7 ms·

I attended Google I/O in 2013 and was given a Chromebook Pixel, their $1300 laptop. The hardware was very, very nice, and I quite enjoyed using it for a while.

I attended Google I/O in 2013 and was given a Chromebook Pixel, their $1300 laptop. The hardware was very, very nice, and I quite enjoyed using it for a while. One day, I dropped it and damaged the screen well outside of its warranty period. "Oh no," I thought. "This is probably going to be pretty expensive to fix." So, bracing for the damage, I called up Google and told them what had happened. They replied that there was no fixing it. They would replace the laptops under the warranty, but there was no repairing to be done. I was welcome to call around and ask local repair shops if they could do it. That went nowhere, of course. I've been pretty skeptical of Google laptops ever since.

damjon 4mo ago
[flagged]
- addaon 4mo ago
  How is "I don't like the price of the readily-available vendor or third-party repair services" the "same" as "no repair is available for any price from the vendor or third parties"?
- gigatexal 4mo ago
  what? did you even bother to google ;-) "AppleCare+ covers fall and accidental damage (drops, cracks, liquid) for a reduced, fixed service fee per incident. It offers unlimited incidents (or up to two per 12 months, depending on the plan), providing a significant discount over out-of-warranty repairs. A service fee, such as $29 for screen repairs, applies"
- dcrazy 4mo ago
  It is absolutely unlike the situation for MacBooks, where you can walk into any of hundreds of retail stores and talk to someone who will quote you a repair or replacement price.
  - RealityVoid 4mo ago
    It sounds like problem with the lack of volume then? Since macs are super common, you can find a lot of places that repair them. Doesn't say much about the HW comparison between the two, IMO.
- jedberg 4mo ago
  MacBooks aren't that unrepairable, you just have to go to someone who isn't Apple. Apple will tell you that you have to replace the entire logic board, and then you go to the independent repair shop and they can fix whatever it was for $100. I've repaired my MacBooks multiple times before (although not one in the last seven years, so maybe they are totally unrepairable, but I doubt it). The main issue is that Apple will want to replace everything to avoid you coming back and saying it didn't work, when it's actually a different issue.
  - babypuncher 4mo ago
    The soldered on RAM and SSD, while technically replaceable, make it a much more difficult process than just swapping some DIMMS and an m.2. I understood the technical need for soldered on memory (physical limitations of SODIMM got in the way of power and speed requirements), but the soldered on SSD is just inexcusable considering flash memory is very much a wear item.
- Imustaskforhelp 4mo ago
  > Same for MacBooks I have a macbook but my father had dropped my m1 air (which my brother has gifted me) accidentally from his car on literal straight concrete bricks from a considerably high height. The damage is literally close to none aside from just a very small bump* but later I realized that if it was any other laptop then it would've been smashed to pieces but Apple's aluminium body came into clutch. I am not much of apple's fan but I wish to give credits where its due and so from my anecdotal evidence it wouldn't have been the case with atleast my mac air. This thing is crazy light, has a decent battery life and survived quite a high damage with tis but a scratch. Credits where its due to Apple hardware engineering. I don't wish to oversell apple tho but from my anecdotal evidence, it handled pretty good in real life stress test and I am super happy with it surviving that drop with almost literally no difference, so there's that.
stackghost 4mo ago
Those original Chromebook Pixels were awesome machines. I wish they'd had open bootloaders, but I seem to recall you had to keep it in developer mode which required a nag screen, or something along those lines, if you wanted to run your own OS on it.
- tgma 4mo ago
  You can easily remove the nag screen by opening the device and unscrewing a screw and running coreboot with SeaBIOS. Pretty neat security approach (not too hard to do, not too easy for a layman to fall for instructions to self-compromise). I have two that work just fine today.
  - bsammon 4mo ago
    When I was actively hacking my chromebook, there was tons of advice like this, and 90% of it didn't work on both arm and intel-based chromebooks, and the advice-givers never mentioned which category it worked on. Sometimes it was buried 5 paragraphs into the webpage you were sent to for downloads, sometimes not. Has any of this changed? Also, I tend to take with a grain of salt any comment that starts with "it's easy/simple/obvious", especially if it doesn't provide details or a link.
    - fragmede 4mo ago
      There's no specific device under discussion. Where do you want the link to go? Google?
    - tgma 4mo ago
      I was talking about a specific device on a specific dimension brought up by the GP, i.e., "freedom to tinker for the owner while preserving security for the masses." Whether that became a standardized process is a different story. By and large it has changed across models, but nevertheless it was a good balance of ownership/hackability without compromising security that can be emulated by other devices if they choose to.
