Is it time for laptop makers to be more repair/upgrade friendly?

[Pew]

Believe it or not, the worst device for repairability is actually the Windows Surface laptop. If you need anything repaired on it you basically have to send it back to Microsoft. It was rated the worst to repair by several different tech sites.

I got one of our employees a Surface Book 2 when it came out. It worked great until last month when one of the heatsink's fan started to die. Because it was one of those detachable ones, replacing that fan involved putting the top portion of the laptop in the oven to loosen that sealant they use around the screen.....I ended up just purchasing him a new laptop instead.

 

[alarmguy]

I look at computers the same as appliances now. Im sure the younger generation does too. Granted I am fully in the Apple world now, with 2 Mac Desktops, MacBook Air, 2 iPhones, 2 Apple Watches. They work flawlessly until they dont but by that time most dont want to bother and will buy a new one.

We are well into the appliance time for computers now except for enthusiasts.
They last a long time and when they die, time for new.

At one time TVs and Audio equipment was repaired, tubes replaced, then circuit boards. Those days are over, except for enthusiasts.

 

[alarmguy]

+1

The cheapest Macbook Air with the M1 chip and 8GB of RAM is still a pretty fast computer for most people. The University I work for won't order anything less than a Dell laptop with 16GB of RAM and i-7 for faculty because it will otherwise be way too slow to handle all of the security software running in the background.

Don't compare hardware requirements of Windows computers with macOS. They're not the same and less RAM on macOS isn't necessarily a crippling shortcoming.

Glad I am not the only one.
We have
1. MacBook Air m1 with 8GB
2. Mac Mini i5 (which I use every day including now in here) with 8 GB
3. Mac Mini M1 (wife's) with 8GB

All three dead on reliable, all three as fast as our 300 Mbps internet connection can move. Which is instantaneous.
Everything we do is online, from financial institutions (I don't even know where their buildings are) to every conceivable thing, including health care.
For decades now, never had faster machines, all previous were Windows. No more, except one Lenovo Yoga Laptop with the works inside of it, 16 (or 24) GB and that newer high end Intel architecture. (wife's) At the time we moved into the Apple world she wanted to be sure it was for her so we got the Lenovo. Once it's outdated it will be another MacBook.
She does have a company supplied Dell Workstation, never used except for work.

 

[proveitwithdata]

I look at computers the same as appliances now. Im sure the younger generation does too. Granted I am fully in the Apple world now, with 2 Mac Desktops, MacBook Air, 2 iPhones, 2 Apple Watches. They work flawlessly until they dont but by that time most dont want to bother and will buy a new one.

We are well into the appliance time for computers now except for enthusiasts.
They last a long time and when they die, time for new.

At one time TVs and Audio equipment was repaired, tubes replaced, then circuit boards. Those days are over, except for enthusiasts.

If the plan is to keep it longterm, would it not be counterintuitive to make it harder to work on/upgrade on?

Glad I am not the only one.
We have
1. MacBook Air m1 with 8GB
2. Mac Mini i5 (which I use every day including now in here) with 8 GB
3. Mac Mini M1 (wife's) with 8GB

All three dead on reliable, all three as fast as our 300 Mbps internet connection can move. Which is instantaneous.
Everything we do is online, from financial institutions (I don't even know where their buildings are) to every conceivable thing, including health care.
For decades now, never had faster machines, all previous were Windows. No more, except one Lenovo Yoga Laptop with the works inside of it, 16 (or 24) GB and that newer high end Intel architecture. (wife's) At the time we moved into the Apple world she wanted to be sure it was for her so we got the Lenovo. Once it's outdated it will be another MacBook.
She does have a company supplied Dell Workstation, never used except for work.

Have you used a modern mac with more then 8gb of ram?

 

[alarmguy]

If the plan is to keep it longterm, would it not be counterintuitive to make it harder to work on/upgrade on?

Have you used a modern mac with more then 8gb of ram?

What do you consider modern? All of those I listed are modern

I think only you can decide if 8Gb is enough for you but if you have doubts by all means go for 16 Gb. I personally would be the last person on earth to think I would attempt, even if I could, upgrading a modern laptop memory, especailly Apple but also other brands would be hit or miss I would think, depending on what you buy.
Just buy it that way if you are concerned is all I would be thinking.

 

[OVERKILL]

Two schools of thought
Buy something relatively inexpensive that will work fine for 3-4 years that really isn't upgradable (say an Acer Inspire 5) and know that it's basically just a disposable unit

Buy something upgradeable for 800 and get 5-6 years out of it .... spending another hundred or 2 somewhere along the way.

Or buy an apple because that Kool aid is just that darn tasty.

Me other half loves the Kool aid. Swears up and down her MacBook will still be worth a grand in 8 years (we've had it for 2, originally it was 10 years and a g-note)

Me, I'm betting that MacBook gets tossed in 4 and I have to sell a kidney for a new one....

I'd rather buy a new cheap one every 3-4 years. I used to trend the other way. As recently as 2018 I had a custom HP built that should have lasted me a long time (upgrading a little along the way) but it didn't. Wasn't it's fault. Ex wife played Frisbee with it lol. I was convinced I still needed a dvd burner

I mean, this rig is 14 years old, lol:

And I'm still daily driving one

 

[proveitwithdata]

I mean, this rig is 14 years old, lol:
View attachment 199708

And I'm still daily driving one

This is before the trash can pros if im not mistaken?

Good times.

 

[GMFan]

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