Now Framework takes us to 180 watts – and the CEO expects 240 watt chargers around the corner.
Today, the modular laptop company revealed that it will be shipping its upcoming Framework Laptop 16 with the first 180W USB-C PD 3.1 charger we’ve ever heard of, developed in partnership with Chicony. It’s only twice the size of its 60W AC adapter at 116.6 x 58.2 x 27mm, but with three times the juice, and the two-meter USB-C cable is still detachable despite that.
But that doesn’t mean the Framework Laptop 16 is a 180W laptop. The company claims that at maximum performance, with a removable discrete GPU module installed, it will actually draw battery power as well as that wall adapter from 180W – to avoid this you need to plug in one of the 240W USB PD chargers that Framework provides. coming soon from third parties.
“The silicon to activate them is now available.”
“We have yet to see other 180W and 240W USB-PD 3.1 power adapters announced, but as the silicon to enable them is now available, we expect device brands to launch them soon,” said Framework Founder and CEO Nirav Patel. The edge.
The company says it uses Weltrend WT6676F, ON Semi NCP1622, and JoulWatt JW1556 controllers, as well as GaN switching parts from GaN Systems and Navitas “achieving an incredible 93% efficiency” for this 180W adapter. These parts and the support of Chicony as a power supply manufacturer are obviously there so that other companies can also use them.
I wonder if this will push other PC manufacturers to go faster. While we’ve seen proprietary 240W and even 300W solutions for fast-charging phones, 240W USB-C laptops were absent at CES and Computex from what I heard. This new MSI Creator Prestige will apparently upgrade to 140W, but that’s a year and a half after Apple already did.
