Framework Adds 16-Inch Laptop Model With Attachable Discrete GPU

Upgradeable laptop maker Framework Computer is back with a larger 16-inch, high-performance model that can be modified with a discrete GPU. 

The San Francisco-based company today introduced the Framework Laptop 16, which is slated to start shipping late this year. It promises to offer greater customizability over Framework’s existing 13.5-inch Windows model by giving owners even more room to modify the product. 

“It’s powerful enough to play intense games, and flexible enough to be the product you exactly need it to be,” Framework CEO Nirav Patel said during a Thursday event. 

Framework Laptop 16
(Credit: Michael Kan)

Like the 13.5-inch model, the 16-inch product is fully customizable. But the real standout feature is the option to add a dedicated graphics chip to the laptop, turning it into a more powerful gaming rig. That's accomplished through a new “expansion bay system” found on the back of the laptop. 

“This enables high-performance, modular discrete graphics that can be upgraded independently of the rest of the laptop,” Patel said. Hence, a user can slap on a dedicated GPU module to add graphics rendering to the PC. 

The GPU on the back of the Framework Laptop 16
(Credit: Michael Kan)

In addition, the expansion bay on the 16-inch can also accommodate other “high-speed peripherals,” such as added SSD storage, AI accelerator chips, and extended batteries.  

Framework specifically designed the expansion system to avoid the pitfalls of past attempts to bring upgradeable GPUs to laptops. “Instead of burying the graphics card deep within the notebook, we’ve designed for as much flexibility as we could,” Patel said. “Expansion bay modules can expand in both depth and thickness, giving us immense flexibility to handle generational changes in mechanical, electrical, and thermal requirements for GPUs.”

The modular GPUs from Framework can even be used independently from a laptop to act as an external graphics card that can hook up to other PCs over a USB4 or Thunderbolt connection. “We’re showing a proof-of-concept today of an eGPU enclosure that you can drop graphics modules into to use them outside of the Framework laptop,” Patel said. 

The external eGPU enclosure concept.
(Credit: Michael Kan)

The 16-inch laptop’s other standout feature is the option to add a number pad next to the keyboard. Owners can shift the keyboard to the side and screw in a number pad. Or they can swap out the keyboard deck for other components, like a touch screen or an RGB keyboard. 

Framework Computer is inviting third-party developers to build their own creations by releasing open-source reference designs for the “input module system” on the 16-inch model. The company is doing the same for the expansion bay system. “We're so, so excited to see the insane, incredible things the community will come up with,” Patel added. 

The number pad on the Framework's keyboard.
(Credit: Michael Kan)

In addition, the 16-inch model includes room for three expansion cards on each side, for a total of six—up from four in the 13.5-inch model. However, the product has no built-in headphone jack. So buyers will have to instead slap on a headphone-jack expansion card, or they can ditch the headphone jack entirely.  

The company gave journalists a chance to look over an actual working model of the Framework Laptop 16. Unfortunately, none of us were allowed to touch it. But it’s clear the product takes the customization to the next level. Framework outfitted one 16-inch model with an RGB keyboard and a discrete GPU. The other was customized with a number pad.  

We didn't get pricing info for the Framework Laptop 16 or exact specs, such as the vendor for the GPU. But it looks like customers will be able to buy the product with a base mainboard that relies on an integrated GPU, or a mainboard that comes with a discrete GPU for additional graphics rendering. The company plans on kicking off pre-orders later this spring.