The OEMs disabling codec hardware also comes as associated costs for the international video compression standard are set to increase in January, as licensing administrator Access Advance announced in July. Per a breakdown from patent pool administration VIA Licensing Alliance, royalty rates for HEVC for over 100,001 units are increasing from $0.20 each to $0.24 each in the United States. To put that into perspective, in Q3 2025, HP sold 15,002,000 laptops and desktops, and Dell sold 10,166,000 laptops and desktops, per Gartner.
Last year, NAS company Synology announced that it was ending support for HEVC, as well as H.264/AVC and VCI, transcoding on its DiskStation Manager and BeeStation OS platforms, saying that “support for video codecs is widespread on end devices, such as smartphones, tablets, computers, and smart TVs.”
“This update reduces unnecessary resource usage on the server and significantly improves media processing efficiency. The optimization is particularly effective in high-user environments compared to traditional server-side processing,” the announcement said.
Despite the growing costs and complications with HEVC licenses and workarounds, breaking features that have been widely available for years will likely lead to confusion and frustration.
“This is pretty ridiculous, given these systems are $800+ a machine, are part of a ‘Pro’ line (jabs at branding names are warranted – HEVC is used professionally), and more applications these days outside of Netflix and streaming TV are getting around to adopting HEVC,” a Redditor wrote.
Underneath the rotating panel is a “soft, felt-covered backplate,” PCMag reported. I can see this being jarring in a real computer. The textures of felt or other fabrics are uncommon on machines and can result in this part of the computer standing out in an unwelcome fashion. The black felt, however, could eventually fade into the background, depending on the user’s perception.
Lenovo suggested that people could use the felt space to place a smartphone for mirroring with the PC via its Software Connect software; however, that feature requires a Lenovo Motorola phone.
Lenovo suggested other potential use cases for the unique screen in its press release, including “split-screen multitasking, displaying code, and reviewing documents.”
Lenovo’s latest concept laptop continues the OEM’s yearslong exploration of PC screens that adapt to the different ways that people use PCs. I’m skeptical about the use of felt in a laptop, which would likely be thousands of dollars if ever released as a consumer product. A laptop like the VertiFlex would also have to prove that it has a durable pivoting point and can support a lot of spinning over years of use. Still, Lenovo is contemplating ways to offer versatile screens without relying on bending, warping OLED screens that can suffer from reflections, glare, visible creases, or clunky motors.
For those who like to see laptop screen display ideas that don’t rely on bendy OLED, the VertiFlex is the type of concept that makes you wonder why we haven’t seen it earlier.
As the number of computers mounted, Chapman began stacking them on shelves around her residence, labeling them with sticky notes so she could remember which “worker” and company controlled which machine. When Chapman’s home was searched, FBI agents took photos of her setup, which is… something to behold, really.
Chapman’s origin story is a sad one. According to her public defender, her childhood was marked by “her father’s infidelity, alcoholism, and emotional absence.” Chapman was placed in 12 different schools across multiple states before she graduated high school, “leaving her socially isolated, bullied, and unable to form lasting friendships or a sense of belonging.” She also suffered “severe and escalating violence from her older brother, who repeatedly beat and choked her, held a shotgun to her chest, and once left her so visibly bruised that her school intervened.” And she was “sexually abused at various points in her childhood and adolescence by family members, peers, and even individuals she believed to be friends.”
Unfortunately, Chapman’s poor choice to involve herself with the North Koreans inflicted plenty of pain on others, too, including those whose identity was stolen. One victim told the court that the crime “left me feeling violated, helpless, and afraid,” adding:
Although identity theft is not a physical assault, the psychological and financial damage is lasting. It feels like someone broke into my life, impersonated me, and left me to pick up the pieces. There is a lingering fear that my information is still out there, ready to be misused again. The stigma of being a fraud victim also weighs heavily; I have had to explain myself to banks, creditors, and sometimes even to people I know. There is an ongoing sense of vulnerability and lack of control.
