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Upgradeable and modular laptops aren’t a new invention but it’s perhaps fair to say that only Framework has really managed to do it well. And that’s possibly why one of the largest notebook manufacturers in the world has decided to get in on the action, with its own modular project called Adapt X.
The company in question is Compal Electronics and before I go any further, it’s worth noting that Compal itself hasn’t publicly announced anything about the project. In fact, what little information we have about Adapt X comes entirely from the iF Design Foundation (via Videocardz).
What Compal seems to be working on might seem to have the same goal as Framework, but it’s being approached from a different angle. By that, I mean having a base laptop that you can change or upgrade different elements of, without having to buy a whole new laptop.
The starting point is the display, which comes in one of two choices: 14-inch or 16-inch. The screen is fixed to what looks to be a metal frame that acts as a hub to which you attach everything else.
The iF Design page describes it with a little more creativity than I have: “Featuring a 14″ and 16″ display with Type-C interfaces and a Functional HUB, Adapt X supports everyday computing and high-performance AI tasks through expanded IO ports and modular AI units.”
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That suggests that the ‘Functional HUB’ contains the CPU, SSD, RAM, etc and uses USB to connect the keyboard and expansion port modules. However, in the image for the 14-inch display, the hub looks substantially smaller than that for the 16-inch. So much so that there doesn’t seem to be any room for any main processing chips, memory, or storage.
So does that mean the keyboard module has all of these parts? Well if it does, the Adapt X doesn’t strike me as being as modular as a Framework 16, for example, as one can change the keyboard, number pad, trackpad, and GPU all separately from the central processor. And just what Compal is referring to with ‘modular AI units’ is anyone’s guess—external GPU? Proprietary NPU module? Who knows but my curiosity is certainly piqued.
Compal’s 14-inch version also seems less modular than the 16-inch, though. If one looks closely at the images, the former appears to have three Type-C ports in the hub to add components with, whereas the latter offers four.
That all said, it would be unfair to pass any judgement on the Adapt X without further information, not least of which is the price. As it’s such a large company, Compal may well be able to launch the Adapt X with a much lower price tag than the Framework and even if it’s far less modular, the cost is appropriate, it might be a good choice for someone looking to keep a laptop going for as many years as possible.
However, Compal will officially announce the project fairly soon and once it does, we can properly judge just how modular it is and whether it’ll be worth considering. At the very least, it’ll be great to have more competition in the upgradeable laptop market.
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Kurt Indovina
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