Wait, you are saying that laptop (Librem 14 version 1) outside is already metal? For me it is enough, uni-body is not mandatory. I just want to clarify some things. Is the entire screen assembly metal? You already said, that lid is metal, but what about the keyboard facing side of the lid (the side, where is webcam)?
Maybe there is an option in the future to offer customers with optional glass screen option?
The (very small) bezel frame (in the industry called B-shell) is plastic and we did this on purpose too. In the L13 and L15 we had this in metal and this had a severe problem - serviceability. You can not remove the metal bezel frame without bending it irreversibly. You would need a new bezel frame afterwards. But the LCD connector and other parts are located underneath so if one of these breaks you would also have to replace the frame. That why we now decided for a small plastic frame. Effectively this makes no real difference, it is less than 1cm thin.
The A, C and D-shell are indeed metal, i.e. outside LCD lid, keyboard side and bottom cover. This is important for us for durability,
Concerning the glass on top of the LCD, why would you want that? I honestly fail to see the necessity or advantage. I only see disadvantages (as described) and driving up cost (optical bonding is pretty expensive).
Cheers
nicole
Appreciate the response around serviceability. Makes a lot of sense. One thing I do think is missing is higher-resolution screens (2K-4K).
Is there any likliehood of having a higher res screen option for the Librem 14?
Well, ATM we have 1080p (1920x1080). Higher screen resolution is feasible but displays are hard to source, 4k in 14" is not very common and our quantities are still too low to make our own (for that you would need several 10k per year). The other problem we have been debating a lot is what to do with such resolution then? If you would stick a 4k panel into 14" you need to scale the UI in order to be able to use it. So far only integer scaling has been possible with GNOME, i.e. either 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x etc. But at 14" your are sitting a bit in the middle when 1x would be too small for 14" and 2x too big. You would need fractional scaling like 1.5x or so. So for now we not have concrete plans to get higher resolution displays but that can change in the future. Firs we want to get the L14 out of the door as-is and then work on improving it 
Cheers
nicole
And hopefully āout the doorā will be soon!!!
Are address verification emails going out in the next week or two?
We all hope for that 
! Sourcing consumer electronics is a total pain right now, shortages everywhere, everything takes longer and it is extremely exhausting to manage through all of that. But we are pushing super hard! Like we mentioned in the last blog post, we are still hopeful to be able to start shipping in February, so yes, these mails will come kind of soon.
We will also shortly have another blog post coming up, we are now heads down in Embedded Controller (EC) firmware development! This is the first time we do this for a laptop of ours, which is super exciting! But also a steep learning curve But also super rewarding! The EC does so much stuff under the hood you, or at least I, want to get control over so this becomes this endless sea of opportunities We hope to get everything together and aligned with product arrival but since it took sooo long to get first EVT samples we are far behind with that EC firmware development but trying our very best, Matt and I are hacking away, the EVT sample already boots up with LCD and keyboard working with the free EC and Coreboot. Getting there Code will be shared soonā¦
Cheers
nicole
Does this also have a positive impact on antennae placement?
In the L13/L15s I have, WiFi range is really the lowest of all devices I ever had, but Iām not sure if itās because of the antennae / metal casing or a problem of the chip itself.
Glass gives more rigid feel. It makes the display harder and mitigates warping, when closing/opening lid. I think, that option to have it would not hurt anybody.
Oh, another thing. Is there any plans for 120hz screen? Before you say no, go to your nearest place where you can try out premium phones. Find Samsung Galaxy S20 (or S21) (or different phone with 120hz screen), then dig deep in settings and enable 120hz (smoothbrains at Samsung didnāt enable 120hz by default). Try 120hz for few minutes. Once you go 120hz, you donāt go back. It is like crack.
I have a few observations regarding laptop design. Metal cases do not automatically make laptops more durable and improve their life expectancy. The most durable laptops have plastic cases over metal frames. For example, look at the design of Thinkpad P-series with a magnesium-aluminum alloy structure frame and plastic case. In my experience, enterprise-class laptops (e.g. Lenovo Thinkpads, Dell Latitudes and HP Elitebooks) are more durable and more likely to last than Apple laptops, and they are certainly more repairable than Apple laptops.
