growing.
I've been running ARM VM's on my M1 MBP for the last few years, and outside of the very beginning, it's been pretty smooth sailing.
Valve is gonna save the day once again.
I was about to comment to say that unless Valve is prepared to invest significant effort into an x86 -> ARM translation layer that's not going to happen but a quick search for "linux x86 to arm translation" led me to an XDA article[1] proving me wrong. The recently announced Steam Frame runs on ARM and can run x86 games directly using using something called FEX.
Now we just need to be as good as (or better than) Apple's Rosetta.
I don't use Windows but I do run a lot of software made only for Windows. I don't see any problem with that.
Until the fountain runs dry, because the kingdom lords diverted the river from Valve's well castle.
I'm sorry but that doesn't make any sense.
Valve is pushing mostly open source to expand to other platforms which is a win win for everybody.
That would be true if they were actually making devs embrace SteamOS.
They are. You're mad that Valve isn't militantly enforcing Linux-native games, which is nonsense. The OG Steam Machine did that and was DOA.
Thousands of game studios are gone now, and supporting their software is important legacy work. You don't have to appreciate that, but I do. I do not give the faintest fuck about the opportunity cost you bemoan towards native UNIX games when I do this. That's your problem, not mine.
I quite prefer that to the alternative of not running Windows stuff.
Thing is, that strengths Windows market relevance, as IBM learnt with OS/2 and its Windows compatibility.
They probably gave up on their Snapdragon X efforts as Snapdragon X2 Elite was nipping at their heels and they'd have a redundant device by the time their efforts came to market.
> I don't have much faith in Arm Linux. Tuxedo gave up.
I was also slowly loosing hope, although I do still run some NixOS ARM Raspberry PIs. But with the recent Valve backing, I'm back on the train again, and eagerly awaiting the slow but steady improvements, and figuring out where I can contribute back.
Valve seems to be putting a lot of resources into this area for their Steam Frame
Supposedly the ARM ThinkPads are alright on Linux.
Not really. The drivers are not upstream, so it only works well on specially made Ubuntu spins that carry out of tree patches and random binary blobs. It is really still quite a mess at the moment.
> It is really still quite a mess at the moment.
Integration, testing, and support are all expensive. Right or wrong, that's a reason why if a laptop "just works" (like a Mac, Windows Thinkpad, or a Chromebook), it probably has proprietary binaries.
Also, if you aren't paying for the OS (via the hardware it's coupled with), you can't expect the OS to have the benefits of tight hardware integration.
Even Framework laptops use proprietary boot firmware, and they've been pretty clear that they only provide support for Ubuntu and Fedora, not the alphabet soup of other Linux desktop distros.
We run a handful of Linux workloads on Graviton without any issues.
Honestly, I don't have much faith in Linux anymore, and it has everything to do with the explosion of the kernel's codebase due to the explosion of cheaper devices running linux and the (admittedly difficult) management issues surrounding the kernel. I feel like from a security perspective, macos is a better choice and that pains me as a long time linux user.
Can we please move on to microkernels already? I'm fine with a tiny performance hit, I just don't want to get rooted because I plugged in the wrong USB stick.
If you don't want to go macOS route and want to leave Linux world, your destination would be FreeBSD or OpenBSD.
On the other hand, if you're not running Wine, you can't get autorun virii from USB drives, plus the Windows virii just lives there and can't do anything.
You can use microkernels whenever you want. Just be aware that they typically have the same issues with zombie/cruft code and aren't necessarily more secure for every application.
I want a 4TB SSD.
To do that on a MacBook I'm spending a minimum of 3200$.
If you have unlimited money ( or can expense it) a 3200$ to 4k MacBook is going to be the best experience money can buy.
If you have limited funds, a 200$ used computer can get the job done with the right distro.
So this isn’t an official thing, this is a 3rd party selling a replacement motherboard, is that right?
Correct, it's not sold by Framework, but is a replacement mainboard sold by a 3rd party. I think that is one of the big appeals of a modular laptop like Framework, though. You can create an ecosystem around it, customize, and not be locked in to just what the primary manufacturer makes.
