I bought it with the 11th gen board before the 16 existed but now they have me completely hooked on the ultralight super compact system. Hooked to the point that I'll sacrifice graphics settings to play games on it, which works surprisingly well IMO.
EDIT: Games work surprisingly well on the 7840U/780M, not the Intel 11th gen... they work very poorly on the old Intel.
I used Linux Mint Cinnamon on my Framework 13 using the 11th gen Intel and just recently upgraded it to the Ryzen 7840U. It works very well with both. For a nicer display scaling experience I recommend the 2880x1920 display.
In most laptops you can remove the WiFi/Bluetooth card if you are ok with a permanent solution.
Shave it. I did when mine started going and the maintenance is super easy. I'd never go back.
You’re welcome. I’m glad I could help.
I love mine I've had it over 2 years. It was a first-gen DIY Framework 13 and I ran into a faulty fan early on. I worked with their tech support and they sent a replacement fan under warranty. Took 5 minutes to put it in and all parts inside have QR codes that take you to the marketplace for replacements and repair instructions.
They do have official Linux support for Ubuntu and Fedora. I can attest to Linux Mint working well on it although I don't use the fingerprint reader, which I've read has some issues on some distros.
As for upgradability, I've not needed to yet but you can just order a new motherboard and any other parts off their marketplace and drop it straight in. Should take around 20 minutes or so. I suspect this would take longer on the 16 since it is more complex.
Also, here is a link to the marketplace if you want to browse the parts. I think you could build one from scratch from here, but I think it would cost more that way. https://frame.work/marketplace
I'm aware of what CarPlay is. I use it in my aftermarket car stereo.
I just got to thinking... by "interface to the car itself" did you mean stuff like Bluetooth phone, steering wheel buttons, and backup cameras or is it more in-depth stuff like car settings and monitoring? I know the phone calls, steering wheel buttons, and backup cameras can be tied to aftermarket stereos. I'm not sure if they have figured out anything more yet or not.
I found this that supposedly fits your car and does wireless CarPlay, but unfortunately the cost and interface with the car itself is still going to be a problem. I do wish modern cars left the car interface, A/C controls, and stereo separate. This along with privacy concerns and reluctance to spend on a new car is what keeps me driving very old stuff.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_130DMT3800/Pioneer-DMH-WT3800NEX.html
You can change this in Settings > Camera > Formats > choose Most Compatible to change from HEIF/HEVC to JPEG/H.264
EDIT: I use XnViewMP to browse photos and it can convert HEIC to JPG and HandBrake can handle HEVC to MP4 or MKV.