In addition to her 8.5-year sentence, Chapman will serve three years of “supervised release,” must forfeit $284,555 that was meant for the North Koreans, and must repay $176,850 of her own money.
Such “remote work” scams have become increasingly common over the last few years, most originating from North Korea, and the FBI has released repeated guidance on what to look for when hiring remote workers.
Schools across the US are warning parents about an Internet trend that has students purposefully trying to damage their school-issued Chromebooks so that they start smoking or catch fire.
Various school districts, including some in Colorado, New Jersey,North Carolina, and Washington, have sent letters to parents warning about the trend that’s largely taken off on TikTok.
Per reports from school districts and videos that Ars Technica has reviewed online, the so-called Chromebook Challenge includes students sticking things into Chromebook ports to short-circuit the system. Students are using various easily accessible items to do this, including writing utensils, paper clips, gum wrappers, and pushpins.
The Chromebook challenge has caused chaos for US schools, leading to laptop fires that have forced school evacuations, early dismissals, and the summoning of first responders.
Schools are also warning that damage to school property can result in disciplinary action and, in some states, legal action.
In Plainville, Connecticut, a middle schooler allegedly “intentionally stuck scissors into a laptop, causing smoke to emit from it,” Superintendent Brian Reas told local news station WFSB. The incident reportedly led to one student going to the hospital due to smoke inhalation and is suspected to be connected to the viral trend.
“Although the investigation is ongoing, the student involved will be referred to juvenile court to face criminal charges,” Reas said.
Some of these ideas have genuine shots at making it into real products.
Creating new and exciting tech products requires thinking outside of the box. At this week’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) conference in Barcelona, we got a peek at some of the research and development happening in the hopes of forging a functional gadget that people might actually want to buy one day.
While MWC is best known for its smartphone developments, we thought we’d break down the most intriguing, non-phone prototypes brought to the show for you. Since these are just concept devices, it’s possible that you’ll never see any of the following designs in real products. However, every technology described below is being demonstrated via a tangible proof of concept. And the companies involved—Samsung and Lenovo—both have histories of getting prototyped technologies into real gadgets.
Samsung’s briefcase-tablet
How many times must something repeat before it’s considered a trend? We ask because Samsung Display this week demoed the third recent take we’ve seen on integrating computing devices into suitcases.
Samsung Display’s Flexible Briefcase prototype uses an 18.1-inch OLED tablet that “can be folded into a compact briefcase for convenience,” per the company’s announcement. Samsung Display brought a proof of concept to MWC, but attendees say they haven’t been allowed to touch it.
But just looking at it, the device appears similar to LG’s StanbyMe Go (27LX5QKNA), which is a real product that people can buy. LG’s product is a 27-inch tablet that can fold out from a briefcase and be propped up within the luggage. Samsung’s prototype looks more like a metal case that opens up to reveal a foldable, completely removable tablet.
The folding screen could yield a similar experience to using a foldable laptop. However, that brings questions around how one could easily navigate the tablet via touch and why a folding, massive tablet in luggage is better than a regular one. Samsung Display is a display supplier and doesn’t make gadgets, though, so it may relegate answering those questions to someone else.
Samsung’s concept also brings to mind the Base Case, a briefcase that encapsulates two 24-inch monitors for mobile work setups. The Base Case is also not a real product currently and is seeking crowdfunding.
The laptop that bends over backward for you
There are several laptops that you can buy with a foldable screen right now. But none of them bends the way that Lenovo’s Thinkbook Flip AI concept laptop does. As Lenovo described it, the computer’s OLED panel uses two hinges for “outward folding,” enabling the display to go from 13 inches to 18.1 inches.
A new trick. Credit: Lenovo
Enhanced flexibility is supposed to enable the screen to adapt to different workloads. In addition to the concept functioning like a regular clamshell laptop, users could extend the screen into an extra-tall display. That could be helpful for tasks like reading long documents or scrolling social feeds.
This would be “Vertical Mode.” Credit: Lenovo
There’s also Share Mode, which enables you and someone sitting across from you to both see the laptop’s display.