Yeah it’s a good feature. Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t misreading the situation.
This is astonishingly bad power usage for a laptop, a complete dealbreaker: "...early tests show that the SoC already draws about 16 watts at idle..."
For some context, my 12-core Intel laptop consumes 1.5 to 2 watts at idle for the SoC. Apple M silicon might consume even less.
Maybe it's a typo and it's 1.6W.
[deleted]
yeah, that is impressively bad. Perhaps a reporting error and it is 16W at full tilt?
> upgrade kit
> makes your laptop slower
Hmm...
The real problem with ARM is whether the software vendors are really supporting it.
I use business software everyday that doesn’t support ARM, because of it’s licensing system doesn’t work on ARM processors.
Instead of fixing it, the company just sells cloud hosted windows licenses for $100 per user.
It does make me wish I could drop in a macbook air motherboard into a framework to get a differnet kind of ARM processor.
Does this board boot Linux via a device tree, or have hardware discovery?
How about UEFI vs arm-specific bootloaders?
I tried arm32 Linux a few years back, and the largest hindrance at the time was the device trees and non-UEFI boot process. Given up on exploring the platform further (except maybe for SBC like raspberry pi) until that situation improves.
The CIX CP8180 uses UEFI (it is intended to boot Windows which requires it) but the boot flow can, I believe, use either ACPI or device trees, based on a boot setting. The ACPI boot flow has the advantage that any normal Linux distro should work, while the device tree variant I think has more hardware enablement.
The upstream story due to this is kind of a mixed bag, though. I think they also still use out-of-tree NPU drivers, etc. Device trees and other updates are still flowing upstream. I think the next Mesa release will support the Immortalis GPU series though, so that'll hopefully polish off a big remaining problem with ordinary distros.
the minisforum ms-r1 has the same SoC and supports UEFI
I'd like to ask HN a very vaguely related question. I need to get a self-hosted runner (for GitHub Actions) that is capable of running Windows ARM64. What are my options other than buying a machine and do everything manually? Are there any service providers that offer Windows ARM64 VMs? I can only seem to find options for Linux.
In case you don't already know, there are Github-hosted runners that run Windows arm64 [1]
Also, it's not what you're asking, but self-hosted runners are a security nightmare if you don't have the hardware to completely isolate them from your local network.
They don't seem to be available for private repos (unless you sign up for Github Teams or Enterprise).
Microsoft offers Windows on ARM servers. Could slam the Windows ARM ISO on a 3rd party VPS as well.
Any recommendation for an Arm vps? I tried using a Hetzner server but apparently their server offering doesn't support mountint Windows Arm images.
Your best bet is probably Azure. Otherwise you can spin up an AWS graviton VM and install windows on it yourself.
I've had a Framework 13 for several years now, so I'm excited to see this kind of thing start to happen. Praying the next one out is a GPU/tensor workload unit so I'm not stuck at home on my desktop when I want to mess around with local AI models...
Windows 11 ARM64 is the best operating system I've ever used for a laptop. Really excited to see this, although I wish this was a Snapdragon X CPU.
i posted the article instead because it has some details that aren't on the listing.
It also has basically no details. What even is the difference between the Standard and Pro offering at twice the price?
It looks like the pro is the version with the full framework laptop chassis, battery, etc, and the standard is the version in the coolermaster case. (The black one with antennas on top)
Save you a click or two. Looking at this I have so many questions. Am I buying a mainboard? It is not clear. It lists ports: it only supports 2 ports? You have four options with 16/32gigs and 1tb of storage? Is the storage soldiered? If so, what is the storage? emmc? Soldiered memory seems to be a given in the ARM ecosystem, but the storage is completely unacceptable on a framework mainboard.
The only difference between the pro and the regular is that the second port is a usb-c over an hdmi? I am assuming this is the mainboard even supporting framework extension cards.
No listed Linux compatibility support. Forget if the NPU even works in Linux; I do not even know if this will boot Linux because the company did not bother to submit devicetree patches to the kernel for their SOC. No listed Windows support even.
