I got my hands on Framework's 'MacBook Pro for Linux users' and its tagline isn't just marketing hyperbole

I caught up with Framework CEO, Nirav Patel at Computex this week, and got my hands on the new Framework 13 Pro for the first time. I’ve been eager to get hold of what it calls ‘the MacBook Pro for Linux users’ since it was first announced and, while we’ll have to wait just a little longer for our review sample to arrive, my first impression is that it’s everything you’d want a premium Framework 13 to be.

And everything about that Apple-baiting tagline makes even more sense now I’ve got to touch the device and talk about exactly what Patel means by it. Though I’m super-excited to get the 13 Pro in and start throwing some games at the Panther Lake Core Ultra 7 and its integrated B390 GPU core, obviously the target is not specifically gamers, it’s software developers.

And, more precisely, the volume of software developers Framework has been talking to who are growing increasingly frustrated at the Mac operating system. Nirav Patel explains that the Linux operating system is the preferred platform for software developers, but the struggle has been that folk coming over from Apple hardware don’t want to give up on the feel of that hardware.

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Part of it is the premium chassis, and Framework has absolutely nailed that with the new black anodised aluminium surrounds it has created for the Framework 13 Pro. I’ve been using the standard 13-incher for years, and the laptop chassis is fine, but you wouldn’t call it premium. The 13 Pro, however, feels incredibly solid, sturdy, and serious very much like a MacBook or the Razer Blade I’m typing on right now.

Framework hasn’t given up any of the repairability, nor has it lost the compatibility, either. You could fit this shell around any Framework 13 device from the past five years or so.

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Framework 13 Pro laptop — (Image credit: Future)

But one of the key things for Patel has been the introduction of the haptic touchpad. He notes that while it might not be a huge thing for PC folk shifting over to the 13 Pro, for MacBook users he saw it as essential to making that shift as smooth as possible for those who want to move away from MacOS but don’t want to change how their machines feel to use. They want to be able to touch any part of the trackpad to actuate a click and that’s exactly what the new trackpad enables.

The Framework 13 Pro releases later this month, and already the preloaded Linux versions are outselling the Windows options in the pre-orders. “It’s actually outselling the Windows configuration,” Patel tells me, “which is crazy to see.”