A few feet away from me in the basement of a five-star Barcelona hotel is the showstopping transparent laptop concept that Lenovo unveiled at Mobile World Congress last week. I can’t be bothered with it, though: I’ve got a screwdriver in my hand, and I’m fixated on the run-of-the-mill ThinkPad T14 in front of me.
First, I remove the keyboard by unscrewing it from the laptop’s underside and then popping it out with a guitar pick. Next, I flip the bottom cover off and get to work disassembling its guts — battery first, then the Ethernet port.
Close by is a QR code I can use to access instructions if I get stuck, but I don’t need them. In part, this is because I’m pretty good at working it out for myself. I also have human help on hand, should I need it. Watching my progress are two of the engineers from iFixit who worked with Lenovo to ensure that this newly announced generation of ThinkPad T series laptops is fully repairable.
The ThinkPad is a PC beloved by IT departments worldwide. These laptops often live multiple lives, getting passed from one colleague to another and then to schools or communities. It makes sense that if Lenovo was going to make any of its products easier to repair, it would start with this one.
Device repairability is an increasingly important feature for tech companies to offer consumers. Making devices easier to repair extends the life of a product, meaning it doesn’t need to be replaced as soon. This in turn reduces electronic waste and saves people money in the process. When it’s done properly, it’s a win for the environment and a win for your wallet. As people around the world feel the impacts of the climate crisis and cost-of-living crisis, having the option to repair has never felt more important.
It’s also an issue that’s getting harder for tech companies to swerve around. Right-to-repair…
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