This company's copy is absolutely terrible.
my impression was the "pro" is the same board but comes with a framework 13 chassis, but yeah the lack of explicit details does not inspire confidence.
Pity it’s not snapdragon. That may have improved chance of snapdragon Linux becoming viable
The complaints about battery life are valid however I see this as a test board to help bring more Linux programs to life on ARM. It can also be useful for porting other OSes like Haiku.
I'm curious to see battery life reports over this. Chances are these arm chips will not be beating intel/amd on battery life.
Also worth looking at battery life compared to performance...
Great, now there's just the matter of getting a proper keyboard, rather the junk that most laptops these days have.
These Snapdragon X processors have some drama around not having decent Linux support, right?
EDIT: Sorry, not SnapdragonX - apparently I can't read.
Also, who is "MetaComputing" and can I trust them with my money? Something about the big "Web 3 Integrated Devices" branding on their landing page makes me less than enthusiastic. Otherwise I'd be hovering over 'buy'
They are selling a configuration that costs $810.00 on Framework's website for only $549.00. Zero actual info on the about page or Google. I would treat it with suspicion at best.
They're just selling the motherboard on its own, not a whole laptop. To make if a complete system, you'd have to buy a laptop chassis from Framework's parts site and install the motherboard yourself.
I would love to have a Framework laptop, but there is no guarantee the company will be around as long as, say, Lenovo, Dell, Apple, etc., and I would hate to get used to being able to customize on the fly, then have to go back to a run-of-the-mill laptop just because Framework went out of business.
Better to have loved and lost then to have never loved at all. Why not buy the Framework, support the business, and have a laptop that's making you happy while it's around?
There's no guarantee any company lasts forever. What's the point in not using something now because it might be gone in the future?
In the worst case you would have used your Framework just like a regular laptop from Lenovo, Dell or Apple. You might not gain much, but you also don't lose anything.
But that's just the worst case.
If the company goes under, someone else will probably start manufacturing parts. Their CAD designs are open sourced on GitHub.
No interest in this exactly, but I am interested in the idea that third parties are now targeting the Framework form factor explicitly to sell upgrades/replacements outside of the Framework marketplace.
Yeah, there’s a lot of critiques of the product/packaging/etc, but this feels like huge validation of the Framework model - this is an unrelated 3rd party looking to get a chip in consumer hands who decided to use the FW chassis. That’s Exactly what we all were hoping for when Framework first launched.
Yeah this is what annoyed me about Pine64's Pinebook Pro 2 plans... No upgrade kits, they wanted to completely change the form factor!
The chassis of my PBP is great (brittle plastic notwithstanding)! That's the last thing I want to replace in the device.
Its about time, I hope System76 comes up with their own version of the Framework laptop, because I would love to buy a laptop where I can swap out all internals, motherboard etc. but I really also want to work with System76 because I love what they are doing with POP_OS! (though I prefer arch these days, I can still use their Desktop environment etc) and love that they make Linux hardware specifically.
We have needed a "Jeep of Laptops" for a while, maybe someone needs to spec out a fully open source design that any manufacturer can target.
> We have needed a "Jeep of Laptops" for a while, maybe someone needs to spec out a fully open source design that any manufacturer can target.
I'm not sure if this counts in your book, but releasing all this stuff is closer than anyone else is to that dream.
> https://github.com/FrameworkComputer/Framework-Laptop-16
There’s also this RISC V thing, I ordered one in July and got mine in November.
I could transplant the desktop model I got into my original framework, but I haven’t attempted it.
https://store.deepcomputing.io/products/dc-roma-ai-pc-risc-v...
That is interesting.
I wish someone made a keyboard that doesn’t suck, ideally split as well.
Similar to a sibling comment, and perhaps not really applicable (since this isn't a company making something people can buy...), but the MNT Reform is amenable to fitting a custom/ergonomic keyboard also (I hadn't seen the Framework in the sibling comment, it looks very cool!).
I don't know how to link to it directly, but midway down this article there's a picture and some more links of an MNT Reform (apparently completely home-built) with a very cool, "thumb-centric", column staggered ergo keyboard:
https://mntre.com/media/reform_md/2022-07-01-july-update.htm...
