Recently, Intel researchers published a blog post that points to a more modular and sustainable future for laptops and mini PCs.
The blog, envisions concepts for laptops that feature standardized motherboards and IO ports for a variety of laptop types including fan-less, single-fan and dual-fan versions.
Part of the argument from the researchers — Roberta Zouain, Intel's Sustainability Product Strategy and Marketing Manager; Reshma PP, Director of System Design; and Gurpreet Sandhu, Vice President of the Platform Engineering Group — is to reduce e-waste, which they say generates over 60 million tons on a yearly basis, with less than 25% of that actually collected for recycling.
The drive for sustainable PC design appears to partner with the right to repair movement. This movement argues that people should be able to repair or upgrade their devices without being penalized for not buying the latest gear or restricted from accessing components and tools to do so.
There are some modular laptop designs already in the wild. Framework has been making customizable gaming PCs for awhile. Asus announced at CES the ROG Strix Scar 16 and 18 which features tooless upgrades for the SSD, no screwdriver required.
What Intel is arguing for is more open source and standardized from the factory floor to repair shops and the home user. This would mean that anyone could find components and tools to repair or upgrade their laptop.
How does Intel's proposal work?
One big change proposed by Intel is a standardized motherboard that is designed into three segments with the motherboard and system-on-a-chip separated from the IO ports.
"The creation of universal I/O boards (left and right I/O boards) that can be utilized across various platforms or market segments leads to cost savings by streamlining the duration of the design cycle and minimizing the engineering investment required," the authors write.
The paper goes on, "This innovative structure allows for targeted upgrades, repairs, and replacements, significantly extending the device's lifespan and reducing electronic waste."
The company also proposes a similar redesign for mini-PC, again separating various components into modules. These changes include removable CPU and GPU chips, hot-swappable storage and even repairable Thunderbolt modules.
"These modules significantly reduce repair costs and simplify the repair process in the event of port or connector damage at the end-user level," they write.
One thing that would need to be fought against here is how components are installed. In a right to repair favored world, any component from the display to a random USB port could be replaced with new components that plug or screw in.
Unfortunately, in some devices (looking at you Apple), components are glued in and nearly impossible to remove without some serious know-how or technical support.
In a race to have the thinnest laptops in the world (outside of the gaming market), I wonder if modular PCs would make sleek laptops a thing of the past. Personally, I would take a chunkier device over a thin laptop if I could easily swap out my RAM or put in the latest CPU to get the most of out my PC without buying a new hunk of plastic.
When could we see this future?
Unfortunately, probably not for a while. Unless Intel is heavily working on this in the background, the blog is a proposal and Intel doesn't make laptops or mini PCs.
Instead, it would need to be adapted in agreements with Intel partners like Dell or Asus.
Assuming Intel is working on this, we would guess the earliest you would actually see modular PCs would be a year, but that may be wishful thinking.
More from Tom's Guide
- Intel Core Ultra 200H and HX Series chips are here — everything you need to know
- US government considering cash infusions, AMD merger to help struggling Intel
- Intel offers apologies and fixes for Arrow Lake performance issues: What you need to know