Again, every concept in this article may never be sold in actual products. Still, Lenovo’s prototype is said to be fully functional with an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and a PCIe SSD (further spec details weren’t provided). Lenovo also has a strong record of incorporating prototypes into final products. For example, this June, Lenovo is scheduled to release the rollable-screen laptop that it showed as a proof of concept in February 2023.
Hands-on with Lenovo’s Foldable Laptop Concept at MWC 2025.
Lenovo’s solar-powered gadgets
There are many complications involved in making a solar-powered laptop. For one, depending on the configuration, laptops can drain power quickly. Having a computer rely on the sun for power would lead to numerous drawbacks, like shorter battery life and dimmer screens.
In an attempt to get closer to addressing some of those problems, the Lenovo Yoga Solar PC Concept has a solar panel integrated into its cover. Lenovo claims the panel has a conversion rate of “over 24 percent.” Per Lenovo’s announcement:
This conversion rate is achieved by leveraging ‘Back Contact Cell’ technology, which moves mounting brackets and gridlines to the back of the solar cells, maximizing the active absorption. The … Dynamic Solar Tracking system constantly measures the solar panel’s current and voltage, working with the Solar-First Energy system to automatically adjust the charger’s settings to prioritize sending the harvested energy to the system, helping to ensure maximum energy savings and system stability, regardless of light intensity. Even in low-light conditions, the panel can still generate power, sustaining battery charge when the PC is idle.
We’ll take Lenovo’s claims with a grain of salt, but Lenovo does appear to be seriously researching solar-powered gadgets. The vendor claimed that its solar panel can absorb and convert enough “direct,” “optimal,” and “uninterrupted” sunlight in 20 minutes for an hour of video 1080p playback with default settings. That conversion rate could drop based on how bright the sunlight is, the angle at which sunlight is hitting the PC, geographic location, and other factors.
For certain types of users, though, solar power will not be reliably powerful enough to be their computer’s sole source of power. A final offering would have better appeal using solar power as a backup. Lenovo is also toying with that idea through its Solar Power Kit attachment proof of concept.
Lenovo’s Solar Power Kit proof of concept. Credit: Lenovo
Lenovo designed it to provide extra power to Lenovo Yoga laptops. The solar panel can use its own kickstand or attach to whatever else is around, like a backpack or tree. It absorbs solar energy and converts it to PC power using Maximum Power Point Tracking, Lenovo said. The Kit would attach to laptops via a USB-C cable. Another option is to use the Solar Power Kit to charge a power bank.
Lenovo isn’t limiting this concept to PCs and suggested that the tech it demonstrated could be applied to other devices, like tablets and speakers.
A new take on foldable gaming handhelds
We’ve seen gaming handheld devices that can fold in half before. But the gadget that Samsung Display demoed this week brings the fold to the actual screen.
The crease would be a problem for me. Credit: Samsung
Again, Samsung Display is a display supplier, so it makes sense that its approach to a new gaming handheld focuses on the display. The prototype it brought to MWC, dubbed Flex Gaming, is smaller than a Nintendo Switch and included joysticks and areas that look fit for D-pads or buttons.
The emphasis is on the foldable display, which could make a gadget extremely portable but extra fragile. We’d also worry about the viewing experience. Foldable screens have visible creases, especially when viewed from different angles or in bright conditions. Both of those conditions are likely to come up with a gaming device meant for playing on the go.
Still, companies are eager to force folding screens into more types of devices, with the tech already expanding from phones to PCs and monitors. And although all of the concepts in this article may never evolve into real products, Samsung Display has shown repeated interest in providing unique displays for handheld gaming devices. At the 2023 CES trade show in Las Vegas, Samsung demoed a similar device with a horizontal fold, like a calendar, compared to the newer prototype’s book-like vertical fold:
It’s unclear why the fold changed from prototype to prototype, but we do know that this is a concept that Samsung Display has been playing with for at least a few years. In 2022, Samsung filed a patent application for a foldable gaming handheld that looks similar to the device shown off at MWC 2025:
An image from Samsung Display’s patent application. Credit: Samsung Display/WIPO
Lenovo’s magnetic PC accessories
Framework has already proven how helpful modular laptops can be for longevity and durability. Being able to add new components and parts to your PC enables the system to evolve with the times and your computing needs.
