The Public Interest Research Group Education Fund has released its 2026 report on device repairability, assigning grades to major laptop and smartphone manufacturers. Apple emerged with the poorest performance, receiving a C-minus for laptops and a D-minus for cell phones. Lenovo also ranked among the lowest-scoring laptop vendors in the analysis.
PIRG’s study, titled “Failing the Fix (2026): Grading laptop and cell phone companies on the fixability of their products,” evaluated the ten newest laptops and phones available in January via manufacturers’ French websites. The group selected France as the reference market because its repairability index, a mandatory grading system for products sold there, forms the basis of much of PIRG’s criteria. Advocates argue that these standards should extend globally to enhance consumer repair rights.
To compute grades, PIRG adapted the French index but placed greater emphasis on the physical ease of disassembling devices. The report states that this adjustment reflects consumer expectations of what a “repair score” should indicate. Other categories from the French index include the availability of repair documentation, spare parts accessibility, and spare parts affordability, calculated as a percentage of the product’s total cost.
Each company’s final grade averages the total French score with the isolated disassembly score from each device. Additionally, PIRG deducts 0.5 points for membership in industry groups like TechNet or the Consumer Technology Association, which oppose right-to-repair legislation in the United States.
The findings highlight significant barriers to repair for consumers, particularly with Apple and Lenovo laptops. Low scores suggest these devices are difficult to take apart and lack sufficient repair information. This report adds to ongoing debates about manufacturer responsibilities and the push for more repairable electronics worldwide.
