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Discussion Sentiment
85% Positive
Analyzed from 3674 words in the discussion.
Trending Topics
#reform#mnt#more#open#pocket#https#laptop#hardware#thing#next
Discussion (114 Comments)Read Original on HackerNews
I should really write up a long-term review of this thing at some point, but overall I love it. It can be a bit rough around the edges at times, but it's also the coziest little machine I've used in a long time. (And seriously, having a mechanical keyboard in this form factor is great.)
I hope to keep using it long into the future, and the fact that it's open hardware (and that the batteries are standard off-the-shelf pouch cells, or 18650s for the full-size Reform) gives me hope that I will be able to.
I often think "I should get me one of those" (MNT Pocket, or similar form-factor), but with my visual acuity getting worse (got my reading glasses in the past year), my X1 carbon might just remain my mainstay.
I think for me it helped that none of the keys are odd shapes and sizes too. The arrow keys for example are the same size as all the others, unlike some (even larger!) laptops.
It has rough edges but its very usable , especially for somone inclined to hack on their devices. My main trouble being my yearning to use Alpine on it but not quite having the know how personally to get it up and running.
I like it enough though, that I've also got the Next ordered, which I'm very excited for. Being able to upgrade them both more or less ad-infinitum while new boards come out is a big plus too.
It doesn't seem either present- or future-secure to have only USB-A ports.
The MNT Reform Next that’s scheduled to be fulfilled this year has a much more modern port layout:
https://www.crowdsupply.com/mnt/mnt-reform-next
I'd go for a framework using the Roma or CIX boards if I wanted to go for an "open hardware but not really" goal.
RK3588 is "almost" open. It boots with mainline u-boot and device tree from the Linux kernel, but needs two blobs: the DDR training blob and the trustzone blob (BL31). It can run without a TEE OS. I recently heard that the BL31 is now open source, but I didn't look into it. Mainline kernel has support for everything, including 3d (panthor driver) and video codecs acceleration (you find it in the v4l submenu). Mainline Mesa driver (panfrost) also works, but... not great - it stutters/freezes when I move the mouse.
framework stuff is generally neither open hardware nor open software, intel and AMD don't permit it
Recent Linux kernels are feasible. I'm using mostly stock Debian.
I use one as a Jellyfin/Plex/Immich/NAS server thing. Jellyfin is able to use the GPU for video decode. It works really well.
The other one is in mini-ITX form factor and I use it as a local Forgejo runner for CI jobs, and some other things.
I've managed to get a fork of Llama.cpp running that uses the NPU in these devices to (modestly) run LLMs, even. No real advantage, but neat.
I am satisfied enough that I've put an order in for the Next from these guys. Which would bring the number of RK3588 devices in the house to 3.
I'm wondering what they'll do to replace it. You can still buy the IQS550 chip it's based on and apparently make a very similar PCB. [4] The black frosted glass seems like more of a challenge for most DIY keyboard makers, maybe not for MNT. The replacement project I saw recommended "2mm thick matte acrylic".
[edit: or maybe the TPS65 manufacturing restarted? mouser apparently has it in stock. [5] although that's the A unit without the surface.]
[1] https://shop.mntre.com/products/mnt-reform-capacitive-trackp...
[2] https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/azoteq-pty-ltd/TP...
[3] https://mm.digikey.com/Volume0/opasdata/d220001/medias/docus...
[4] https://github.com/geek-rabb1t/GR-Trackpad65
[5] https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Azoteq/TPS65-201A-S?qs=...
Not sure if that will be directly compatible with the MNT Reform classic discussed here though.
https://www.clockworkpi.com/home-uconsole is another great example of a machine I've seen people mod into all manner of special-purpose device that wouldn't work as well with a used business laptop.
I agree, it's probably a better idea to stick to something that was sold in high volume - if only for replacement parts down the road. If one really needs low power, an older M series Mac would also suit the bill (sacrificing many of the other benefits of course).
Its over engineered in some ways and woefully under engineered in others. Any real effort in making it more performant or trying to extend it's life will just generate more additional ewaste than it will save by just reusing existing hardware.
The motherboard is modular and the compute part of this is replaceable, it's sort of the whole point.
The modules are mostly compatible between all of their products: MNT Reform, MNT Pocket Reform that are available now and the future MNT Reform Next (a more streamlined laptop) and the MNT Station (mini desktop pc).
Also there's a user story out there where a laptop is a mobile terminal and the actual processing power happens remotely in the cloud. With modern agentic workflows and how fast they're changing it makes sense to optimize for longevity on the client hardware.
Eventually those Thinkpads will run/wear out. The hardware designs for a [pretty much a Thinkpad] will be a good thing to have then. Let rich nerds looking for bragging rights support development for the future; call them patrons.
Also, they will sell 6 of these, it's not an environmental concern in any way.
for instance, some intel cpus with ME could be hacked from both built in ethernet and wireless OUT OF BAND. The ME was accessible in commercial laptops, but since it was not "supported" the end user had no way of even disabling it.
I love the concept and might just buy one to support the project, but I want something sleeker for my daily use. So I'm considering slimbook & tuxedo atm as buy-from-eu options.
https://www.crowdsupply.com/mnt/mnt-reform-next
Price aside, most just won't be very nice.
The trackball stays out of the way very nicely when you don't need it and it uses a lot less space than a trackpad would.
