Framework Laptop 16 upgrades make it look less like an unfinished prototype
When Framework releases a new laptop, it usually takes the opportunity to make further improvements to its designs. While its updates for the Framework Laptop 16 aren’t as big as the changes to the new Framework Laptop 13 Pro, they address a number of complaints and requests that will improve the look and function of the scalable workstation.
The Laptop 16 gets a new processor option, although it’s from the same Ryzen AI 300 chip family that Framework used when it updated in late 2025. The six-core Ryzen AI 5,340 option sits below the eight-core Ryzen AI 7,350 configuration and brings the Laptop 16’s current starting price down to $1,599 for a pre-built system or at $1,249 for a DIY edition (compared to $1,799 and $1,499, respectively). Continued increases in RAM or storage prices could eventually reduce or negate these savings, but they are available for now.
Most of the Laptop 16’s other improvements are primarily cosmetic. One is a new “Translucent Smoke Gray Bezel” option, which joins the existing black, orange, and lavender bezels.
Most importantly, the keyboard section and trackpad area are now offered as single pieces, rather than modular sections that you need to augment with additional modules or spacers to create a complete top case.
The one-piece keyboard and haptic touchpad modules will give the Laptop 16 a cleaner, more “finished” look.
Credit: Cadre
The one-piece keyboard and haptic touchpad modules will give the Laptop 16 a cleaner, more “finished” look.
Credit: Cadre
The original design was created primarily so that buyers could decide whether or not they wanted a number pad and, if they were using a number pad, how they wanted the trackpad to be centered. As a result, the keyboard and trackpad required a total of five or six different parts, giving it an unfinished, prototype look that might be an acquired taste.
The new one-piece keyboard and one-piece trackpad modules help solve this problem, at least for people happy with a keyboard without a centered numpad and a centered trackpad. The trackpad module in particular gives the laptop a much cleaner look, given that (unlike the keyboard) its spacers could never be anything other than spacers, rather than number pads or customizable LEDs.