(search for "More great mods from the community..." heading if interested)
I would very much like to have a keyboard like either of those on my laptop. The stares you'd get when in public!!
https://blog.perprogramming.com/posts/framework-ortholinear-...
Very cool!
Although to be pedantic, that's not an "ortholinear" keyboard (as in a square grid) rather a keyboard with column stagger (which you should use).
I wonder if you could make it for a FW13 too? I know QMK doesn't work for 13.
Edit: I see now that it uses a separate microcontroller, so yes if you could make it fit then it should work.
It should be possible to make a dumb version of such a keyboard wired the same as the stock one, just with the keys moved around. It would need some OS configuration to be truly useful, though.
It also bothers me that the meaning of "ortholinear" has been lost, but at least it's a sign that the hobby has grown to a certain point.
Yes, something like that. Ideally for a reasonably sized 13-14” laptop.
Just made a top-level comment about the same thing.
A big part of the core functionality of a laptop, as opposed to a PC, is is that of a typewriter:
* Notes in class
* Minutes in a meeting
* Entries in a journal or travelogue
* Writing the next great novel
etc.
Why have manufacturers simply taken that away from us, in favor of a terrible excuse with ridiculous tactile feedback?
I actually like short travel very light linear switches, mechanical or not.
I don’t like row stagger and non-split keyboards, for ergonomic reasons. That’s definitely a niche preference, but if anyone would cater to it you’d expect it to be Framework or similar.
You're right that Framework is exactly where I would expect flexibility on this: I mean, just looking at their landing page - you see a laptop without the keyboard and ports. Framework offers 176 (!) kinds of "keyboards":
https://frame.work/marketplace/keyboards
but not one decent keyboard. Why?
(Answer: it's basically just keyboard covers, and the many options are due to variations of colors and languages. But I would take a hot pink / toxic green keyboard with ancient tibetan labels if the keys were non-chicklet, with decent travel, sizes, and feedback. 7 rows if possible.)
Apple: "We can't make great products if we don't completely control everything"
Framework: "Let us show you how it is done!"
Exactly. This is exactly we get in return for compromising on quality and price with framework. Other tech is cheaper because of planned obsolescence or lock in. Im glad to pay more money to have this freedom
My first thought was, "How many units could they possibly expect to sell given this target?"
FTA: “the company has introduced a mainboard that can be installe in the Framework Laptop 13 or in a mini PC case“
⇒ their market likely isn’t enormous, but it is larger than that of Framework Laptop owners.
Sounds like the board also somehow works inside a mini-itx chassis or something?
Given it's a Framework 13 mainboard, you can probably put it in any Framework 13-compatible enclosure:
https://frame.work/products/cooler-master-mainboard-case https://frame.work/products/framework-laptop-13-mainboard-ho... https://github.com/FrameworkComputer/Framework-Laptop-13
etc., lots of designs available.
The Legion Go is basically that with some joycons and a screen. I keep mine in my entertainment center when I'm not using it handheld, and play plastic instrument games on the big screen.
Looks like this would be an easy entry point to a DIY Steam Machine that takes up ~no space under your TV.
Wow. That's amazing truly. They really are entirely open source. You can even 3D print one.
It's not standard mini-itx. Since the physical form factors for their laptop boards are published publicly and are somewhat stable, are "desktop" cases for them.
This board uses the CIX CP8180 SoC, which has worse performance and significantly worse efficiency than even Apple's M1 chip. See Jeff Geerling's review of a desktop with this SoC: https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2025/minisforum-stuffs-ent... If you need an ARM Linux laptop, it's probably a better choice to get a used M1 or M2 MacBook Pro and put Fedora Asahi on it.
But has Asashi managed to have support for bells and whistles like graphics acceleration and sleep by now?
This SoC may actually have Linux drivers.
It does have graphics acceleration and you can even play AAA titles with fex [1] since last year. But many bells and whistles still don't work --- for example, the video decoding hardware, proper sleep, etc.
Anyway, I've been using it on my Macbook Air M2 and it works fine for my use case [3]. Pretty smooth.
