Modular PCs and Edge AI Devices

A modular personal computer is built so you can swap parts instead of replacing the whole machine, and an edge artificial intelligence device runs some features on the gadget itself instead of sending everything away. Framework and Sharp are both pushing those ideas in new hardware announced or promoted in early April. (frame.work; tw.sharp) Framework now sells a desktop and multiple laptops built around repairable parts, replaceable modules, and do-it-yourself configurations. Its main site says the Desktop, Laptop 12, Laptop 13, and Laptop 16 are all designed to be upgraded, customized, and repaired, with parts sold through its marketplace. (frame.work) The newest pieces of that lineup arrived at Framework’s second-generation event on February 25, 2025, when the company introduced Framework Desktop, Framework Laptop 12, and a Ryzen Artificial Intelligence 300 Series version of Framework Laptop 13. Framework said the Desktop uses a standard Mini-ITX mainboard, standard fans, M.2 storage, front expansion-card slots, and support for Windows 11 and Linux distributions including Ubuntu and Fedora. (frame.work; frame.work) Framework has tied that hardware pitch directly to Linux and local artificial intelligence work. Its Linux pages say the company designed its computers for Linux from the start, and a March 2026 update said AMD had published guidance for clustering Framework Desktops to run very large models locally while keeping data and privacy under user control. (frame.work; frame.work) That approach answers a long-running complaint about consumer electronics: many laptops are hard to open, hard to repair, and easy to discard. Framework’s current site frames the alternative as “ownership that lasts,” and its recent sponsorship post says it is funding projects including Arch Linux and Xfce, linking the hardware business to the broader free-software ecosystem. (frame.work; frame.work) Sharp’s device tackles a different problem: how to make an artificial intelligence companion feel personal without turning every interaction into a constant trip to a faraway server. Sharp Taiwan said on April 8, 2026 that its Poketomo companion will launch in Taiwan on May 20, 2026, after first going on sale in Japan in late 2025. (tw.sharp) Sharp describes Poketomo as a conversational artificial intelligence character with long-term memory, emotion-sensing interaction, and a Traditional Chinese version tailored for Taiwan. The company said the product uses its own large language model and cloud memory technology, and that sales in Japan passed 10,000 units within three months of launch. (tw.sharp; design.sharp.co.jp) In plain terms, “edge” means the device handles part of the work nearby, like a calculator on your desk instead of a clerk in another city, while cloud memory stores ongoing context so the companion can remember earlier conversations. A Tech News Tube item summarizing the Taiwan launch said Sharp was pairing edge computing with private cloud storage to cut delay and strengthen privacy for consumer artificial intelligence devices. (technewstube.com; tw.sharp) The two products are aimed at different buyers, but they meet at the same pressure point in hardware: people want more control over machines that now carry more of their data. Framework is betting that replaceable parts and Linux support will sell computers, and Sharp is betting that a pocket companion with memory and localized language can make artificial intelligence feel less remote. (frame.work; frame.work; tw.sharp)