Gadgets

Asus Chromebook Leads the Class on Repair

We brought something extra special to show and tell today: the Asus Chromebook C202. Asus designed this gizmo for your kiddo—touting serviceability and durability as a major selling point. They were so touting, in fact, that they offered us a test unit to independently confirm their claims. Eager to investigate, we grabbed our lucky #2 spudger and crossed our fingers in hopes that this Asus aces our repairability test.

Opening the C202 was easier than sticking a straw in a juice box. Nothing proprietary, no adhesives—just good ol’ standardized Phillips screws. The C202 scored even more points for incorporating a whole lot of modular hardware. The trackpad, motherboard, battery, and power jack are all a cinch to replace. All figured, we rated the C202 at a solid 9 out of 10 on repairability. It’s a welcome relief to see a product designed for repair, and not replacement. Kudos, Asus.

Asus Chromebook C202 teardown
Hats off to you, Asus.

Asus Chromebook C202 teardown highlights:

• We spy with our little eyes a 38 Wh lithium ion battery. According to our research, that’s on par with the 11” MacBook Air’s 38.75 Wh battery.

• Asus gets extra credit for labeling the ends of their cables and sockets, a handy reassembly aid.

• A tisket, a tasket, we remove a bracket… and find a heat pipe? A battery-mounted heat sink seems like an odd design choice. Then again, we’ve seen a similar cooling strategy in the Surface Pro 4.

• Even easy repairs are daunting without instructions, so we’re excited to share that Asus will be publishing service documentation for the C202 on iFixit.

Be sure the check out the full Asus Chromebook C202 teardown on iFixit.com!