[1] https://rosenzweig.io/blog/aaa-gaming-on-m1.html
[3] https://daniel.lawrence.lu/blog/2024-12-01-asahi-linux-with-...
Graphics acceleration yes - and more fully featured than Panfrost for Mali at that, but I think sleep is still just s2idle.
Yeah, or if you don't mind something with performance this low, the RK3588 has much better kernel support (I have a couple here) and there's some companies offering laptop format for those now.
But as much as I love the RK3588 it's very much in the "low perf utility SBC" world than "good performing general PC". I use my two boards for NAS, Plex, Forgejo CI builders, etc.
I do recall that Jeff Geerling I think had some followup with that board that perhaps there could be firmware changes that improve the power efficiency later maybe?
I have an MNT Pocket Reform with an RK3588 and I do like the device, but yeah, it can be a little sluggish at times.
It is very usable for email, editing documents, code review, etc - but it will struggle if you're trying to multitask heavily.
This CIX SoC is a fair bit faster than the RK3588 though I believe.
There's an RK3688 coming next year (hopefully?) which looks like a perf bump.
Apple hardware, yes. Fedora Asahi, maybe. OrbStack^1 provides awesome flexibility and DX/UX, w/ minimal footprint.
1. https://orbstack.dev/
Orbstack is just a less bug-ridden implementation of Docker4Mac, not really pertinent or earth shattering for running desktop apps on the daily.
What's wrong with Asahi?
Is _everything_ working? Last time I put Linux on a x86_64 Air Book I was given for free, everything was working _except_ resume from suspend would crash and reboot the system, and from the reading on it, it seems it is a know issue due to T4 security chip or something. Made me believe that if older chips doesn't yet work, the newer ones probably have more caveats. Or am I wrong?
Generally I'm reluctant investing in Linux on a hardware from company more or less hostile to it, but I also don't have any need for ARM laptop, and I'm happy with my Framework.
> more or less hostile to it
I wouldn't say the problem is hostility. It's complete non-interest. Apple wisely allowed us to load a non-chain-of-trust OS while maintaining the chain of trust in macOS, which is an incredible advancement still unmatched by other manufacturers.
And that's it. They have done zero work to accommodate Linux. At all. Perhaps if Microsoft ever figures out that NT used to run on more than one arch, Apple will revive Boot Camp for Windows and deem it useful to include Linux this time?
> Apple will revive Boot Camp for Windows and deem it useful to include Linux this time?
If Apple wanted to, they could already do that right now. Windows runs on arm just fine. Heck, windows on Arm in a parallels VM runs better on my macbook pro than it does natively on an x86 laptop.
If Apple would make some drivers, even just for Windows, I bet they'd sell more macs. But it would seem Apple either calculated that ecosystem/services lock-in is way more important to them than a potential boost in hardware sales for alternative OSes, or they are really reluctant to make drivers for Apple Silicon available elsewhere out of fear it'll expose some trade secrets, which they didn't have to worry about when they used intel.
> If Apple would make some drivers, even just for Windows, I bet they'd sell more macs.
The incremental bump in sales would be very small.
Even when Apple did provide bootcamp drivers to run Windows on old laptops, very few people used it as their daily driver for a Windows computer. I'm sure Apple has a better estimate of the market for people who bought Macs to use with alternative OSes back when they supported it, but they've calculated that it's not worth the effort.
The problem is indeed Windows. Could you point me to where you can legally buy a Windows for ARM licence?
You can buy it from the Microsoft Store inside of windows once its installed. That's how it works with parallels, or any other Windows on Arm device (say, for upgrading from Home to Pro).
The Macbook M2 Air running Asahi Linux is easily my favorite Linux laptop ever, far superior to any Thinkpad or Dell XPS I've owned, imo. I think things like Thunderbolt and some DisplayPort features are missing, but I have never needed this as it is purely a laptop for me. But it has everything else I could want: suspend/sleep, proper frequency scaling, great GPU drivers, USB/wifi/bluetooth, speakers, brightness/keyboard settings, etc. The webcam works I think but I haven't tried it. The battery life is great, though macOS is still quite a ways ahead in that department.
