The Rise of RISC: The First Semi-Commercial RISC-V Laptop Will Arrive in 2025, According to Framework's CEO, Although It Doesn't Seem Ready for Mass Launch.
The laptop's motherboard will be manufactured by DeepComputing, a company dedicated to the development of RISC-V.
Framework, a manufacturer of modular laptops, has announced its intention to launch a RISC-V-based product in 2025. RISC-V is an open-source Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) standard, akin to what Linux represents in the software realm, being accessible and free. Although more tech companies are starting to adopt it, it has not yet achieved significant penetration in the mass market.
Developed in 2010 by the University of California, Berkeley, RISC-V has established itself as a customizable alternative to proprietary architectures like x86 and Arm. Its free licensing model allows manufacturers to design and modify processors without restrictions, leading to its use in multiple specialized applications. This year could mark a significant advance toward consumer adoption in the laptop space.
For RISC-V to position itself in the mass market, it needs to strengthen its presence in the laptop sector. In 2023, Hong Kong-based DeepComputing launched the first notebook with RISC-V, known as Roma, and in 2024 introduced the DC-Roma II model, which came with Ubuntu Linux pre-installed. Despite positive reviews regarding its open-source flexibility, its performance was not comparable to x86 and Arm alternatives. However, DeepComputing's CEO, Yuning Liang, stated that the upcoming DC-Roma III will close that gap, offering performance comparable to the Arm Cortex-A76.
To further interest in RISC-V development, DeepComputing is collaborating with Framework to create a RISC-V motherboard for the Framework Laptop 13. Nirav Patel, CEO of Framework, commented on the potential of RISC-V in consumer products, envisioning the possibility of laptops and even phones in the near future. Although still targeted at developers and early adopters, this laptop will be the most accessible and polished RISC-V model to date, maintaining the signature design of Framework laptops that use x86 processors.
Following the initial announcement in June 2024, Framework launched a product page for the RISC-V motherboard, although it is still a placeholder. However, DeepComputing's website provides more information, including images of the DC-Roma RISC-V motherboard for the Framework Laptop 13. The board incorporates a quad-core 64-bit RISC-V JH7110 processor and is compatible with Ubuntu Desktop 24.04 and Fedora 41.
Several players in the tech industry have already adopted RISC-V. Western Digital, for example, uses it in storage controllers. The British startup Blueshift Memory has developed its BlueFive processor based on an open-source RISC-V core, while the Chinese project XiangShan has presented two designs under this architecture. Additionally, Ubitium has designed a universal RISC-V processor that consolidates all computational workloads into a single accessible chip.
More details about the Framework Laptop 13 with RISC-V are expected to be revealed in the coming months. However, considering its current focus on developers and the still limited performance compared to established architectures like x86 and Arm, it is reasonable to conclude that while this advancement is significant for the architecture, RISC-V is still not ready for mass consumer adoption.
