Chromebooks Were Once a Good Deal for Schools. Now They’re Becoming E-Waste.

livemint.com:

Low-price, easy-to-use Chromebooks were once a boon to cost-conscious schools. Educators say the simple laptops are no longer a good deal. Models have shot up in price in the past four years.

Constant repairs add to the cost. Google imposes expiration dates, even if the hardware still works. This year, Google ceases support for 13 models.

Next year, 51 models will expire. These surging costs are presenting a predicament for anyone who runs a school and wants to educate children. Some administrators say they are throwing precious funding at a product that just doesn’t last long enough.

Doubling the lifespan of Chromebooks could save public schools—and taxpayers—an estimated $1.8 billion, according to U.S. PIRG, a public-interest research group that analyzed Chromebook data. Chromebooks have no second life.

When they expire, they become e-waste. By contrast, Macs and PCs can run apps even after their native software is no longer supported. They can even be repurposed into Chromebook-like devices.

Death dates During the pandemic, schools rushed to buy Chromebooks and other devices for remote learning. Chromebook sales slumped after in-person classes resumed. In the second quarter of this year, shipments jumped again, prompted by a May 13 deadline for the federal government’s Covid-19 emergency fund for schools and libraries, according to analytics firm Canalys.

Chromebooks released pre-2020 receive automatic monthly updates for about five years. Google extended the lifespan on newer models to up to eight years. The clock starts ticking once the Chromebook goes on sale.

By the time schools purchase Chromebooks, that time frame is shorter. That was the case for Frederick County Public Schools in Maryland. The district