> "Some DisplayPort"? There's still no HDMI/video out on the M2 air under Linux? No Ethernet 1 or 10gps?
I'd advise buying a MacBook air m1 over an m2 if the goal is to run Linux...
https://asahilinux.org/docs/platform/feature-support/m2/
> What's wrong with Asahi?
...all the missing support?
it doesn’t do gui afaik.
> early tests show that the SoC already draws about 16 watts at idle
Ooof. I feel like power efficiency would be the main reason I'd take the plunge and switch from x86_64 to arm64, given that there would be difficulties and trade offs software-wise to do so.
My 13th-gen Intel board in my Framework 13 sits at around 11W semi-idle (Firefox constantly burning 35% of one core for reasons that are my fault). And this is with Linux, where power management isn't always the best.
Regardless, I'm happy to see something like this. It might not be something I want today, but it's a step in the right direction.
> The Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus and Snapdragon X Elite have proven that ARM processors have earned a place in the laptop market
That’s a strange revision of fairly recent history. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Apple’s the one that proved out laptop ARM at scale.
I don't have much faith in Arm Linux. Tuxedo gave up.
Cheap Windows Arm laptops are flooding the market, if someone can pick ONE laptop to support they could easily buy them on sale , refurbished them with Linux and make a profit.
Looks likes their are some challenges with doing this.
Do you mean "desktop arm linux"? Because AWS, Google, and others all run Linux on their arm servers and that market segment is only growing.
I've been running ARM VM's on my M1 MBP for the last few years, and outside of the very beginning, it's been pretty smooth sailing.
Valve is gonna save the day once again.
I was about to comment to say that unless Valve is prepared to invest significant effort into an x86 -> ARM translation layer that's not going to happen but a quick search for "linux x86 to arm translation" led me to an XDA article[1] proving me wrong. The recently announced Steam Frame runs on ARM and can run x86 games directly using using something called FEX.
Now we just need to be as good as (or better than) Apple's Rosetta.
[1] https://www.xda-developers.com/arm-translation-layer-steam-f...
From yesterday: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46126446
Running Windows stuff.....
I don't use Windows but I do run a lot of software made only for Windows. I don't see any problem with that.
Until the fountain runs dry, because the kingdom lords diverted the river from Valve's well castle.
I'm sorry but that doesn't make any sense.
Valve is pushing mostly open source to expand to other platforms which is a win win for everybody.
That would be true if they were actually making devs embrace SteamOS.
They are. You're mad that Valve isn't militantly enforcing Linux-native games, which is nonsense. The OG Steam Machine did that and was DOA.
Thousands of game studios are gone now, and supporting their software is important legacy work. You don't have to appreciate that, but I do. I do not give the faintest fuck about the opportunity cost you bemoan towards native UNIX games when I do this. That's your problem, not mine.
I quite prefer that to the alternative of not running Windows stuff.
Thing is, that strengths Windows market relevance, as IBM learnt with OS/2 and its Windows compatibility.
They probably gave up on their Snapdragon X efforts as Snapdragon X2 Elite was nipping at their heels and they'd have a redundant device by the time their efforts came to market.
> I don't have much faith in Arm Linux. Tuxedo gave up.
I was also slowly loosing hope, although I do still run some NixOS ARM Raspberry PIs. But with the recent Valve backing, I'm back on the train again, and eagerly awaiting the slow but steady improvements, and figuring out where I can contribute back.
Valve seems to be putting a lot of resources into this area for their Steam Frame
Supposedly the ARM ThinkPads are alright on Linux.
Not really. The drivers are not upstream, so it only works well on specially made Ubuntu spins that carry out of tree patches and random binary blobs. It is really still quite a mess at the moment.
> It is really still quite a mess at the moment.
Integration, testing, and support are all expensive. Right or wrong, that's a reason why if a laptop "just works" (like a Mac, Windows Thinkpad, or a Chromebook), it probably has proprietary binaries.
Also, if you aren't paying for the OS (via the hardware it's coupled with), you can't expect the OS to have the benefits of tight hardware integration.
