Manufacturers have had little success in pushing fully modular laptops into the mainstream, and Framework is hoping to be the exception. The first Framework Laptop configurations, which went up for pre-order in May of this year, have begun shipping to customers.

"Batch 1 pre-orders for July delivery continue to ship from our warehouse daily. We will begin shipping Batch 2 for August delivery shortly," Framework said in a blog post." We are currently selling a small number of Batch 2 Framework Laptop and Framework Laptop DIY Editions. If you pre-order now, some of you will be able to receive them within 3-4 weeks."

Framework's timing is impeccable. Earlier this week, the Federal Trade Commission voted unanimously (5-0) to adopt a right-to-repair policy aimed at removing common roadblocks that manufacturers place to discourage small businesses and individuals from repairing their products.

The framework laptop is a classic example of how manufacturers can embrace the right-to-repair philosophy. It is a laptop that is completely modular, right down to the motherboard and I/O ports: it has four expansion ports, each with a USB-C module that can be added. It is also possible to use any combination of USB-C, USB-A, DisplayPort, HDMI, and microSD card slot modules.

The framework also offers 250GB and 1TB storage expansion cards that take advantage of the USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface with sequential read speeds of up to 1,000MB/s, 375MB/s (250GB) or 1,000MB /per second (1TB) sequential write speeds. [We are also opening up the design to allow third parties and community members to create their own versions. We plan to make these cards available on the Framework Marketplace," says Framework.

Unfortunately, this is not a true gaming laptop. However, it should work fine with cloud game streaming services like GeForce Now. Another drawback is that the CPU is mounted on the mainboard, so upgrading the processor would mean a total replacement. Generally, if you are moving from one generation to the next, it is a good idea anyway, but if you are choosing which CPU you want right away, you need to keep in mind...

The introductory model has a 13.5" display with a resolution of 2256 x 1504 and comes with one of three 11th generation Intel "Tiger Lake" processors: Core i7 1185G7, Core i7 1165G7, Core i5 1135G7 and three 11th generation Intel "Tiger Lake" processors, each with its own Xe graphics. This means that some gaming performance will be available from the onboard GPU, but only at low to medium settings, especially at unusual resolutions. [Prices start at $999 for a complete build with a Core i5 1135G7 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. The Framework also offers upgraded configurations, or you can start with the $749 DIY version and add only the parts you need. For example, if you already own laptop memory (SO-DIMMs) or NVMe storage, you can skip those parts and add them yourself.

This is a huge advantage over buying a regular laptop, since you will be paying for all the parts, whether you need them or not. I couldn't be happier that [the framework is encouraging the DIY laptop form factor. If successful, the company may offer gaming laptop configurations in the future.