Apple, Lenovo lead losers in laptop repairability analysis
Ars Technica 2025-02-20
Apple and Lenovo had the lowest laptop repairability scores in an analysis of recently released devices from consumer advocacy group US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Education Fund. While Apple's low marks are partially due the difficulty involved in disassembling MacBooks, Lenovo appears to be withholding information from shoppers deemed critical to right-to-repair legislation and accessibility.
The report, US PIRG's fourth annual “Failing the Fix” [PDF], calculated repairability scores for PCs and smartphones from popular brands in the US. The report examines "the top 10 most recent devices from each brand that were available for sale directly from manufacturers in January 2025." If a brand's website didn't allow people to sort by newest release, US PIRG picked devices by sorting "by 'Bestselling' or something similar," per the report's methodology section.
US PIRG's analysis included finding each device's French Repairability Index scores on PC makers' French websites and on third-party retailer sites. US PIRG calculated PC makers' grades by averaging "the total French score and the isolated disassembly score from each device." It weighed disassembly scores more heavily because it believes "this better reflects what consumers think a repairability score indicates." Next, the group subtracted half a point each for membership in TechNet or the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), industry groups that oppose right-to-repair legislation, and added a quarter point "for each piece of Right to Repair legislation supported by the testimony of the manufacturer in the last year."