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Which Ultrabooks Have User-Replaceable Batteries? Too Few

15.08.2012
Most new super-thin laptops, including Ultrabooks and the Retina MacBook Pro, are designed so consumers cant change the batteries themselves. This is a big issue if you plan on keeping your new laptop for more than two years or want to hand it down to someone else later.

Our advice: find out which laptops have easily removable batteriesand which dontbefore you buy.

The Electronics TakeBack Coalition (ETBC), an organization that promotes recycling and green design, has posted an (PDF). The research findings are disheartening (see charts below).

Most Ultrabooks have batteries that are difficult for their owners to replace. Apples new MacBook Pro with Retina display is the poster child herewith a glued-in battery that could for do-it-yourselfers to replace or $199 to have Apple do it ().

Other laptop manufacturers are following this trend to require you to send in your laptop to the service depot for a simple battery swapa repair that could mean a week away from your laptop and added cost.

Besides being user-unfriendly, the design change, ETBC notes, makes it even less likely that laptop owners will use their laptops for as long as possible or repurpose them.