Framework’s designs largely focus on easily upgrading essential computer parts, like RAM, keyboards, and ports. Lenovo’s new concepts, on the other hand, offer laptop accessories that you can live without.
Among the prototypes that Lenovo demoed this week is a small, circular display adorned with cat ears and a tail. The display shows a smiley face with an expression that changes based on what you’re doing on the connected system and “offers personalized emoji notifications,” per Lenovo. The Tiko Pro Concept is a small screen that attaches to a Lenovo Thinkbook laptop and shows widgets, like the time, a stopwatch, transcriptions, or a combination.
Likely offering greater appeal, Lenovo also demoed detachable secondary laptop screens, including a pair of 13.3 inch displays that connect to the left and right side of a Lenovo laptop’s display, plus a 10-inch option.
Lenovo’s idea for magnet-attachable secondary laptop screens. Credit: Lenovo
Lenovo demoed these attachments on a real upcoming laptop, the Thinkbook 16p Gen 6 (which is supposed to come out in June starting at 2,999 euros excluding VAT, or about $3,245).
Lenovo has been discussing using pogo pins to attach removable accessories to laptops since CES 2024. PCMag reported that the company plans to release a Magic Bay webcam with 4K resolution and speakers this year.
Scharon is a Senior Technology Reporter at Ars Technica writing news, reviews, and analysis on consumer gadgets and services. She’s been reporting on technology for over 10 years, with bylines at Tom’s Hardware, Channelnomics, and CRN UK.
“When consumers can easily access information on how to fix devices, it makes it easier for people who can’t afford the latest and greatest technology to still be able to access the tools they need,” Nersisyan added.
Apple lags but shows some improvement
Apple’s MacBook repairability scores placed it at the lowest grade of the US PIRG’s list, save for Lenovo.
However, Apple’s overall repairability score improved from 4.3 last year to 5.1 this year. It gained a quarter of a point in this year’s score because it supported right-to-repair legislation in California within the last year. Apple’s support was a divergence from previous repairability stances from Apple, which had fought right-to-repair efforts for a decade before its about-face on California legislation starting in August 2023. Some have suggested that the change was due to Apple wanting input in legislation that, at the time, seemed likely to pass (California’s bill did eventually pass). Apple has also made notable self-repairability efforts lately, though, including launching and expanding a Self Service Repair program.
Still, Apple has room to grow, with the manufacturer earning the lowest total disassembly score (97)—besides Lenovo, whose score (14) only included one device. Apple also had the lowest disassembly average score (4.9 versus an average of 7.4) out of brands examined. Last year, Apple had an average disassembly score of 4.
In a deeper breakdown of the scores below, Apple’s disassembly scores improved compared to 2024 (9.7 versus 8), as did its parts pricing score (10.9 versus 9.8). However, parts availability declined (13.2 versus 12.8), per US PIRG.
Overall, Apple wasn’t able to compete with Asus and Acer, last year’s and this year’s winners. According to the report, “Asus and Acer continue to manufacture the most repairable laptops due largely to their ease of disassembly.”
Looking ahead, tariffs and other things impacting laptop availability and pricing, like the supply-chain disruptions witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic, could drive demand for more easily repairable PCs.
“When [laptops and electronics] cost more or are harder to get, I’d expect shoppers to want to keep them in use for as long as possible and value their repairability,” Gutterman said.
Lenovo announced a laptop today that experiments with a new way to offer laptop users more screen space than the typical clamshell design. The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable has a screen that can roll up vertically to expand from 14 inches diagonally to 16.7 inches, presenting an alternative to prior foldable-screen and dual-screen laptops.
