Framework CEO claims 240W USB-C powered chargers will soon be here. The company just recently announced a 180W USB-C charger for its laptop 16 and has stated that we are about to max out the spec.
Framework 240W USB-C Powered Chargers
USB-C is reportedly ready to finally go all the way to 240 watts of power, enough for all but the beefiest gaming notebooks in the game. But though the cables broke cover in the previous year, actual devices have been 100 watts short, as the 16-inch MacBook Pro and its compatible chargers have topped out at 140W per port.
And right now, Framework is taking us to 180 watts, and the CEO now expects 240-watt chargers right around the corner.
The modular laptop company today revealed that it will start to ship its upcoming Framework Laptop 16 with the first 180W USB-C PD 3.1 charger that we have ever heard of, which is developed in partnership with Chicony. The device in question is only twice the size of its 60W power adapter at 116.6 x 58.2 x 27mm, but it however comes with three times the juice and the two-meter USB-C cable is still detachable despite all of it.
But that however does not mean that the Framework Laptop 16 is a 180W laptop. The company has stated that at maximum performance, with a detachable discrete GPU module installed, the laptop will actually draw from the battery as well as this 180W wall adapter, and in a bid to avoid that, you would have to plug in one of the 240W USB PD chargers that Framework expects will be arriving soon from third parties.
The CEOs Statement to The Verge
“We haven’t seen other 180W and 240W USB-PD 3.1 power adapters announced yet, but since the silicon to enable these is now available, we anticipate peripheral brands launching these soon,” Framework founder and CEO Nirav Patel reveals to The Verge.
The company has stated that it uses Weltrend WT6676F, ON Semi NCP1622, and JoulWatt JW1556 controllers, as well as GaN switching parts from both GaN Systems and Navitas on the other hand thus “peaking at an amazing 93% efficiency” for this 180W adapter. Both of those parts and Chicony’s assistance as a power supply manufacturer are obviously there for other companies to make use of as well.
USB-C PD Is Not the Only Place Where Framework Is Pushing With the Laptop 16
I kind of wonder if all of this will push other PC makers to go faster. And while we have seen proprietary 240W and even 300W solutions for fast-charging phones, 240W USB-C laptops were a no-show at CES and Computex from what I have heard so far. This very new MSI Creator Prestige will apparently go to 140W, but it is a year and a half after Apple already did so.
You should also know that USB-C PD is not the only place where Framework is pushing with the Laptop 16. The company is also trying to bring back snap-on removable extended batteries, all manner of modular keyboard deck parts, as well as the aforementioned detachable GPU modules.
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