61–70 of 149 posts
1. Lack of USB-C ports means I wouldn't be able to safely use any USB-C only peripherals (since the USB spec explicitly bans adapters in that direction)
2. Lack of security updates for firmware, microcode, etc.
3. Hard to find replacement batteries from reputable sources
4. The CPU and memory requirements of software are steadily increasing
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You can just be an informed consumer and not buy laptops with non-replaceable components. Don't give bad products money and incentive to keep making more like them.
In 2025, I expect my laptop to be lightweight, fast, 14 hours+ on a single charge, silent and run cool. I care more about all of those features than the replaceable parts.
i'd accept soldered RAM if it is at least 16GB, (though 32GB would be better) because i'd rarely need more than that. but a soldered SSD never. that holds my precious data, and even if i have a full backup, i do want to be able to take out the SSD when the laptop dies, or replace a broken or worn out SSD (as i had once). the risk of not being able to recover data from a soldered SSD is just not worth the few grams saved in weight.
I gladly buy lots of used things but laptops aren't one of them. The reason is that, at least from my experience, laptops only last between 5-8 years before they become more trouble than they are worth (either they become too slow as was the case with my previous Macbook or they stop working for some unknown reason, or the battery life sucks). I've also noticed laptops get beat up easily -- the vast majority of used…
In other words it is more than possible to use laptops beyond those 8 years as long as you buy the right ones. Performance is fine as long as you run the right software, i.e. not software made by a hardware vendor who depends on a regular replacement cycle.
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Do they have 15 hour battery life, run cool and silent like my MacBook Air? The Framework laptop has way too many compromises https://www.theverge.com/24185827/framework-laptop-16-six-mo...
I have the 16” Framework model and I bought it as a replacement for my personal 2019 Macbook Pro 16 after the Macbook screen died last year. Apple wanted more than $700 for a replacement screen. After 17 years of owning Powerbooks and Macbooks, I decided to ditch Apple and instead buy a laptop that I could repair and upgrade easily. I’d compare Framework models to the Macbook Pro in terms of battery life and performa…
Portability in terms of weight it might be close. But according to the reviews I’ve seen they run hot and loud.
Because of timing and layovers, I spent an entire day going from ATL-LAX-SJC. Not having to worry about battery life and actually being able to use it on my lap without having to worry about infertility from the heat was a godsend.
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> seven isolated chat/social profiles on seven separate VPN/Tor connections Bravo for you, but surely you realize that almost nobody does this? Hardly relevant to an article about getting some more useful life out of an old laptop.
You actually don't have to dig too hard to find places where hundreds if not thousands of people are doing exactly this.
Its like saying, not good enough for video editing 8k.
I gladly buy lots of used things but laptops aren't one of them. The reason is that, at least from my experience, laptops only last between 5-8 years before they become more trouble than they are worth (either they become too slow as was the case with my previous Macbook or they stop working for some unknown reason, or the battery life sucks). I've also noticed laptops get beat up easily -- the vast majority of used…
Hm, odd that, the newest laptop I have here is from 2016 and with that just past your threshold. It works just fine, performance is no problem, the battery holds for around 5-6 hours. Maybe it helps to say I a) don't buy Apple products and b) only use Linux? Nearly all my laptops are Thinkpads, all of them run Debian in some form or other. From the ancient (T23) through the old (T42p) to the relatively modern (P50),…
I also installed Linux on them too and the battery life was not great either. I could be an outlier but I've not had good experience with Thinkpads even though I liked them. My older Macbook actually lasted the longest.
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In 2025, I expect my laptop to be lightweight, fast, 14 hours+ on a single charge, silent and run cool. I care more about all of those features than the replaceable parts.
the difference between a thinkpad T14 with replaceable RAM and SSD and a T14s with soldered RAM and SSD are minimal. depending on the specific generation and features, the T14s can be heavier than the T14. i'd accept soldered RAM if it is at least 16GB, (though 32GB would be better) because i'd rarely need more than that. but a soldered SSD never. that holds my precious data, and even if i have a full backup, i do wa…
My important documents are synced with cloud storage, my photos and videos are synced with iCloud, Google Photos and OneDrive.
My code is pushed to a remote git repository.
I can add more external storage. I would be more concerned about RAM.
Great article. I have had a similarly positive experience with older laptops, in particular ThinkPads (x230) and Latitudes (e7460). The older machines often also have much better keyboards than more recent laptops, IMHO. As the OP writes, swapping out HDD for SSD (1 usually prefer at least 1 TB) and maxing out RAM are affordable things that you won't regret.
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I don't think there is any middle ground left between thin and portable and all soldered and replaceable components and "transportable" instead of "portable". Gaming like laptops are a no no for me, sorry. And I doubt there's anything just slightly larger than a macbook pro but with upgradeable components.
Have you considered a Framework laptop? They have 13-inch and 16-inch models and are designed to be upgraded. https://frame.work/
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You can just be an informed consumer and not buy laptops with non-replaceable components. Don't give bad products money and incentive to keep making more like them.
In 2025, I expect my laptop to be lightweight, fast, 14 hours+ on a single charge, silent and run cool. I care more about all of those features than the replaceable parts.