Here you can see the PC’s backside when the screen is extended. Lenovo
The laptop, which Lenovo says is coming out in June, builds on a concept that Lenovo demoed in February 2023. That prototype had a Sharp-made panel that initially measured 12.7 inches but could unroll to present a total screen size of 15.3 inches. Lenovo’s final product is working with a bigger display from Samsung Display, The Verge reported. Resolution-wise you’re going from 2,000×1,600 pixels (about 183 pixels per inch) to 2,000×2,350 (184.8 ppi), the publication said.
Users make the screen expand by pressing a dedicated button on the keyboard or by making a hand gesture at the PC’s webcam. Expansion entails about 10 seconds of loud whirring from the laptop’s motors. Lenovo executives told The Verge that the laptop was rated for at least 20,000 rolls up and down and 30,000 hinge openings and closings.
The system can also treat the expanded screens as two different 16:9 displays.
The screen claims up to 400 nits brightness and 100 percent DCI-P3 coverage. Credit: Lenovo
This is a clever way to offer a dual-screen experience without the flaws inherent to current dual-screen laptops, including distracting hinges and designs with questionable durability. However, 16.7 inches is a bit small for two displays. The dual-screen Lenovo Yoga Book 9i, for comparison, previously had two 13.3-inch displays for a total of 26.6 inches, and this year’s model has two 14-inch screens. Still, the ThinkBook, when its screen is fully expanded, is the rare laptop to offer a screen that’s taller than it is wide.
Still foldable OLED
At first, you might think that since the screen is described as “rollable” it may not have the same visible creases that have tormented foldable-screen devices since their inception. But the screen, reportedly from Samsung Display, still shows “little curls visible in the display, which are more obvious when it’s moving and there’s something darker onscreen,” as well as “plenty of smaller creases along its lower half” that aren’t too noticeable when using the laptop but that are clear when looking at the screen closely or when staring at it “from steeper angles,” The Verge reported.
This means that there won’t be any more Dell XPS clamshell ultralight laptops, 2-in-1 laptops, or desktops. Dell is also killing its Latitude, Inspiron, and Precision branding, it announced today.
Moving forward, Dell computers will have either just Dell branding, which Dell’s announcement today described as “designed for play, school, and work,” Dell Pro branding “for professional-grade productivity,” or be Dell Pro Max products, which are “designed for maximum performance.” Dell will release Dell and Dell Pro-branded displays, accessories, and “services,” it said. The Pro Max line will feature laptops and desktop workstations with professional-grade GPU capabilities as well as a new thermal design.
Dell claims its mid-tier Pro line emphasizes durability, “withstanding three times as many hinge cycles, drops, and bumps from regular use as competitor devices.” The statement is based on “internal analysis of multiple durability tests performed” on the Dell Pro 14 Plus (released today) and HP EliteBook 640 G11 laptops conducted in November. Also based on internal testing conducted in November, Dell claims its Pro PCs boost “airflow by 20 percent, making these Dell’s quietest commercial laptops ever.”
Within each line are base models, Plus models, and Premium models. In a blog post, Kevin Terwilliger, VP and GM of commercial, consumer, and gaming PCs at Dell, explained that Plus models offer “the most scalable performance” and Premium models offer “the ultimate in mobility and design.”
Credit: Dell
By those naming conventions, old-time Dell users could roughly equate XPS laptops with new Dell Premium products.
“The Dell portfolio will expand later this year to include more AMD and Snapdragon X Series processor options,” Terwilliger wrote. “We will also introduce new devices in the base tier, which offers everyday devices that provide effortless use and practical design, and the Premium tier, which continues the XPS legacy loved by consumers and prosumers alike.”
Meanwhile, Dell Pro base models feel like Dell’s now-defunct Latitude lineup, while its Precision workstations may best align with 2025’s Dell Pro Max offerings.
I typically used the FlipGo Pro with a 16: 10 laptop screen, meaning that the portable monitor provided me with a taller view that differed from what most laptops offer. When the FlipGo Pro is working as one unified screen, it delivers a 6:2 (or 2:6) experience. These more unique aspect ratios, combined with the abilities to easily rotate the lightweight FlipGo Pro from portrait to landscape mode and swap between a dual or unified monitor, amplified the gadget’s versatility and minimal desk space requirement.