Using CNC-milling to make cases from a block of aluminum like Apple does is a huge waste of resources and has a much higher environmental impact than using a plastic case. Making aluminum requires huge amounts of electricity (which is a problem if that energy comes from fossil fuels) and running the CNC milling machines is also very energy intensive compared to plastic manufacturing. Even if the waste from CNC milling is recycled and the case eventually gets recycled at the end of life, an aluminum case still generates significantly more CO2 than a plastic case. The general rule is that the longer an electronics device lasts, the lower its environmental impact, because roughly 80% of the total energy and total GHG emissions lie in the initial fabrication of electronics, so it is important to use electronics devices as long as possible to reduce their environmental impact.
Unlikely but maybe. The problem is more in the ATH9k side which is not the most performant, starting with the lack of 802.11ac support. But itās the only M.2 card we currently have available that does not require a firmware at runtime.
Cheers
nicole
Wouldnāt the Redpine Signals RS9116: 802.11 abgn 2.4GHz/5GHz from the Librem 5 work? Or is that not connected via m.2 on the Librem 5?
Actually, yes, it would! Because with the L14 we very intentionally wired not just USB and PCIe to the WiFi M.2 slot but also a UART and drumroll SDIO!
But the RS9116 does not have better performance than the ATH9k.
I am evaluating another chipset but this will still take some time. But if that works we will create a new M.2 card which embeds the firmware and this chipset and these cards will then work in the L5 and the laptops and support everything we want, also 802.11ac and BT5. But again, this will still take some time and a lot of effort and money 
Cheers
nicole
I gather that as we might eventually haveā¦
Which makes the the advantage ābetter performance / more modern standardsā, but still lacks a free firmware. Do you see any chance that a concerted effort can free up one of those things?
On a related note: On the Debian mailing list, they are currently discussing the problem of their default images not having the firmware needed to install net-installer images on WiFi-only laptops. I suggested a fundraiser to (eventually) have less of these problems, but there seems to be little enthusiasm towards freeing firmware 
There is definitely enough enthusiasm: https://www.pine64.org/2020/10/28/nutcracker-challenge-blob-free-wifi-ble/. Itās just hard I guess.
I thought the RS9116 was had open source firmware available?
If you wanna see how great Apple products are, check out Louis Rossmanās videos on the subject on YouTube/LBRY. Appleās so-called āunibodyā is two pieces of metal glued together, with glue that goes soft when heated. Sitting right next to the hot exhaust ports. And thatās just one example in a long list of design flaws you invite when you let your people design for looks rather than function and durability.
I much prefer a plastic laptop that I can take apart and replace the individual parts of. Plastic, because unlike metal, it doesnāt easily deform permanently. It may crack when mishandled, but then youād just replace that part and be done. With metal, when it deforms, it continually keeps applying stress to the electronics it holds. And thatās not something you want.
I totally agree with this.
The matte display is favorable to a reflective one. And the weight is also a very large concern. Those are the two most important things for me when i get a laptop. It needs to be light weight so i donāt get a back injury when carrying it and the screen needs to work in many environments. It wont do if you canāt work on your laptop in the train, because the view outside the train is reflecting in the screen. It might look nice when the laptop is turned off, but that is just not smart.
While I obviously agree, I can also see the point of glass + optical bonding, I have seen displays with it and yes, contrast and brightness is better, clearly, since of course the matte structure on the top glass of the LCD, by purpose, works against both. But weighing the options and having worked with a glare screen laptop for a while, well, no, sorry, I donāt like it. In a dark room itās great! Brilliant picture, great contrast, vibrant colors, it really makes a difference! But as soon as there are other light sources around you it quickly gets super annoying unless you crank up the screen brightness to compete with the other light sources - which of course has its limits.
For a work machine and especially a laptop I want to carry around into different environments I am also in favor of matte displays. And from experience I can also tell that we (at Purism) only see broken (cracked) displays very seldomly I also think that protecting the display with an additional glass is trying to solve a problem that does not exist.
So for now I am pretty happy with the choice of display we made for the L14 along with the increased brightness and pretty good color gamut it should be nice to work with.
Cheers
nicole