Framework's Laptop 13 Pro DIY Edition now costs less than before, company lowers PCIe 5.0 SSD prices

Framework has lowered the price of its modular laptop, the Framework Laptop 13 Pro DIY Edition, by switching to cheaper PCIe 5.0 SSDs from ADATA. Users who pre-ordered the 500GB version will automatic... Read original →

Framework’s adoption of ADATA’s Mars 970 Plus—powered by Silicon Motion’s SM2508 controller from Taiwan, China—marks a strategic cost breakthrough in PCIe 5.0 SSD integration, accelerating mainstream adoption in thin-and-light laptops. This pressures Samsung and Western Digital to fast-track mid-tier PCIe 5.0 offerings or risk irrelevance in the modular PC segment. While current U.S.-EU export controls haven’t targeted consumer SSDs, overreliance on a single geographic node heightens supply chain fragility amid escalating tech decoupling. By countering Apple’s price hikes with automatic capacity upgrades and lower entry pricing, Framework leverages agile BOM optimization as a competitive moat. Over the next 12–24 months, Intel’s Lunar Lake and AMD’s Strix Point platforms—both standardizing PCIe 5.0 x2 storage lanes—will ignite a mid-range SSD price war, where brands with vertical integration will dominate the DIY laptop ecosystem.