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Analysis heavily weighs how hard it is to take apart brands' laptops.

2/7/2024, 6:14 PM

 

 

 

Chromebooks and MacBooks are among the least repairable laptops around, according to an analysis that consumer advocacy group US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) shared this week. Apple and Google have long been criticized for selling devices that are deemed harder to repair than others. Worse, PIRG believes that the two companies are failing to make laptops easier to take apart and fix.

The "Failing the Fix (2024)" report released this week ePDF] is largely based on the repairability index scores required of laptops and some other electronics sold in France. However, the PIRG’s report weighs disassembly scores more than the other categories in France's index, like the availability and affordability of spare parts, “because we think this better reflects what consumers think a repairability score indicates and because the other categories can be country specific,” the report says.

PIRG's scores, like France’s repair index, also factor in the availability of repair documents and product-specific criteria (the PIRG’s report also looks at phones). For laptops, that criteria includes providing updates and the ability to reset software and firmware.

PIRG also docked companies for participating in trade groups that fight against right-to-repair legislation and if OEMs failed to “easily provide full information on how they calculated their products."

Chromebooks, MacBooks lag in repairability

PIRG examined 139 laptop models and concluded that Chromebooks, "while more affordable than other devices, continue to be less repairable than other laptops.” This was largely due to the laptops having a lower average disassembly score (14.9) than the other laptops (15.2).

The report looked at 10 Chromebooks from Acer, Asus, Dell, and HP and gave Chromebooks an average repair score of 6.3 compared to 7.0 for all other laptops. It said:

Both of these lower averages indicate that while often considered an affordable choice for individuals or schools, Chromebooks are on average less repairable than other laptops.

Google recently extended Chromebook support from eight years to 10 years. PIRG’s report doesn't factor in software support timelines, but even if it did, Chromebooks’ repairability score wouldn’t increase notably since the move only brought them to “industry norms,” Lucas Gutterman, Designed to Last campaign director for the US PIRG Education Fund, told me.

The Chromebooks PIRG considered for its report.
Enlarge / The Chromebooks PIRG considered for its report.

 

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I am not surprised they say this about the MacBook actually. With the M series chips, so much is integrated onto 1 chip on 1 board, there is little to repair. No drive to replace, no memory to replace or upgrade, no processor to swap out.  BUT, what they mean by repairable is questionable. On a Mac, the battery can still be replaced, the main board replaced if necessary, and the screen just like any other laptop. Should be fairly simple. There is just not a lot to fix. 

I’m not surprised with the findings.

For me, the biggest concern with some of these ‘Issues’ in the way they are building devices, doesn’t lie with repair-ability but upgrade-ability. Both in my professional and personal life I am more than happy to go off to the manufacturer when something fails on a device. But not being able to throw in a few more Gig of RAM or throw in a bigger (Or Second) SSD is the problem for me.

Professionally, I go with the Dell Latitude range as I have always found these easy to upgrade and work on, and the devices themselves are more than capable of whatever the business can throw at them.

 

It wont be long before a big manufacturer moves back to a more upgrade-able and fixable device to be carbon friendly and all that good stuff.

 

That said. I like the chromebook. When i break one, I throw it away and get a new one. Google has me covered!

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