  - stackghost 4mo ago
abrowne 4mo ago
Google isn't making these (or having them – the devices themselves – made under a Google brand). Acer, Asus, Dell, HP and Lenovo are making them.
efskap 4mo ago
Looks and feels premium, but ultimately fundamentally disposable. This pattern extends to so many goods in modern life. Washing machines, microwaves, etc aren't worth the time of a local repairman. Repair is economically incompatible with its life cycle. Clothes are replaced, not stitched. And after a few washes at that. Cars, phones, etc, consist of proprietary parts all sealed up.
- kingleopold 4mo ago
  "Planned obsolescence" is the engineering reason for this so it's well planned.
- tgma 4mo ago
  Isn't that a feature not a bug? That means labor, a proxy for quality of life of the laborer, is more expensive than parts. That's abundance. In fact, in "shithole countries" where everyone wants to emigrate from, it is exactly the opposite: i.e. you try to fix everything even if it takes sooo long.
  - drysine 4mo ago
    That means that the cost of (not) utilizing garbage is externalized
    - gruez 4mo ago
      >the cost of (not) utilizing garbage is externalized No, it's the exact opposite, because the consumer is on the hook for the purchase price as well as any repair costs.
      - culi 4mo ago
        Handling trash costs money. A lot of money. Right now, most Americans find it hard to even conceptualize the idea of paying to deal with their waste.
        4mo ago
bsimpson 4mo ago
Tying the browser version to the system version was a mistake too. Once it stopped getting system updates, it stopped being compatible with big corners of the web that expect Chrome to always be the newest version.
- StilesCrisis 4mo ago
  They had a fix for that in development! Sadly but not surprisingly, it was cancelled: https://9to5google.com/2024/07/12/chromeos-lacros-ending/ https://9to5google.com/2024/07/12/chromeos-lacros-ending/
  - abrowne 4mo ago
    Cancelled presumably because instead they will move new Chromebooks to this Android OS.
    - StilesCrisis 4mo ago
      Doubtful!
kushalpandya 4mo ago
That's still the default state of Google Hardware. Just look at their out-of-warranty Pixel Watch repairs. And if you're not in North America (or EU), chances are very high that any repair to Pixels is going to be either not possible or will cost you dearly. I personally had a terrible experience of this with Pixel 7 Pro that was in warranty and had a water-related damage, since then, I've stayed away from any device made by Google.
abirch 4mo ago
I used to have everything Google. Strata Pixels, Nest Cameras Google Smart Speakers Nest Home Security system but then I broke my Google Pixel 1 watch. I ended up chatting with service in India and they pretty much told me that there was no way to fix it. After that, I quit buying all things Google and switched to Apple. Now I only buy Google software products, no consumer devices.
- tadfisher 4mo ago
  They completely changed their watch design for the Pixel Watch 4 so that it is actually repairable: https://www.ifixit.com/News/113620/the-pixel-watch-4-is-the-most-repairable-smartwatch-on-the-market https://www.ifixit.com/News/113620/the-pixel-watch-4-is-the-...
- kelnos 4mo ago
  How is Apple any different? IIRC Apple watches have an abysmal repairability score too. If anything, Apple is in general the worst on this particular metric. Switching to Apple because you had a repairability problem with another brand is kinda funny.
  - abirch 4mo ago
    I haven't had an issue with Apple, but it's only been 3.5 years. Are there stories where Apple straight up said they wouldn't repair a watch? I thought they'd repair it even if the repairs were more the the replacement value.
- fragmede 4mo ago
  Apple gets a 3/10 for repairability to Google's 9/10 on their latest Pixel Watch 4.
- sbrother 4mo ago
  I went all in on the Nest ecosystem when I bought my house eight years ago, and Google absolutely ruined it with the botched acquisition. Half the stuff is Google branded, half is Nest branded, a different half has Google branded software and a different half has Nest branded software. None of it really works reliably anymore. The lock to my front door is completely incompatible with modern "Google Home" and I'm unable to change its passcode. It's a total disaster and I will never buy Google hardware again. Love their SaaS offerings though!
cj 4mo ago
I really miss the Chromebook Pixel / Pixelbook / whatever it was called. It was my travel laptop for at least 5 years. It was expensive, but the quality, performance, and durability was top tier. And it lasted 5+ years. The Pixelbook also had a "Google Assistant" button built in the keyboard. Should be easy enough to relaunch the hardware and swap in a gemini button...
- simonh 4mo ago
  I still think it’s amazing they manage to fit all that AI technology into something as small as a button.
- kylec 4mo ago
  Different iterations of the product were called both those things
slashdave 4mo ago
Because they (Google) are so removed from manufacturing

