April 22, 2026
Framework used to be the one company that actually had our backs. The premise was simple: buy a laptop, and when it gets old, swap the parts like a desktop PC. Well, with the release of the new Framework 13 PRO (Intel Ultra 3), they just dropped a bombshell that has the tech community reaching for their pitchforks.
They ditched classic SODIMM memory modules. You know, the normal RAM sticks you could find cheap literally everywhere. Instead, they are using LPCAMM2.
The internet is screaming that Framework "killed" repairability and shoved a proprietary connector down our throats just to milk us dry. I completely get the frustration. It's infuriating that your drawer full of spare RAM sticks is now completely useless for this machine.
But let's be real about the technical specs here: LPCAMM2 is not some obscure Framework invention. It's a new, official JEDEC standard. Practically speaking, it's the only way they could give us massive LPDDR5x speeds (with low power draw) WITHOUT soldering the chips directly to the motherboard like Apple does with their god-awful "Unified Memory".
So no, they didn't kill repairability. You can still grab a screwdriver and swap the module out. The problem for us regular consumers is entirely different:
Zero Used Market: Because it's such a new standard, there is no second-hand market. You can't just hop on eBay and buy a 32GB kit for a quarter of the price from some kid who upgraded his rig.
Insane Pricing: Since it just hit mass production, an LPCAMM2 module costs an absolute fortune. You are trapped in a "premium" hardware ecosystem until other manufacturers flood the market and drive prices down.
Theoretically, it's a step forward for tech. Practically, right now, it's a massive headache. They replaced a universally accessible standard with one that drains your wallet from day one.
My advice? If you don't absolutely need the Intel Ultra 3 architecture, stick to the older generations with normal RAM. Let someone else pay the early adopter tax on this new innovation until the market stabilizes.
Check out the configs directly on their site (and weep at the prices): Framework 13 PRO.