But for mine I really would prefer to wait for the RK3668. My past experience with the current soc is that it's a tad too slow for many cases.
MNT's devices are honestly kinda incredible. I can't recommend them for everyone yet, though that will change soon. Both of them are a kind of "laptop of theseus"; you can open and change and repair them, and honestly I have. Both device's guts are dramatically different than where they started, but changes happened piecemeal.
The Pocket Reform is an incredibly cute device. I can't pull it out anywhere without people fawning over it. Not even just hackers! It's an open hardware cyberdeck you can use as your main device. What's not to love?
The MNT Reform Next will be closer to what many people want out of a laptop. It'll still be chonkier than a normal laptop. But again, these things are incredibly upgradeable and hackable.
Now for the caveats: for most people, I would wait until the MNT Quasar module comes out. The reason being is that while the current "best" module, the RK3588, is honestly pretty good with the 32gb version, it lacks one critical thing for most people and one other critical thing for me in particular. The first thing it lacks is support for suspend. Honestly, it does make working with a tiny computer like this a bit less appealing than the Pocket Reform's form factor could be, since what you really want to do is just be putting it to sleep and taking it out everywhere. The other thing is that Blender doesn't really run on the rk3588 either. You can kind of get a patched version working based on Lucie's patches, and I did, but it doesn't support the Eevee renderer, which is a must-have for me personally.
But the MNT Quasar board will be apparently fixing both of those above issues, and yes, at that point this will be a device that I can recommend generally. And I'll also note that I got the very first MNT Reform when it came out, and holy moly the state of the hardware now vs when it originally launched half a decade ago... it's hugely far between, but the amazing thing is that to get it up to the current state, I didn't need to throw things away, I could just open and tinker with things bit by bit.
In many ways, the MNT Pocket Reform reminds me of the book the main character has in the solarpunk book A Psalm for the Wild Built; a computer that is issued to you at the age of 16 and that which you carry with you for life. You can upgrade and repair it easily, but you don't need to throw it away.
So yeah, it's not for everyone. But if the idea of supporting repairable, upgradeable open hardware made by a lovely bunch of queers in Berlin sounds great? That you can hack on, that has a neat little community, that will be a conversation point amongst fellow hackers for its quirkiness? It's appealing to some, but not all.
Mostly I use it at university (studying psychology) for reading and annotating literature, writing papers using LaTeX, statistics in RStudio, and email, or at home whenever I'm not at my desktop PC and need something with a keyboard or otherwise more capable than my phone. Sometimes I'll take it with me on a trip in case I want to do some writing while traveling.
It sure is a conversation starter. I"m certainly "the lady with the cute cyberpunk-ish laptop" at uni now (I have the purple version)
Things I like:
- trackball: I wish more laptops came with that option these days. Love it - keyboard: I use a columnar layout on my desktop as well so the ortholinear one was very welcome and afaik the Pocket Reform is the only laptop available right now with such a layout. - case: it's chunky but very sturdy. I used to run a few MacBooks over the years and I always worried about their super-thin screen assemblies. I never worry about damaging my Pocket Reform when chucking it in a bag. This thing is really sturdy. - community support: whenever I had any issue, people on the user forum were quick to help and usually a solution was found very soon.
Things that could be better:
- battery life: I get about 4h on a full charge, which is fine. And I can easily get to 8h with a small USB-C powerbank. There's a guide on how to replace the battery cells with larger ones for about 8-10h of running time on the user forum but I haven't gotten around to trying that. Sounds promising though. - performance: the RK3588 is fast enough for most everyday tasks but it sure has its limits. I'm not going to edit my 50MP RAW photos on this machine.
Issues experienced:
- Debian unstable: by default the device ships with Debian unstable (sid) which has caused a lot of issues for me early on, just software breaking a lot. However there's a really good community project providing stable (Trixie) images for Reform laptops and since switching to that it's been smooth sailing. - some battery charging inconsistency: might be related to an early revision of the charging board and I'll probably switch it out for a newer one soon.
Who is this device for?
I'd day it's definitely an enthusiast device. If I just needed a laptop, then yes, I could have gotten an old Thinkpad or a Framework or even a Macbook Air for less money as others have commented, but I think open-hardware projects like MNT Reform are important. That's why I joined the early crowdfunding for the Pocket laptop.
I like that I can actually repair this thing when necessary, upgrade components (like I've already did with the RK3588 CPU), that Linux is the "original" OS for this and not an afterthought, that I can talk to the people designing it (I've personally been to their workshop in Berlin) and contribute things myself.
Knowing Linux basics is certainly helpful too. I would not want to throw a Windows/Mac user with no UNIX terminal experience into the deep end, especially not when running Debian unstable.
It's a nerdy and unique machine for people who are fine with some level of tinkering and I really like it. No other laptop feels like this to use and that's hard to express in specs.
I'd love to drop $1700 on a Pocket Reform, it's far more appealing than a GPD Pocket 4, but what makes it hard to justify is knowing I'm just buying into another system hampered by the critical flaw of being an ARM SoC. Even though they're tantalizing as a super-luxury boutique computer, overbuilt and absolutely lovely, at the end of the day I simply can't overlook the awful ARM experience it brings with it.
https://web.archive.org/web/20260421151811/https://mnt.stanl...