Well, it's Framework we are talking about. My plan is to buy it because at some point of its lifecycle my Framework 12 motherboard will be used as a new node in my Homelab. :)

Obviously not. I've got a $300 WQHD monitor that has 1GB/s over USB-C with power delivery. MacBooks have 2GB/s WiFi.

For the niche enthusiast, that dongle is fine.

No one needs anything, but can and do I use more than 1Gbps from my laptop? Of course. 1Gbps is only ~125MB/sec transfer speed. When I’m copying large files to and from my home NAS, I often want more speed than that so a while ago I picked up a 2.5g adapter, later 5g, and now finally with these new chips a 10g adapter.

Same for my SFF PC which only came with 2.5g onboard and no extra slots because ITX and can now do 10g via the same USB adapter which is great.

Every laptop probably doesn’t, some laptops probably do.

Yes, I have 5Gbit symmetric fiber, why would I want to limit myself to less speed than that on my laptop? I regularly peak out my Internet connection while doing Steam downloads and OS updates.

Yours is an “edge device” but I am root, so mine is a portable tool for managing and testing the network that does not have working WiFi access points attached to it or obviously I would not be there.

And yes, some of those links are above 1gbps so that the users can have individual 1gbps links.

I like the modularity, but I'd feel better if it came with the "blanks" that just extends the inside USB-C port towards the outside.

I feel like things would not look like nickel-and-diming if those blanks came with the laptop, and they just priced them in the final price. Or even better, offered the option to "upgrade" one or several of those to whatever you need.

Framework’s single greatest marketing triumph is selling a $20 3.5 mm audio jack for a device that doesn’t have one but easily could (Framework 16) and somehow avoiding constant complaints/“so brave”/etc.

Aside from me just now, I guess :p