Even Framework laptops use proprietary boot firmware, and they've been pretty clear that they only provide support for Ubuntu and Fedora, not the alphabet soup of other Linux desktop distros.
We run a handful of Linux workloads on Graviton without any issues.
Honestly, I don't have much faith in Linux anymore, and it has everything to do with the explosion of the kernel's codebase due to the explosion of cheaper devices running linux and the (admittedly difficult) management issues surrounding the kernel. I feel like from a security perspective, macos is a better choice and that pains me as a long time linux user.
Can we please move on to microkernels already? I'm fine with a tiny performance hit, I just don't want to get rooted because I plugged in the wrong USB stick.
If you don't want to go macOS route and want to leave Linux world, your destination would be FreeBSD or OpenBSD.
On the other hand, if you're not running Wine, you can't get autorun virii from USB drives, plus the Windows virii just lives there and can't do anything.
You can use microkernels whenever you want. Just be aware that they typically have the same issues with zombie/cruft code and aren't necessarily more secure for every application.
I want a 4TB SSD.
To do that on a MacBook I'm spending a minimum of 3200$.
If you have unlimited money ( or can expense it) a 3200$ to 4k MacBook is going to be the best experience money can buy.
If you have limited funds, a 200$ used computer can get the job done with the right distro.
So this isn’t an official thing, this is a 3rd party selling a replacement motherboard, is that right?
Correct, it's not sold by Framework, but is a replacement mainboard sold by a 3rd party. I think that is one of the big appeals of a modular laptop like Framework, though. You can create an ecosystem around it, customize, and not be locked in to just what the primary manufacturer makes.
Yeah it’s a good feature. Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t misreading the situation.
This is astonishingly bad power usage for a laptop, a complete dealbreaker: "...early tests show that the SoC already draws about 16 watts at idle..."
For some context, my 12-core Intel laptop consumes 1.5 to 2 watts at idle for the SoC. Apple M silicon might consume even less.
Maybe it's a typo and it's 1.6W.
yeah, that is impressively bad. Perhaps a reporting error and it is 16W at full tilt?
> upgrade kit
> makes your laptop slower
Hmm...
The real problem with ARM is whether the software vendors are really supporting it.
I use business software everyday that doesn’t support ARM, because of it’s licensing system doesn’t work on ARM processors.
Instead of fixing it, the company just sells cloud hosted windows licenses for $100 per user.
It does make me wish I could drop in a macbook air motherboard into a framework to get a differnet kind of ARM processor.
Does this board boot Linux via a device tree, or have hardware discovery?
How about UEFI vs arm-specific bootloaders?
I tried arm32 Linux a few years back, and the largest hindrance at the time was the device trees and non-UEFI boot process. Given up on exploring the platform further (except maybe for SBC like raspberry pi) until that situation improves.
The CIX CP8180 uses UEFI (it is intended to boot Windows which requires it) but the boot flow can, I believe, use either ACPI or device trees, based on a boot setting. The ACPI boot flow has the advantage that any normal Linux distro should work, while the device tree variant I think has more hardware enablement.
The upstream story due to this is kind of a mixed bag, though. I think they also still use out-of-tree NPU drivers, etc. Device trees and other updates are still flowing upstream. I think the next Mesa release will support the Immortalis GPU series though, so that'll hopefully polish off a big remaining problem with ordinary distros.
the minisforum ms-r1 has the same SoC and supports UEFI
I'd like to ask HN a very vaguely related question. I need to get a self-hosted runner (for GitHub Actions) that is capable of running Windows ARM64. What are my options other than buying a machine and do everything manually? Are there any service providers that offer Windows ARM64 VMs? I can only seem to find options for Linux.
In case you don't already know, there are Github-hosted runners that run Windows arm64 [1]
Also, it's not what you're asking, but self-hosted runners are a security nightmare if you don't have the hardware to completely isolate them from your local network.
[1] https://github.com/actions/partner-runner-images/blob/main/i...
They don't seem to be available for private repos (unless you sign up for Github Teams or Enterprise).
