Framework’s Laptop 13 Pro Is No MacBook, but It’s Making PCs Better for Everyone
Framework’s Laptop 13 Pro Is No MacBook, but It’s Making PCs Better for Everyone
Publish Date: 2026-04-22 12:40:00
Source Domain: gizmodo.com
Framework’s ultra-repairable PCs are, by their nature, open platforms. So it seemed strange for the company’s founder and CEO, Nirav Patel, to call its latest “Pro”-level Framework Laptop with its new choice of open-source OS “the MacBook Pro for Linux users.” Instead, you should see Framework as pushing the envelope of what we expect from PCs.
Sure, the Framework Laptop 13 Pro is supposed to offer a better build quality than the company’s past 13-inch laptops with a full CNC aluminum chassis and a new haptic trackpad. Whether it’s up to Apple’s standard is still to be determined. If the comparison is battery life, the Framework Laptop 13 Pro should be able to hit more than 20 hours in battery rundown tests, close to what Apple says you get on the latest M5 MacBook Pro.
The new Pro-level Framework uses the latest Intel Core Ultra Series 3 chips, which offer comparable longevity in laptops. But let’s be clear, the better comparison between Framework and other laptops is with today’s Windows PCs. The new Framework Laptop 13 Pro can come pre-loaded with the open-source Linux distribution Ubuntu instead of Windows 11. It’s a first of its kind outside of small boutique computers. And in that way, the Framework’s Pro model could make the PC landscape even better.
I’ve already heard from other companies who have talked about branching out with Linux-native devices. Steve Long, the head of the intelligent devices group at Lenovo, told Gizmodo earlier this year that he would “love for flavors of Linux to take off.” The problem, even for a company like Lenovo with the largest PC market share in the world, is a fear of taking risks. Patel said the new Framework Laptop 13 Pro won’t have any compatibility issues with Ubuntu. Framework could be the first to prove there’s demand for Linux devices—especially as Windows 11 and its AI integrations have proved so divisive.
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