Modular Laptops Deserve BIOS Updates Too!
Ars Technica has been closely following Framework’s products since they were first announced, and have enjoyed their modular design as well as the ability to upgrade the laptop as new parts become available. The job they’ve done on the hardware is good and getting better every generation, but it is overshadowed the software, which many reviews don’t mention. Ars noticed that their Framework 13 laptop had gone years with nary a driver nor BIOS update and reached out to the company to enquire as to what was going on. They were also curious about the state of Linux support and several other features Framework has promised they were going to release.
They spoke to Framework CEO Nirav Patel, a good sign as he was willing to talk but also an indication of the root cause of the delays. Framework is a small company with few employees and no internal driver development team; they depend on their hardware suppliers for updates. The problem is that neither Intel nor AMD were providing those updates, nor was Compal, the white-box PC manufacturing company who provides their other modular components.
This is changing, Compal now has a dedicated team who will ensure that updates are provided in a timely manner; not just for new models either, they will be providing updates for all Framework laptop models back to the beginning in 2021. There is one exception, but apart from the 12th-gen Intel Core version of the Laptop 13 you should expect to see both security and feature updates start to be released.
All you want to know about Framework’s software updates can be found here.
