Yeah, the cited source doesn't rea mentioned build quality. It's mostly software bugs, muffled speakers and fan noise.

None of that is build quality.

I would categorize the laptop not turning on for 2 weeks, poor speakers, fan noise, mushy/creaking keys, and weak hinge all to be part of build quality. And yes, software issues are also a problem.

We can argue about how subjective all of those points are, and if a single report has any merit on its own, but it was enough to disuade me from making the purchase.

If I could test the laptop locally before buying it, I would do that. Otherwise I don't want to risk it on a first gen product, since I _can_ wait for gen 2 and 3.

From the cited source:

> Build quality is clearly a step down from my old Thinkpad X1 Yoga. The hinge doesn't feel as strong, some keys are mushy/creaking and I'm skeptical my Framework will survive as many falls as my old laptop.

That is not the same as saying the build quality is poor though: it's clearly a comparative statement. "The Tesla Model S is cheaper than the Model X" does not imply "The Model S is cheap".

Replacing "Model S" in the sentence with a beat-up '97 Honda civic and it may be true, but there is not enough evidence contained in the sentence to support an absolute statement.

If a "hinge doesn't feel strong" and the keys are "mushy and creaky" that 100% indicates poor build quality.

Perhaps our individual thresholds for quality differ, but either one of those two statements are dealbreakers for me.

Our individual thresholds for quality differ, that's for sure, because my definition is "Was the object built well, considering it's constraints?" As an example,if something is made of plastic (or "polycarbonate"[1]), I expect it to flex to a degree, and it can still be very well made (e.g. old school Nokia phones had incredible build quality and industrial design)

1. I hate that plastic had to be re-branded in this manner because a small-but-vocal contingent decided it "feels cheap" on phones, or somehow lowers build-quality. This resulted in glass-backed phones which ironically had to be kept in plastic cases to take advantage of plastic's superior elasticity.

That is a very good point - I never thought of it that way. Old Nokia phones are indeed built incredibly well.

Perhaps and "build quality" and "premium feeling" need to be separated. I suspect I'm not the only one conflating the ideas.

The correct quote regarding the hinge is, "the hinge doesn't feel as strong". "as strong" doesn't mean it isn't strong. It means the original commenter doesn't think it is as strong as another hinge not that it isn't strong. Since there is no data regarding actual hinge performance this is a subjective and not an objective evaluation. Keyboard feel is also very subjective, so one person saying the keyboard is "mushy and creaky" holds no real value either.