This laptop repairability feature is finally making a comeback

Fixing a broken laptop keyboard used to be extremely easy. Historically, keyboards of most laptops were "top-mounted", so they could be removed and exchanged without having to take apart the rest of the system.

Of course, nowadays, things are very different. The MacBook Air changed many things, as did the subsequent ultrabook-transformation of the laptop market. These newer, thinner laptops popularized designs where the keyboard was more tightly integrated into the system, making it part of the palmrest/keyboard frame and thus establishing the "bottom-mounted" keyboard as the norm. To access these, you have to take apart the whole laptop, sometimes even changing the whole palmrest.

A very user unfriendly approach, but when a reduction in thickness became the priority, it made sense for the manufacturers. With the more recent regulatory focus in the European Union on product-repairability, as well as stand-out releases like the Framework Laptop, the tide now seems to be turning, as repairability seems to be considered a more important concept again.

Case in point: The new HP EliteBook X G2i 14. This 14-inch premium-class business laptop retains a slim design, with a thickness of below 20 mm, but also adopts a user-replaceable keyboard in the newest version that we just reviewed. 

Removing the keyboard is quite easy when you are following the repair manual: The Escape-key keycap has to be taken off. Beneath it, there is a tab that needs to be pushed to the left. Afterwards, the top of the keyboard lifts up, and, after the cables are disconnected, the keyboard can be removed. In comparison: The older EliteBook X G1i had the typical ultrabook design, with the keyboard being part of the top cover.

Seeing the return of user-friendly, repairable designs definitely makes us happy - and we hope that this design also comes to more HP laptops in the future.