Microsoft offers Windows on ARM servers. Could slam the Windows ARM ISO on a 3rd party VPS as well.
Any recommendation for an Arm vps? I tried using a Hetzner server but apparently their server offering doesn't support mountint Windows Arm images.
Your best bet is probably Azure. Otherwise you can spin up an AWS graviton VM and install windows on it yourself.
I've had a Framework 13 for several years now, so I'm excited to see this kind of thing start to happen. Praying the next one out is a GPU/tensor workload unit so I'm not stuck at home on my desktop when I want to mess around with local AI models...
Windows 11 ARM64 is the best operating system I've ever used for a laptop. Really excited to see this, although I wish this was a Snapdragon X CPU.
here's the actual listing: https://metacomputing.io/products/metacomputing-arm-aipc
i posted the article instead because it has some details that aren't on the listing.
It also has basically no details. What even is the difference between the Standard and Pro offering at twice the price?
It looks like the pro is the version with the full framework laptop chassis, battery, etc, and the standard is the version in the coolermaster case. (The black one with antennas on top)
https://metacomputing.io/products/metacomputing-arm-aipc
Save you a click or two. Looking at this I have so many questions. Am I buying a mainboard? It is not clear. It lists ports: it only supports 2 ports? You have four options with 16/32gigs and 1tb of storage? Is the storage soldiered? If so, what is the storage? emmc? Soldiered memory seems to be a given in the ARM ecosystem, but the storage is completely unacceptable on a framework mainboard.
The only difference between the pro and the regular is that the second port is a usb-c over an hdmi? I am assuming this is the mainboard even supporting framework extension cards.
No listed Linux compatibility support. Forget if the NPU even works in Linux; I do not even know if this will boot Linux because the company did not bother to submit devicetree patches to the kernel for their SOC. No listed Windows support even.
This company's copy is absolutely terrible.
my impression was the "pro" is the same board but comes with a framework 13 chassis, but yeah the lack of explicit details does not inspire confidence.
Pity it’s not snapdragon. That may have improved chance of snapdragon Linux becoming viable
The complaints about battery life are valid however I see this as a test board to help bring more Linux programs to life on ARM. It can also be useful for porting other OSes like Haiku.
I'm curious to see battery life reports over this. Chances are these arm chips will not be beating intel/amd on battery life.
Also worth looking at battery life compared to performance...
Great, now there's just the matter of getting a proper keyboard, rather the junk that most laptops these days have.
https://kickingandstreaming.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/x2...
These Snapdragon X processors have some drama around not having decent Linux support, right?
EDIT: Sorry, not SnapdragonX - apparently I can't read.
Also, who is "MetaComputing" and can I trust them with my money? Something about the big "Web 3 Integrated Devices" branding on their landing page makes me less than enthusiastic. Otherwise I'd be hovering over 'buy'
They are selling a configuration that costs $810.00 on Framework's website for only $549.00. Zero actual info on the about page or Google. I would treat it with suspicion at best.
They're just selling the motherboard on its own, not a whole laptop. To make if a complete system, you'd have to buy a laptop chassis from Framework's parts site and install the motherboard yourself.
You can get a whole laptop if you purchase the "Pro" option that comes with the Framework 13 chassis: https://metacomputing.io/products/metacomputing-arm-aipc
They're 8x A720 + 4x M520, not Snapdragon X.
This isn't a Snapdragon though.
Oh, crap, guess it helps if I read next time.
I would love to have a Framework laptop, but there is no guarantee the company will be around as long as, say, Lenovo, Dell, Apple, etc., and I would hate to get used to being able to customize on the fly, then have to go back to a run-of-the-mill laptop just because Framework went out of business.
Better to have loved and lost then to have never loved at all. Why not buy the Framework, support the business, and have a laptop that's making you happy while it's around?
There's no guarantee any company lasts forever. What's the point in not using something now because it might be gone in the future?
In the worst case you would have used your Framework just like a regular laptop from Lenovo, Dell or Apple. You might not gain much, but you also don't lose anything.
But that's just the worst case.
If the company goes under, someone else will probably start manufacturing parts. Their CAD designs are open sourced on GitHub.