I hear this a lot but in my experience the Framework is often in the same range and sometimes slightly cheaper. Right now a framework with i7-1360P and 16GB Ram is $1469. An X1 carbon with a (slightly slower) cpu is $400 more. Ryzen is similar. Not hating on Thinkpads but the Framework is a lot more competitive than you'll often hear and the upgradeability is obviously a massive financial incentive too.

For a new laptop, the initial cost is higher. But the idea is that future maintenance and upgrades would significantly lower the long-term cost of laptops. If a part breaks, you don't need to buy a new laptop, just that part. If a new CPU comes out that you want, just upgrade your mainboard for less than the cost of a new laptop.

This is definitely the biggest concern. Somewhat short battery life is also significant.

But it'll arrive with Linux and it'll work. You also don't have to spend a week googling wifi chips to see if they'll work.

I think their hardware is too expensive to justify an i3 model. The price difference between an i5 and an i3 is probably too small compared to the cost of the rest of their device.