damjon 4mo ago

[flagged]

addaon 4mo ago
How is "I don't like the price of the readily-available vendor or third-party repair services" the "same" as "no repair is available for any price from the vendor or third parties"?
gigatexal 4mo ago
what? did you even bother to google ;-) "AppleCare+ covers fall and accidental damage (drops, cracks, liquid) for a reduced, fixed service fee per incident. It offers unlimited incidents (or up to two per 12 months, depending on the plan), providing a significant discount over out-of-warranty repairs. A service fee, such as $29 for screen repairs, applies"
dcrazy 4mo ago
It is absolutely unlike the situation for MacBooks, where you can walk into any of hundreds of retail stores and talk to someone who will quote you a repair or replacement price.
- RealityVoid 4mo ago
  It sounds like problem with the lack of volume then? Since macs are super common, you can find a lot of places that repair them. Doesn't say much about the HW comparison between the two, IMO.
jedberg 4mo ago
MacBooks aren't that unrepairable, you just have to go to someone who isn't Apple. Apple will tell you that you have to replace the entire logic board, and then you go to the independent repair shop and they can fix whatever it was for $100. I've repaired my MacBooks multiple times before (although not one in the last seven years, so maybe they are totally unrepairable, but I doubt it). The main issue is that Apple will want to replace everything to avoid you coming back and saying it didn't work, when it's actually a different issue.
- babypuncher 4mo ago
  The soldered on RAM and SSD, while technically replaceable, make it a much more difficult process than just swapping some DIMMS and an m.2. I understood the technical need for soldered on memory (physical limitations of SODIMM got in the way of power and speed requirements), but the soldered on SSD is just inexcusable considering flash memory is very much a wear item.
Imustaskforhelp 4mo ago
> Same for MacBooks I have a macbook but my father had dropped my m1 air (which my brother has gifted me) accidentally from his car on literal straight concrete bricks from a considerably high height. The damage is literally close to none aside from just a very small bump* but later I realized that if it was any other laptop then it would've been smashed to pieces but Apple's aluminium body came into clutch. I am not much of apple's fan but I wish to give credits where its due and so from my anecdotal evidence it wouldn't have been the case with atleast my mac air. This thing is crazy light, has a decent battery life and survived quite a high damage with tis but a scratch. Credits where its due to Apple hardware engineering. I don't wish to oversell apple tho but from my anecdotal evidence, it handled pretty good in real life stress test and I am super happy with it surviving that drop with almost literally no difference, so there's that.

stackghost 4mo ago

Those original Chromebook Pixels were awesome machines. I wish they'd had open bootloaders, but I seem to recall you had to keep it in developer mode which required a nag screen, or something along those lines, if you wanted to run your own OS on it.

tgma 4mo ago
You can easily remove the nag screen by opening the device and unscrewing a screw and running coreboot with SeaBIOS. Pretty neat security approach (not too hard to do, not too easy for a layman to fall for instructions to self-compromise). I have two that work just fine today.
- bsammon 4mo ago
  When I was actively hacking my chromebook, there was tons of advice like this, and 90% of it didn't work on both arm and intel-based chromebooks, and the advice-givers never mentioned which category it worked on. Sometimes it was buried 5 paragraphs into the webpage you were sent to for downloads, sometimes not. Has any of this changed? Also, I tend to take with a grain of salt any comment that starts with "it's easy/simple/obvious", especially if it doesn't provide details or a link.
  - fragmede 4mo ago
    There's no specific device under discussion. Where do you want the link to go? Google?
  - tgma 4mo ago
    I was talking about a specific device on a specific dimension brought up by the GP, i.e., "freedom to tinker for the owner while preserving security for the masses." Whether that became a standardized process is a different story. By and large it has changed across models, but nevertheless it was a good balance of ownership/hackability without compromising security that can be emulated by other devices if they choose to.
- stackghost 4mo ago

abrowne 4mo ago

Google isn't making these (or having them – the devices themselves – made under a Google brand). Acer, Asus, Dell, HP and Lenovo are making them.