Dual-screen monitors edge out dual-screen PCs
The appeal of a device that can bring you two times the screen space without being a burden to carry around is obvious. Many of the options until now, however, have felt experimental, fragile, or overly niche for most people to consider.
I recently gave praise to the concept behind a laptop with a secondary screen that attaches to the primary through a 360-degree hinge on the primary display’s left side:
The AceMagic X1 dual-screen laptop.
Credit: Scharon Harding
The AceMagic X1 dual-screen laptop. Credit: Scharon Harding
Unlike the dual-screen Lenovo Yoga Book 9i, the AceMagic X1 has an integrated keyboard and touchpad. However, the PC’s questionable durability and dated components and its maker’s sketchy reputation (malware was once found inside AceMagic mini PCs) prevent me from recommending the laptop.
Meanwhile, something like the FlipGo Pro does something that today’s dual-screen laptops fail to do in their quest to provide extra screen space. With its quick swapping from one to two screens and simple adjustability, it’s easy for users of various OSes to maximize its versatility. As tech companies continue exploring the integration of extra screens, products like the FlipGo Pro remind me of the importance of evolution over sacrifice. A second screen has less value if it takes the place of critical features or quality builds. While a dual portable monitor isn’t as flashy or groundbreaking as a laptop with two full-size displays built in, when well-executed, it could be significantly more helpful—which, at least for now, is groundbreaking enough.
On the left is Screen B, on the right is Screen A.
Scharon Harding
The closed laptop’s lid.
Scharon Harding
Opening the lid reveals the underside of Screen B, which is on top of Screen A.
Scharon Harding
Screen B wraps around and snaps onto the computer’s lid.
Scharon Harding
A left-profile view.
Scharon Harding
A top-down view of the hinge with the secondary screen wrapped around to the back.
Scharon Harding
As I write this article on the AceMagic X1, two things stand out most. The first is its convenience—being able to write on one screen and view specs and information about the laptop and a chat window on a second integrated screen. The second is that with each aggressive keypress, that convenient secondary screen is jiggling just enough to distract me and rattle my nerves.
I often use sleek, small-screened ultralight laptops, so I find dual-screen laptops intriguing. The dual-screen laptops I’ve used up until this point have come with a huge caveat, though: no integrated keyboard. That’s what makes AceMagic’s X1 stand out to me. Not only does its secondary screen swing out from the system horizontally (instead of vertically), but the laptop manages to include two 13-inch screens and a traditional keyboard and touchpad.
But the somewhat precarious way that Screen B hangs off the left side of Screen A, floating above my tabletop, proves that even an integrated keyboard can’t resolve all the limitations of dual-screen laptop designs.
Some background
Specs at a glance: AceMagic X1 (as reviewed)
Screen
2x 14-inch 1920×1080 IPS
OS
Windows 11 Home
CPU
Intel Core i7-1255U (13th Gen SKU coming soon, an AceMagic rep told me)
For the unfamiliar, AceMagic is a PC brand owned by Chinese company Shenzhen Shanminheng Technology Co., Ltd. AceMagic sells other laptops besides the X1. But if you know AceMagic, it’s probably because of their Mini PCs—or because of the malware that was discovered inside of some of its Mini PCs (AceMagic has responded to this).
With this recent history in mind, what makes the X1 most interesting isn’t its specs or benchmark results, but rather one of the most distinct and clever approaches to giving laptop users extra screen space.
How the screens work
The X1 has two separate 14-inch IPS non-touch screens, each with 1920×1080 resolution. This differs from other dual-screen laptops on the market. For example, Lenovo’s Yoga Book 9i has two 13.3-inch OLED touchscreens with 2880×1800 resolution in each screen.
Enlarge/ Pictured is the Yoga Book 9i with its Bluetooth keyboard detached.
