Dell continues tinkering with what it hopes to be a repairable laptop like the Framework Laptop. Last year, it showed off Concept Luna, a clamshell designed to easily disassemble for easy repairs, upgrades, and harvested components. This year, Dell showed the press an updated Concept Luna that could support more power while being even simpler to dismantle. The vendor is also exploring how to automate the process, from disassembly to parts diagnostics, on a broad scale.

Now more repairable (still unavailable)
Dell's Concept Luna laptop is comparable in size to a Latitude with some Dell XPS 13 Plus-like stylings. In person, it looked similar to the Concept Luna demoed last year, including appearing to be a functioning PC. But Dell's representative was able to open this year's version up and pull out internal parts much more rapidly—well under 60 seconds.

The computer was easier to take apart because it doesn't have screws (last year's Concept Luna had four). Dell's rep simply stuck a pin (it could be anything that fits, they said) into a hole in the security lock slot on the right side of the system's deck.

That allowed Dell's rep to pull off the keystone north of the keyboard and then slide the keyboard up and out. Once the system was open, the speakers, fan, motherboard, and battery were removed instantly thanks to pop-out modules, which, Dell said, are recyclable. The concept laptop also got rid of the cable connecting the battery, so there are no cables, adhesives, or other types of connectors.

Dell built Concept Luna with simple display upgrades and repairs in mind as well. Dell's spokesperson promptly removed the system's LCD by inserting a pin into a hole in a keystone south of the screen and then took off the keystone, releasing a latch underneath the piece, and plucked the display off the chassis.

There's also potential for better accommodations for beefier components in the updated Concept Luna. Last year's version used passive cooling, while the new one has a fan. The fans lock into the motherboard, keeping it in place.

There’s already a modular laptop you can buy
If swappable laptop parts in an easy-to-open chassis sound familiar, you may be thinking of Framework's line of modular laptops. They're not concepts; instead, they arguably offer the most readily available, repairable laptop design today. As we detailed in our Framework Laptop review, the computer is remarkably DIY-friendly, from swappable port bays to simple, detailed repair guides that only require a screwdriver.

A tech giant like Dell releasing something like Concept Luna could certainly give the younger Framework a run for its money, but Dell still isn't talking about releasing a laptop with Concept Luna's repairability. And it could ultimately decide not to.

However, in addition to advancing the laptop's design this year, Dell also looked into automation techniques that could further this concept on a scale that could extend beyond a single product.

Big picture
If you've heard of Framework and are aware that Dell has publicly discussed Concept Luna for two years, you might wonder, why doesn't the company push out a modular laptop?

After all, Framework released two Intel-based versions of its laptop, keeping it up to date with 12th generation parts this year, and also started selling the Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition. Plus, despite early, warranted concerns, Framework's marketplace for buying components and adding parts, like hinges, audio boards, antenna modules, and heatsinks, seems readily stocked. Surely, if a company founded in 2020 can pull it off (at least for this long), one of the world's top-three computer manufacturers has the resources to do the same, right?

But Dell doesn't just want to sell a modular PC and parts like Framework does; it has dreams of gaining access to parts from already-purchased Dell laptops, so it can reuse them in other laptops it can sell. Dell's talking about giving components as many as four lives. And when a device no longer has usable parts, Dell also wants to be able to recycle the computer's materials into new products, like laptops, monitors, or phones. The company, at least with what it showed to the press this year, is thinking big-picture, including determining how to make and diagnose repairable systems on a large scale and in a way that makes financial sense.

That's a storied process, though. To further learn how it might be done, Dell is working with a "micro-factory" to develop Concept Luna. It relies on "smart telemetry" to identify which PC parts are defective and which can be repurposed, plus robotic automation to do the physical labor. Dell showed off what this looks like to members at a press conference earlier this month:

"By marrying Luna’s sustainable design with intelligent telemetry and robotic automation, we’ve created something with the potential to trigger a seismic shift in the industry and drive circularity at scale," Dell's Glen Robson, CTO of Dell's Client Solutions Group, said in a blog post about Concept Luna today. "A single sustainable device is one thing, but the real opportunity is the potential impact on millions of tech devices sold each year and optimizing the materials in those devices for future reuse, refurbishment, or recycling."

We have seen Dell actually sell laptops highlighting user-upgradability recently. In 2019, Dell's Alienware gaming brand released the Area-51m laptop that emphasized easy upgrades to most components, including the CPU and GPU. But successors to that PC, while still more easily upgradable than the average gaming laptop, don't have user-upgradable CPUs or GPUs.

Besides actual releases, tech vendors use concept products to explore features and learnings they can incorporate elsewhere in the business. Robson's blog noted Dell's use of robotics and automation as a way to speed up PC disassembly and diagnostics "and better understand which components can be reused, refurbished, or recycled." Those findings alone have value outside of any potential interest and money to be earned from an Official Luna Laptop.

"And, while Luna is 'just a concept' right now, it is a long-term vision for how we achieve an even greater business and societal impact through circular design practices," Robson's blog said.

Beyond the laptop
As you can see, it's unclear what Dell will create from its Concept Luna findings. But we hope the company stays with it for worthwhile gains beyond plugging its oft-touted sustainability goals. Fingers are crossed for an eventual product release or, better yet, a rejigging of a laptop series that puts modularity and easy repairs at the forefront.

There are many things to work out before that happens, of course. For example, Dell is still testing how Concept Luna's durability compares to other laptops. We also don't know how Dell might go about taking parts from customers and what sort of reimbursement that would entail, or how an otherwise new PC with a used part would be marketed (Refurbished? New with a gently loved keyboard?).

But even if we don't see Concept Luna on real store shelves in the future, today, we're at least seeing one of the biggest PC makers research ways to make laptops a more repairable, upgradeable, long-term gadget with components that also enjoy a longer life span. Yes, we may have to wait until Dell figures out how to best make money off the idea to see the end result, but there's potential for boosting sustainability, repairability, and customer choice.