Framework Laptop 13 (AMD, 2025) Review: The Long Game

The Ryzen AI 7 350 is connected par with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus oregon Intel Core Ultra 7 256V, springiness oregon take. It’s somewhat down successful single-core performance, arsenic measured by Cinebench R24, and a half-step up successful multi-core. These processors aren't known for being a powerhouse. Rather, the absorption is each connected efficiency. Here’s wherever the AMD spot is solidly successful past place. Battery beingness connected the Framework Laptop 13 is improved from anterior models, but it’s not arsenic agelong arsenic what you get connected a Snapdragon X oregon Core Ultra Series 2 PC.

The airy artillery trial I ran connected the Laptop 13 lasted astir 11 hours, looping a section video astatine max show brightness. That's 8 to 10 hours down immoderate of the competition, showing however overmuch Intel, Qualcomm, and Apple person raised the barroom successful the past year. For my emblematic workload, real-time artillery beingness sank to astir 7 and a fractional hours. That’s astir the aforesaid arsenic connected the archetypal Framework Laptop 13 I tested successful 2021. If artillery beingness is your main concern, it whitethorn beryllium worthy waiting to spot if Framework introduces an Intel Core Ultra Series 2 Mainboard.

Peripheral Woes

There are immoderate aspects of the laptop you’ll ever beryllium stuck with, namely, the chassis. Laptop designs that instrumentality afloat vantage of the much businesslike chips successful the aboriginal should effect successful thinner laptops without losing performance. We're already seeing this successful effect with thinner gaming laptops than ever.

But it's besides worthy noting that immoderate of the different components are somewhat outdated arsenic they are close now. The webcam is simply a bully example. In 2021, erstwhile this laptop was archetypal designed, 2-MP webcams astatine 1080p were a bully solution to expect. Many PCs are moving to 1440p oregon higher, similar the caller M4 MacBook Air. Apple has been upgrading the webcam from 720p successful 2020 to 1080p successful 2022, and present to 12-MP successful 2025. The MacBook Air contiguous costs the aforesaid arsenic the MacBook Air from 2020.

The lower-resolution surface successful the starting configuration is outdated compared to the contention arsenic well. My portion has a higher-resolution 2,880 x 1,920 IPS sheet with a 120-Hz refresh rate, which is much than sharp, fast, and color-accurate enough. The matte decorativeness is large for deflecting glare. But that’s successful a configuration that costs implicit $1,500. For that price, galore laptops connection adjacent sharper OLED panels with importantly higher contrast, and possibly adjacent a touchscreen.

The bully quality is that there's a beardown accidental Framework volition connection newer components to bespeak the existent standard. The institution sells webcam modules, speaker upgrades, and display kits for older machines, and there's nary crushed to expect determination won't beryllium newer versions soon. But those upgrades volition outgo extra, and erstwhile again, you're putting your religion successful Framework to deliver.

Fortunately, the Framework Laptop 13 is inactive a large starting place, and it’ll beryllium galore much years earlier it feels genuinely outdated. Today, it’s much than conscionable a applicable reply to the occupation of electronic waste. It’s a genuinely one-of-a-kind laptop.