efskap 4mo ago

Looks and feels premium, but ultimately fundamentally disposable. This pattern extends to so many goods in modern life. Washing machines, microwaves, etc aren't worth the time of a local repairman. Repair is economically incompatible with its life cycle. Clothes are replaced, not stitched. And after a few washes at that. Cars, phones, etc, consist of proprietary parts all sealed up.

kingleopold 4mo ago
"Planned obsolescence" is the engineering reason for this so it's well planned.
tgma 4mo ago
Isn't that a feature not a bug? That means labor, a proxy for quality of life of the laborer, is more expensive than parts. That's abundance. In fact, in "shithole countries" where everyone wants to emigrate from, it is exactly the opposite: i.e. you try to fix everything even if it takes sooo long.
- drysine 4mo ago
  That means that the cost of (not) utilizing garbage is externalized
  - gruez 4mo ago
    >the cost of (not) utilizing garbage is externalized No, it's the exact opposite, because the consumer is on the hook for the purchase price as well as any repair costs.
    - culi 4mo ago
      Handling trash costs money. A lot of money. Right now, most Americans find it hard to even conceptualize the idea of paying to deal with their waste.
      - 4mo ago

bsimpson 4mo ago

Tying the browser version to the system version was a mistake too. Once it stopped getting system updates, it stopped being compatible with big corners of the web that expect Chrome to always be the newest version.

StilesCrisis 4mo ago
They had a fix for that in development! Sadly but not surprisingly, it was cancelled: https://9to5google.com/2024/07/12/chromeos-lacros-ending/ https://9to5google.com/2024/07/12/chromeos-lacros-ending/
- abrowne 4mo ago
  Cancelled presumably because instead they will move new Chromebooks to this Android OS.
  - StilesCrisis 4mo ago
    Doubtful!

kushalpandya 4mo ago

That's still the default state of Google Hardware. Just look at their out-of-warranty Pixel Watch repairs. And if you're not in North America (or EU), chances are very high that any repair to Pixels is going to be either not possible or will cost you dearly. I personally had a terrible experience of this with Pixel 7 Pro that was in warranty and had a water-related damage, since then, I've stayed away from any device made by Google.

abirch 4mo ago

I used to have everything Google. Strata Pixels, Nest Cameras Google Smart Speakers Nest Home Security system but then I broke my Google Pixel 1 watch. I ended up chatting with service in India and they pretty much told me that there was no way to fix it. After that, I quit buying all things Google and switched to Apple. Now I only buy Google software products, no consumer devices.

tadfisher 4mo ago
They completely changed their watch design for the Pixel Watch 4 so that it is actually repairable: https://www.ifixit.com/News/113620/the-pixel-watch-4-is-the-most-repairable-smartwatch-on-the-market https://www.ifixit.com/News/113620/the-pixel-watch-4-is-the-...
kelnos 4mo ago
How is Apple any different? IIRC Apple watches have an abysmal repairability score too. If anything, Apple is in general the worst on this particular metric. Switching to Apple because you had a repairability problem with another brand is kinda funny.
- abirch 4mo ago
  I haven't had an issue with Apple, but it's only been 3.5 years. Are there stories where Apple straight up said they wouldn't repair a watch? I thought they'd repair it even if the repairs were more the the replacement value.
fragmede 4mo ago
Apple gets a 3/10 for repairability to Google's 9/10 on their latest Pixel Watch 4.
sbrother 4mo ago
I went all in on the Nest ecosystem when I bought my house eight years ago, and Google absolutely ruined it with the botched acquisition. Half the stuff is Google branded, half is Nest branded, a different half has Google branded software and a different half has Nest branded software. None of it really works reliably anymore. The lock to my front door is completely incompatible with modern "Google Home" and I'm unable to change its passcode. It's a total disaster and I will never buy Google hardware again. Love their SaaS offerings though!

cj 4mo ago

I really miss the Chromebook Pixel / Pixelbook / whatever it was called. It was my travel laptop for at least 5 years. It was expensive, but the quality, performance, and durability was top tier. And it lasted 5+ years. The Pixelbook also had a "Google Assistant" button built in the keyboard. Should be easy enough to relaunch the hardware and swap in a gemini button...

simonh 4mo ago
I still think it’s amazing they manage to fit all that AI technology into something as small as a button.
kylec 4mo ago
Different iterations of the product were called both those things

slashdave 4mo ago

Because they (Google) are so removed from manufacturing