Scharon Harding
The Yoga 9i—and virtually every other laptop with two laptop-sized screens—uses a clamshell laptop form factor but with the keyboard/touchpad replaced with a screen. They come with detachable Bluetooth keyboards that inevitably have shallow keys. But using the X1 feels more like using a normal clamshell, down to the tactile keyboard. AceMagic (along with Windows 11’s Snap layouts) simplifies use of the dual screens and makes good use of the X1’s deck, with features for controlling which of the two screens is on.
Enlarge/ The deck’s buttons make the PC display on Screen A only, on Screen B only, Screen A and B as extended displays, or duplicating the displays.
Scharon Harding
Getting to any display, though, requires opening the lid and then opening Screen B, which is folded on top of Screen A like a book cover. Once you flip the secondary screen out to the left, you can use one screen or both screens, divided by a striking hinge system.
The hinge supports up to 360-degree movement, meaning the secondary screen can flip all the way back, like the cover of a spiral notebook, and snap onto the back of the lid, allowing someone behind the laptop to view it.
Enlarge/ A Dell XPS 14 laptop. The Copilot key is to the right of the right-Alt button.
In January, Microsoft introduced a new key to Windows PC keyboards for the first time in 30 years. The Copilot key, dedicated to launching Microsoft’s eponymous generative AI assistant, is already on some Windows laptops released this year. On Monday, Tom’s Hardware dug into the new addition and determined exactly what pressing the button does, which is actually pretty simple. Pushing a computer’s integrated Copilot button is like pressing left-Shift + Windows key + F23 simultaneously.
Tom’s Hardware confirmed this after wondering if the Copilot key introduced a new scan code to Windows or if it worked differently. Using the scripting program AuthoHotkey with a new laptop with a Copilot button, Tom’s Hardware discovered the keystrokes registered when a user presses the Copilot key. The publication confirmed with Dell that “this key assignment is standard for the Copilot key and done at Microsoft’s direction.”
F23
Surprising to see in that string of keys is F23. Having a computer keyboard with a function row or rows that take you from F1 all the way to F23 is quite rare today. When I try to imagine a keyboard that comes with an F23 button, vintage keyboards come to mind, more specifically buckling spring keyboards from IBM.
IBM’s Model F, which debuted in 1981 and used buckling spring switches over a capacitive PCB, and the Model M, which launched in 1985 and used buckling spring switches over a membrane sheet, both offered layouts with 122 keys. These layouts included not one, but two rows of function keys that would leave today’s 60 percent keyboard fans sweating over the wasted space.
But having 122 keys was helpful for keyboards tied to IBM business terminals. The keyboard layout even included a bank of keys to the left of the primary alpha block of keys for even more forms of input.
The 122-key keyboard layout with F23 lives on. Beyond people who still swear by old Model F and M keyboards, Model F Labs and Unicomp both currently sell modern buckling spring keyboards with built-in F23 buttons. Another reason a modern Windows PC user might have access to an F23 key is if they use a macro pad.
But even with those uses in mind, the F23 key remains rare. That helps explain why Microsoft would use the key for launching Copilot; users are unlikely to have F23 programmed for other functions. This was also likely less work than making a key with an entirely new scan code.
The Copilot button is reprogrammable
When I previewed Dell’s 2024 XPS laptops, a Dell representative told me that the integrated Copilot key wasn’t reprogrammable. However, in addition to providing some interesting information about the newest PC key since the Windows button, Tom’s Hardware’s revelation shows why the Copilot key is actually reprogrammable, even if OEMs don’t give users a way to do so out of the box. (If you need help, check out the website’s tutorial for reprogramming the Windows Copilot key.)
I suspect there’s a strong interest in reprogramming that button. For one, generative AI, despite all its hype and potential, is still an emerging technology. Many don’t need or want access to any chatbot—let alone Microsoft’s—instantly or even at all. Those who don’t use their system with a Microsoft account have no use for the button, since being logged in to a Microsoft account is required for the button to launch Copilot.
