Framework’s CEO on the RAM crisis and creating a “MacBook Pro for Linux users”
Interview with Framework CEO Nirav Patel <https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/04/frameworks-ceo-on-the-ram-crisis-and-creating-a-macbook-pro-for-linux-users/>. Framework, the maker of configurable laptops, is naturally a Linux-heavy, but not a Linux-exclusive, company: “... on Framework Laptop 13, we actually have slightly more Linux users than Windows users. It’s something like 55/45 [Linux versus Windows] on the 13. It varies on our different products. The [Framework Laptop] 16 is a bit more Windows heavy.” Also: The company is also trying to capture Mac users, which was one reason Framework shifted from a trackpad with a physical clicking mechanism to a haptic trackpad like the ones Apple has used in most MacBooks over the past decade. Yes, there are actually enough Mac users that want to switch to Framework machines, for this to matter. And the headline quote: “Increasingly over the last five years, especially software developers come in because they want Linux and they want it on hardware that supports it as a first-class experience,” Patel told Ars. “And so really a lot of the philosophy behind the [Framework Laptop 13] Pro was ‘let’s build essentially the MacBook Pro for Linux users. Let’s take the software that they want, the distro that they prefer, and then make sure that the hardware experience lives up to what they would expect coming from a MacBook Pro.’”
On Wed, 22 Apr 2026 09:39:44 +1200, I wrote:
Interview with Framework CEO Nirav Patel <https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/04/frameworks-ceo-on-the-ram-crisis-and-creating-a-macbook-pro-for-linux-users/>:
“And so really a lot of the philosophy behind the [Framework Laptop 13] Pro was ‘let’s build essentially the MacBook Pro for Linux users. Let’s take the software that they want, the distro that they prefer, and then make sure that the hardware experience lives up to what they would expect coming from a MacBook Pro.’”
This first-impressions article <https://www.zdnet.com/article/framework-laptop-13-pro-macbook-pro-for-linux-users/> includes one interesting titbit among its comments: It's priced accordingly, starting at $1,199 for the DIY version, $1,499 for the pre-built with Ubuntu, or $1,699 for the pre-built with Windows. In other words, it’s US$200 extra for the cost of Microsoft Windows.
participants (1)
-
Lawrence D'Oliveiro