They're usually also well supported on Linux, and even sell them with Ubuntu and Fedora pre-installed. Generally not a terrible brand.

They were also the first OEM to support steam deck on their handheld (beside Valve).

Isnt lenovo the company that used to make the rugged military laptops that actually had Chinese or foreign backdoors installed?

Edit: for those interested https://www.investigativeeconomics.org/p/government-still-buying-lenovo-laptops

Edit 2 from a quick search. Lenovo laptops have faced allegations of containing backdoor vulnerabilities that could allow unauthorized access to data, particularly concerning military use. These concerns have led to bans on Lenovo products by various intelligence agencies due to potential cybersecurity risks.

 securityaffairs.com Wikipedia

Lenovo Laptops and Backdoor Concerns

Background on Lenovo's Security Issues

Lenovo, a Chinese technology company, has faced multiple allegations regarding security vulnerabilities in its laptops. These concerns primarily revolve around potential backdoors that could allow unauthorized access to sensitive data.

Notable Incidents

Year Incident Description 2008 U.S. military investigators reported finding backdoored chips in Lenovo motherboards, which allegedly logged keystrokes and transmitted data.

2013Intelligence agencies in the U.S., UK, and Australia banned Lenovo PCs due to backdoor vulnerabilities discovered during testing.

2015The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charged Lenovo for pre-installing adware that created security vulnerabilities, leading to a settlement.

2016The Pentagon warned that Lenovo computers could introduce compromised hardware into the Defense Department.

It seems to me that Lenovo’s repairably is more affected by that iFixit partnership than the opposite. I don’t see anything factually wrong or suspicious in the article.

I use iFixit's guides all the time, so I would hope that their score isn't affected by it. I've seen them as being fairly good at their role.

As someone who has changed a laptop keyboard before.

That picture says it all.

They even state it them selves in the article, so it is not like they are trying to hide this. Also they say that this is not the end all be all of reparability, which IMO should merit not then getting a 10/10 but idk what their metrics are.

This is true, but they're also not wrong that fully-modular USB-C ports is an absolutely huge win. It's one of the biggest things when it comes to laptops these days.

The "upgradability" part in a small laptop is questionable to me, anyway.

The GPU is really compromised in that chassis, as having it in a slot compromises cooling big time, and limits how much power it can use. And while I love upgradable RAM for the CPU... it'd be better if they used faster CAMM modules. Many other brands have upgradable SSDs/WiFi.

Swappable ports are awesome, no question.

...But honestly, I'd rather have a smaller chassis, bigger GPU and better cooling right off the bat, like a Zephyrus chassis. And have it reparable, and make the whole motherboard standardized/swappable, but not compromise the chassis so severely by making it modular.

Hasn't Apple been soldering everything to the motherboard for ages now?

Thinkpads are usually acquired as enterprise retire their stock, 2 or 3 year old devices for a fraction of the new price.

Thinkpads are generally invredibly cheap due to scale. You can also refurbished last years model for under 400 usd.

Well they dont lol, they are super flimsy these days and most stuff is soldered on. Its good if this turns out to be the start of the return to good thinkpads, but i wouldnt get my hopes up yet.

Literally. Repairability used to be expected.

At a guess, such cooperation would undermine Lenovo's profit margin and would thus be a non-starter for them.

Enter government regulation, to pinch corporations by the ear and drag them to doing what's right for society.

Here you go

https://itsfoss.gitlab.io/post/lenovo-cuts-the-windows-tax-and-offers-cheaper-laptops-with-linux-pre-installed/

Thinkpads had 3rd party replacement parts for the last 20 years.

Perhaps do some homework. ThinkPad have dominated in business for decades for good reason

Back in the day every screw on thinkpads had a series of little symbols on them to tell you which ones you needed to undo in order to get to the ram, storage, keyboard, and fans. Without needing a repair manual. I hope they brought that back!