The Framework Laptop 12 was an almost instant hit when it launched, thanks to its whimsical, compact design and durable chassis, but there was always a bit of a perception amongst hardware enthusiasts that the small laptop wasn't a serious computer, thanks to its outdated 13th-Gen Intel CPUs. Now, Framework has just announced that the convertible laptop has received an update to Intel's latest Core Series 3 CPUs.

Following the update, the Framework 12 is available for pre-order with the Intel Core 3 304, Core 5 320, and Core 7 350 CPUs, delivering Intel's latest six-core (2× P-Cores, 4× E-Cores) CPUs. Unfortunately, there are still no versions with the Intel Core Ultra X7 358H or any with a proper Intel Arc B390 iGPU. That said, the Framework Laptop 12 also now ships with two Thunderbolt 4-capable USB Type-C ports in the two rear-most expansion bays, theoretically allowing for eGPU expansion or other Thunderbolt peripherals.

Framework claims that switching from an Intel Core i5-1334U to an Intel Core 5 320 increased battery life by 70% in a 4K Netflix video playback test. The Framework Laptop 12 also now includes a backlit keyboard, which comes standard with Core 5 and Core 7 pre-built Laptop 12s with Fedora, and the new keyboard features a programmable controller with ZMK firmware.

The rest of the internals are still a somewhat limited, with only one DDR5 SODIMM slot and RAM limited to 64 GB of DDR5-6400. The other two USB ports and expansion card slots are only USB 3.2 Gen 2, but all four expansion card slots support USB-PD.

Barebones versions of the Framework 12 start at $549 with the Core 3 304 CPU, while stepping up to the Core 5 320 brings the price up by $230 to $779, and the Core 7 350 adds $450, bringing the price to $999 without storage or RAM. Pre-built options start at $699 with the Core 3 CPU, 8 GB of RAM, and a 512 GB SSD, while the Fedora version of the Core 5 320 starts at $1,099 with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage, and the Core 7 350 version of the Laptop 12 with 32 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD starts at $1,399.

Batch 1 of the new Core Series 3 Framework Laptop 12 models is expected to start shipping in early October 2026.