The image is called "Concept LunaFrontviewnodisclaimer."
On Tuesday, Dell announced a new design concept for a laptop that is easy to take apart and fix, and takes a smaller toll on the climate. It is a collection of ideas that could be used to make Dell products more sustainable.
The Dell design team has created a proof-of-concept laptop called "Concept Luna" that has a number of unusual features that are intended to make repair and maintenance easy. No glue or screwdrivers are needed to remove the keystones that hold the broken keyboard and screen in place. The time needed to replace components is reduced by the fact that the entire system contains fewer screws. There is no need to replace a broken fan because the laptop has a shrunken-down board in the top cover.
Dell design strategist Drew Tosh described Luna as a "front end concept" intended to "solve some of the larger problems we're trying to get ahead of in the future." A laptop that is easy to repair and upgrade is less likely to be replaced with a new one that takes more energy and resources to produce. Parts from that computer can be used in other machines instead of ending up in the trash.
Tosh told The Verge that they are focused on reuse and recycle. It would be more like reuse, reuse, reuse, and recycle when we really have to.
There are several prototype versions of this laptop. Dell is showing off a sleek and portable laptop that is similar to its current lineup. If a modern-looking laptop with these features can be mass produced, it would make it much harder for other leading consumer tech brands to argue that there is an inherent tradeoff between repairability and design.
According to Taylor Dixon, an engineer at the repair guide site iFixit, Dell laptops tend to be repairable compared to MacBooks. The recent models of the XPS 13 and 15 have features such asPhillips head screws, batteries that are fastened in place rather than glued down, and screens that are easy to disassemble. Dell publishes repair manuals for its laptops on its website.
Concept Luna features ten times fewer screws than the Latitude 7300AE, which is a great thing, but there is room for Dell to improve. It could be simpler to repair Concept Luna's screen and keyboard assembly through the use of keystones, as Dell is proposing to do.
If you can just use your hand to take something apart, that is better than screws or glue.
It would be more like reuse, reuse, reuse, and recycle when we really have to.
The climate impact of electronics is one of the ideas in Concept Luna. One of the dirtiest manufacturing steps is replaced with a low-carbon alternative when smelted using hydropower energy. Dell says the board could have a 50 percent smaller carbon footprint because it's a quarter the size. The life cycle analysis of the Latitude 7300AE found that the manufacturing of the device accounted for 65 percent of the device's climate impact. Considering Dell is the leader in the global laptop market, this level of carbon cutting on an individual parts basis could translate to significant reductions across the industry.
Smaller boards tend to have less room for individual components and sockets to hold them in place, which raises a repairability red flag for him. While Apple's M1 chip is great for efficiency and performance, it is not suited for small boards and the memory and storage on it is devastating. Dell told The Verge that Concept Luna's board doesn't have any more soldered on or integrated components than a typical laptop they sell today, but if that changes as this idea moves from concept to reality, it could impact the longevity of the device.
:noupscale is a file from the Concept Luna Materials Explorationno_disclaimer.
The solutions shown are concept designs.
The image is of Dell.
The availability of spare parts for repair is one of the key factors determining how long a laptop will last. Many of the spare parts that individuals can order from Dell, including replacement screens and batteries, are not available online. Increasing the number of spare parts customers can buy online is something we are working on right now. She wouldn't comment on future spare parts plans for Concept Luna, but one would hope that would include parts for future laptops that are easy to fix.
If the idea behind Concept Luna is a laptop that can be upgraded indefinitely, all of the components need to be available but future-proofed. Dell has an Alienware Area 51m that is obsolete if new innovations are not stopped.
The ideas in Concept Luna eventually trickle into consumer products. It won't happen next year because Dell still needs to take time to make sure the concepts are reliable enough for mass production. He would expect many of the design concepts to be implemented by the year 2030.
There is an example that it is possible with this alpha design. We are not doing this because it is fun. We want this to be the future of our work so we are doing this.