Additionally, there are other easy ways to launch Copilot on a computer that has the program downloaded, like double-clicking an icon or pressing Windows + C, that make a dedicated button unnecessary. (Ars Technica asked Microsoft why the Copilot key doesn’t just register Windows + C, but the company declined to comment. Windows + C has launched other apps in the past, including Cortana, so it’s possible that Microsoft wanted to avoid the Copilot key performing a different function when pressed on computers that use Windows images without Copilot.)
In general, shoehorning the Copilot key into Windows laptops seems premature. Copilot is young and still a preview; just a few months ago, it was called Bing Chat. Further, the future of generative AI, including its popularity and top uses, is still forming and could evolve substantially during the lifetime of a Windows laptop. Microsoft’s generative AI efforts could also flounder over the years. Imagine if Microsoft went all-in on Bing back in the day and made all Windows keyboards have a Bing button, for example. Just because Microsoft wants something to become mainstream doesn’t mean that it will.
This all has made the Copilot button seem more like a way to force the adoption of Microsoft’s chatbot than a way to improve Windows keyboards. Microsoft has also made the Copilot button a requirement for its AI PC certification (which also requires an integrated neural processing unit and having Copilot pre-installed). Microsoft plans to make Copilot keys a requirement for Windows 11 OEM PCs eventually, it told Ars Technica in January.
At least for now, the basic way that the Copilot button works means you can turn the key into something more useful. Now, the tricky part would be finding a replacement keycap to eradicate Copilot’s influence from your keyboard.
Enlarge/ A stack of broken Chromebook laptops at Cell Mechanic Inc. electronics repair shop in Westbury, New York, U.S., on Wednesday, May 19, 2021.
Chromebooks and MacBooks are among the least repairable laptops around, according to an analysis that consumer advocacy group US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) shared this week. Apple and Google have long been criticized for selling devices that are deemed harder to repair than others. Worse, PIRG believes that the two companies are failing to make laptops easier to take apart and fix.
The “Failing the Fix (2024)” report released this week [PDF] is largely based on the repairability index scores required of laptops and some other electronics sold in France. However, the PIRG’s report weighs disassembly scores more than the other categories in France’s index, like the availability and affordability of spare parts, “because we think this better reflects what consumers think a repairability score indicates and because the other categories can be country specific,” the report says.
PIRG’s scores, like France’s repair index, also factor in the availability of repair documents and product-specific criteria (the PIRG’s report also looks at phones). For laptops, that criteria includes providing updates and the ability to reset software and firmware.
PIRG also docked companies for participating in trade groups that fight against right-to-repair legislation and if OEMs failed to “easily provide full information on how they calculated their products.”
Chromebooks, MacBooks lag in repairability
PIRG examined 139 laptop models and concluded that Chromebooks, “while more affordable than other devices, continue to be less repairable than other laptops.” This was largely due to the laptops having a lower average disassembly score (14.9) than the other laptops (15.2).
The report looked at 10 Chromebooks from Acer, Asus, Dell, and HP and gave Chromebooks an average repair score of 6.3 compared to 7.0 for all other laptops. It said:
Both of these lower averages indicate that while often considered an affordable choice for individuals or schools, Chromebooks are on average less repairable than other laptops.
Google recently extended Chromebook support from eight years to 10 years. PIRG’s report doesn’t factor in software support timelines, but even if it did, Chromebooks’ repairability score wouldn’t increase notably since the move only brought them to “industry norms,” Lucas Gutterman, Designed to Last campaign director for the US PIRG Education Fund, told me.
Enlarge/ The Chromebooks PIRG considered for its report.
He added, though, that the current “norm” should improve.
At the very least, if it’s no longer financially viable for manufacturers to maintain support, they should allow the community to continue to maintain the software or make it easy to install alternative operating systems so we can keep our laptops from getting junked.
Turning to its breakdown of non-ChromeOS laptops, PIRG ranked Apple laptops the lowest in terms of repairability with a score of D, putting it behind Asus, Acer, Dell, Microsoft, HP, and Lenovo. In this week’s report, Apple got the lowest average disassembly score out of the OEMs (4 out of 10 compared to the 7.3 average)
