Google is the focus of the US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG). This week, the nonprofit published a “Chromebook Churn”report [PDF], pointing the finger at Google for using a Chromebook that is “not built to last.”It noted Chromebook quirks, such as seemingly pointless hardware tweaks in models that defy parts sources and Automatic Updates (AUE) expiration dates, as examples of the non-repairable Chromebook culture that Google has enabled. The PIRG analysis concluded that for Chromebook target markets, such as schools that choose Chromebooks to save money, the long-term costs may outweigh the immediate savings.
The report is focused on Chromebooks in schools and is based on an undisclosed number (we contacted PIRG for staff numbers) of interviews with “school CIOs, technicians, journalists, repair shop owners, parts vendors and teachers,”and “a five-question survey of 13 school IT administrators and technicians.”The sample size could have been much larger, but the details in the report are also based on the undeniable characteristics of ChromeOS devices. And while the PIRG document highlights the impact of all of this on schools, especially the influx of Chromebooks being purchased for schools in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, it’s worth considering any current or potential Chromebook owners or people who like to vote with their dollar.
Sneaky design changes hinder renovations
The report, written by PIRG Designed to Last campaign director Lucas Rockett Gutterman, argues that because Chromebooks are largely web-based and don’t vary as much in power as other laptops, it should be “easy”to offer modular designs that allow for parts that will be common to Chromebook models. Indeed, Framework’s Modular Chromebook proves that it’s possible. But in its “Failing the Fix”[PDF] report from February, PIRG reported that Chromebooks have an average French Repairability Index score of 5.8 out of 10, compared to 6.9 for all non-Chromebook laptops.
The PIRG document “Chromebook Churn”details the hurdles IT managers and other educators face when repairing Chromebooks. For example, PIRG tested the availability of frames for six Chromebook vendors through the “popular resellers”eduPARTS. Finding replacement panels is harder than it should be:
All six manufacturers we interviewed made non-functional changes to the bezels of successive Chromebook 11 models that made those parts incompatible from one model to the next. For example, from the Samsung Chromebook 11 XE500C12 to XE500C13, the cutout in the bezel for the camera has changed from a square to a circle. This cosmetic change made the stock parts incompatible between models. From the Dell 11 3100 to the Dell 11 3110, the bezel is not compatible between models, and the only user-visible change between them is the addition of small notches at the bottom of the newer model. The 3110 version has missing or less pronounced clips on the back of the bezels, making them incompatible.
Even if these changes have any benefits, such as reducing the overall size or weight of the laptop, or being able to improve its fit in some way, it is clear that there are maintainability disadvantages that have financial and environmental implications.
Chromebook manufacturers can take liberties with the design of their specific WeUs, but every Chromebook is based on Google’s reference design. The final design of the laptop is a collaborative effort, which means that everyone is most likely to blame.
PIRG did praise Google for standardizing Chromebook chargers, but when it comes to “a typical repair, you need to replace 50 percent of the device and throw it away,”Ginny Crowley, director of technology and innovation at Scarsdale, New York Public School District, said in the report. Examples cited by others interviewed by PIRG include having to replace an entire Chromebook keyboard due to one key not working.
“We have a bunch, hundreds of Chromebooks and it’s so frustrating because I can’t just take the key off one of them,”Crowley says in the report.
Some newer Chromebook models, such as Acer’s Chromebook Vero 712, sell keyboards that must be spill-proof using drainage systems and mechanically secured keys to resist breakage, but there are various reasons why a single key might break.