I apologise if this is the wrong community to post this in, I wasn’t sure which one was ideal.
I’m suffering a difficult decision of choosing between a Framework laptop or a Macbook Air (M1, 2020). I really like the ethical principles of Framework, i.e. you actually own it and can repair it any time, leading to an increased longevity. At the same time, I have heard people claim Macbook is superior in almost all aspects (especially battery life).
I know both Apple and Microsoft are greedy CorpGiants, but seeing as I have an iPhone, I figure it would be easier using a Mac? But then again, the prices really are not worth it, especially considering it costs a lot to repair them. I have 0 experience with Linux, and this computer will be used at school, so I suppose it stands between macOS and Windows.
I guess I just want some advice? Or some guidance and comparisons. Is 8GB enough for a Framework laptop? The 16GB version costs nearly as much as the Mac I’m looking at, hence my hesitance. If anybody has some experience using Framework and / or Macbook, I would love to hear about it. What are some pros and cons? Which people are better off with FW and Mac respectively?
Thank you!
*Edit, forgot to mention: I need a Swedish keyboard on the computer, and Framework apparently only offers English. This is the largest obstacle preventing me from leaning towards FW.
8GB is not enough memory these days. But you can always add memory later.
Not for the MacBook, it’s soldered in. So he will have to upgrade the whole thing. The M1 is one of the best laptops I’ve used (for work), but you have to choose the right specs at the beginning, otherwise you will be in a pickle.
You can always upgrade the memory, and storage of the framework laptop, so you can start with the 8GB and then pick up more pretty cheap later.
One of the best things about the framework is that you don’t have to pay for a package upgrade of parts if all you need is just one thing to upgrade.
Also, when you do need to update something, you can just get a new motherboard and memory, and not have to buy a whole new laptop.
Honestly, just get the framework, unless there’s a real reason you need a Mac.
Thanks for this comment! Everybody on Reddit says to get Macbook instead of Framework, so it’s nice to have some differing opinions.
If you want to be the “cool guy” then macbook is your choice, it will cost more and repair is risky to be done by anyone except apple himself.
If you want to have a laptop, that is easy to repair,upgrade and is cheap but powerfull then Framework laptop.
On macbook you are locked into apple, you cant upgrade, you can only get support by apple and most of the time third party stuff doesnt work right on macbook. On Framework laptop you are more open to do anything, like upgrading, switching OS if windows isnt right for you. Framework is a lot more open and listens to the community.
I wouldn’t call the Framework “cheap”. Its price is higher than other similarly-specced laptops. But in the long term you can save money by not having to buy a whole new laptop when it breaks or becomes obsolete. You can even take your old mainboard out and repurpose it as something else.
The MacBook is expensive to buy and has no upgrade path. macOS is sleek and well-designed and the M1/2/3 is a very capable CPU but saving money is not a thing you can expect to do here.
Both are reasonable choices depending on what your use case is.
I have the m1 macbook air, and its wonderfully performant and long battery life for how I use it… mostly just word-processing and web-browsing.
But the repair concerns are legit, when I decided to get the macbook, I decided I was going to play apples game and opted to get their service plan. I’ve had apple care+ on a tablet before and their service is great when you don’t have to pay their ridiculous repair fees. So at a rate of $100 per year, I’m essentially leasing my laptop after I bought it. I have it automatically backed up to my home server, in the event that one of their stupid engineering designs destroys my data (See Louis Rossmann videos).
Idk if I’d ever really recommend anyone get a macbook if they don’t need to, personally, the battery life and standby time are just killer features for me. I have ADHD, and frequently forget to charge my laptop… if I’m not on my meds and I pick up my laptop to do something and its dead… I’m not going to do that thing. With the macbook, I make next to no conscious effort to keep it charged. If it’s under ~20% and I happen to be near a charger, I’ll charge it. And thats the extent of me managing the battery.
My wife on the other hand, her windows machine (and most seem to have this problem as I understand) is always dead. She’s resorted to putting it into full hybernation mode (significantly slower to wake up) and even then, it somehow seems to still lose quite a bit of battery in between uses.
Aside from that, its light, small, its sturdy. I use windows for work and for gaming on my desktop, so I’ve got not strong aversion to it, its pretty much just the battery life and standby thats the killer feature for me. So… yeah, thats my take. If the battery situation isn’t a big deal for you, go for the framework. They seem like a solid company, making solid laptops, that are easily and affordably repairable and upgradable.
But the repair concerns are legit
Speaking as someone who has disassembled multiple Macbook Airs from multiple generations: Fuck working on Macbook Airs, and Macs in general.
I personally will never buy an Apple product at any price for any purpose, for a multitude of reasons. My preferences aside, if you ever want to work on your own machine Apple is objectively the wrong answer. OP is really looking at two machines that are on complete opposite ends of the spectrum, here.
Do people really do home repair or upgraded on laptops in 2024 though? Desktops sure, but I haven’t found laptops to be particularly amenable to home upgrade since the early 2000s.
Funny, I was just watching something about framework! It’s got some discussion of various framework reviews and the pros and cons of the machine.
https://www.youtube.com/live/KDIXNRgnDWQ/?t=21m49s
With framework being a new company, looks like they’re working out some bugs, but they’re doing it quickly and transparently. The laptop costs more per performance than other options, but since you can upgrade it down the line, you can save money in the long run.
Compared to a MacBook, it really depends on the applications you use. Video editing is likely going to be better on mac, but good luck trying to game on it. Mac has better battery life, but you’ll pay an arm and a leg to repair anything, sometimes being cheaper to buy a whole new machine than pay their exorbitant prices.
So it all depends on the use case, but I’d go with framework. I care that the company isn’t adversarial, and it would work for what I use a laptop for.
My place of work uses macs at work, I like them though I’m fairly platform agnostic. I have windows PCs for home theater use, and Linux laptops for personal use. I like macbooks but loath the complete lack of upgradability. We have so many old macs that just get scrapped. PCs are no different, but this is my workplace. If you have to buy a laptop, buy a used one and wipe it or buy a framework. Framework laptops should be upgradable for close to a decade by their vision. That’s without third party support. Support a vision for a consumer rights future or buy used IMO.
