Delay in early production of Framework Laptop 13 Pro
As we prepared the Framework Laptop 13 Pro for the mass production ramp, we found two issues, one with the new haptic touchpad and the other with the custom display. We have since rooted and found solutions for both of these. However, to deliver these updates, we need to delay the start of mass production, pushing the shipment of the first batch for about one month from the end of June to the end of July, with a certain risk of units in early August. This is likely to push July’s bulk shipments into August. We plan to get the dates we have linked to in August, but there is some risk that the last batches of August will move into early September. We do not expect the late production start to extend beyond August. We don’t like to delay any product, but we want to make sure that the Framework Laptop 13 Pro is as strong and reliable as possible. If the new shipping time does not work for you, your pre-order deposit will be refunded in full. We will continue to keep you updated as we complete validation, ramp up production, and begin shipping batches. In the meantime, we will start shipping the new Intel Core Ultra Series 3 Mainboards on time to customers who pre-ordered them, and start introducing some modules without a touchpad or display.
Haptic Touchpad Production
For the haptic touchpad, our goal from the beginning was the perfection of the full user experience. The first answer we see in it practical testing at our launch event and at Computex shows that we get that right. This required tight integration and iteration throughout the mechanical, electrical, and firmware design. In the firmware in particular, we have gone through many internal releases fine-tuning the haptic experience and force matching and solving cases in touching and clicking behavior. Throughout development over the past year, we’ve found and resolved a range of firmware bugs and nits to achieve full reliability.
Over the past few months, we’ve experienced false positives that started randomly on some units that would result in the touchpad resetting itself after multiple clicks. Working with our suppliers Lite-On and Boréas, we found an electrical problem in the PCB design regarding the grounding that we believe was the cause, and pre-ordered a new PCB spin to be made to solve it. In parallel, we identified firmware changes that we believed would alleviate the problem in the original PCB design. As we started the production ramp with the original PCB, we found that the modules with the firmware changes were still showing the failure mode, and at a higher rate than we saw during the build. As a result, we have put production on hold to wait for the new PCB, which will be used in all shipments. We put together the first samples of these and decided they solved the problem. We are now completing a full validation to ensure that there are no further delays (this includes a range of tests such as 200,000 consecutive clicks), and we have started to produce mass production quantities before doing everything to speed up the system. New modules arrive from our haptic touchpad supplier to our final assembly factory in mid-July. We’ve started producing some sub-assemblies at the moment, so we’ll be able to assemble, test, and release laptops quickly.
Show production
Similar to the touchpad issue, as we began mass production of the new display, we encountered a bug that resulted in the panel not booting on one unit. Our demo provider, CSOT root caused the problem and found that it was an edge case related to some startup parameters. We worked with CSOT on the updated firmware for the display that is now going into production. We expect the production and delivery of the updated panels to fit within the schedule of the haptic touchpad module, so this will not affect our laptop schedule. It does however affect pre-orders for the new display, as shipments now start in July instead of June.
Mainboard shipment
Finally, as noted earlier, we will be starting to ship the new Framework Laptop 13 Pro Mainboard with Intel Core Ultra Series 3 in time for June. We usually start shipping pre-orders around the time press reviews go live on a new product, so you can check the results of the review and decide whether to keep your pre-order. However, the Framework Laptop 13 Pro full system press review will now be in July. This means that for Mainboard at the moment, you will need to rely on write-ups and videos that have gone live so far, as well as general reviews of Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors.
Another update we have on the Mainboard is to resolve the feedback we received from previous orders regarding LPCAMM2 memory availability. There are very few retail options where you can purchase an LPCAMM2 to use with your Mainboard, so if you would like to modify an existing Mainboard pre-order to include the memory, you can contact our Support team and make an update. Note that if your Mainboard is in the June batch, adding the LPCAMM2 to the order now may delay shipping. In the future, we will implement a bundle that will allow pre-order Mainboard customers to select the memory next to their pre-order Mainboard.
We apologize for the delay in the release of Framework Laptop 13 Pro. Pro’s mission is to increase the performance, development, and durability of Framework Laptop 13, and we want to make sure that the final product lives up to that. We will continue to keep you updated as we move into the revised mass production process, and we look forward to repairing consumer electronics with you.
The Framework Team
