Apple and Lenovo Receive Failing Grades for Laptop Repairability in PIRG Analysis
Key Takeaways
- ▸Apple earned the lowest repairability grades among major manufacturers (C-minus for laptops, D-minus for phones) due to design complexity and industry group memberships
- ▸PIRG's analysis emphasizes physical disassembly ease as the primary consumer expectation for repairability, weighted heavily in the scoring methodology
- ▸Lenovo continues to struggle with French compliance requirements for displaying repairability scores despite previous criticism and promised improvements
Summary
The Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Education Fund released its 2026 "Failing the Fix" report on laptop and smartphone repairability, grading Apple with a C-minus for laptops and D-minus for phones—the lowest scores among major manufacturers. The analysis evaluated the 10 newest laptops and phones available on manufacturers' French websites in January, using criteria based on the French repairability index, which includes disassembly ease, documentation availability, spare parts accessibility, and affordability. Apple's poor performance was largely attributed to low disassembly scores and membership in industry groups opposing right-to-repair legislation, resulting in point deductions.
Lenovo received the second-worst laptop grade (C-minus) also due to low disassembly scores and continued compliance issues with French requirements to display repairability scores on product pages—a problem that persisted more than a year after receiving an F grade in last year's report. The PIRG report penalizes manufacturers 0.5 points for membership in TechNet or the Consumer Technology Association, industry groups that oppose right-to-repair legislation in the US. Companies can earn bonus points for supporting right-to-repair legislation through testimony, though few manufacturers achieved this distinction.
- Industry association memberships opposing right-to-repair legislation result in automatic point deductions across all evaluated manufacturers
