Every laptop I’ve ever owned I end up replacing because the battery capacity declines (for me, typically every 3-4 years) to the point that I’m afraid to charge it unsupervised.

So it’s not just initial battery life for me, which is about 8+ hours of average use on my new AMD 7840 FW (consisting mostly of web browsing, YouTube watching, and email lately) but when that battery capacity eventually worsens, I can just buy a new battery and easily replace it. To me, that’s a huge factor in its favor.

The screen housing seems a bit flimsy, if that makes sense. I grab a top corner to close the laptop and there is way more flex than I’m comfortable with. Instead, I have gotten in the habit of using the top center to close the laptop.

Like you, I initially didn’t like the 3:2 screen ratio but after just a couple days of using it, I like it FAR better than 16:9 for small form factor laptops and monitors. It is SO SO much more useful.

I’m Batch 4 for the FW13 AMD and just got the email that my batch is being prepared! Can’t wait!

So my reasoning for going with the FW? I’m completely behind the idea of self repair. Just want a laptop that I can easily replace components and upgrade without tossing the whole thing away. ALSO, when I upgrade the main board some years down the line, I can put the old board to use. Make an HTPC or a dedicated emulation PC. Or maybe sell it? I don’t know, but it won’t go to waste.

My old laptop actually still suits me well but the battery is dying. It’s about 4 years old and can’t hold a charge. I’m genuinely afraid that continuing to charge it is putting myself in danger of a fire hazard. If swapping out the battery was quick and easy, I would get a new one and continue using it. Now is the time to stop that cycle of a ditching an entire laptop to replace one component.