Google resisted pleas to increase the lifetime of Chromebooks set to run out as of this June and all through the summer time. Thirteen Chromebook fashions have met their dying date since June 1 and will not obtain safety updates or new options from Google anymore. But that hasn’t stopped the Chromebooks from being listed for sale on websites like Amazon for the identical costs as earlier than.
Take the Asus Chromebook Flip C302. It got here out in 2018, and on June 1—about 5 years later—it reached its computerized replace expiration (AUE) date. But proper now, you should buy a “new,” unused Flip C302 for $550 from Amazon or $820 by way of Walmart’s Marketplace (offering hyperlinks for illustrative functions; please do not buy these unsupported laptops).
That’s simply certainly one of eight Chromebooks that expired since June whereas still being available on Amazon. The listings do not notify consumers that the gadgets will not obtain updates from Google. The US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) pointed this out in a press launch Wednesday, sharing screenshots of the fashions:
“Parents and teachers buying back-to-school laptops don’t expect devices to have a ‘death date,’ and sellers don’t advertise the lack of support,” Lucas Rockett Gutterman, the US PIRG’s Designed to Last director, mentioned in a press release accompanying Wednesday’s launch.
“It’s absurd that a new laptop, with all the features students need to do basic school work, is already unsupported. Students, and the planet, deserve better.”
The US PIRG’s launch highlights eight ChromeOS gadgets from Asus, Acer, Dell, Lenovo, HP, and Samsung, all simply purchasable on Amazon regardless of their expirations. We additionally discovered a few of these fashions bought by Walmart.
Here’s the US PIRG’s full record of just lately expired Chromebooks, which totals 13:
The US PIRG has been imploring Google to increase the lifetime of Chromebooks, and there are 51 Chromebooks scheduled to run out subsequent summer time. The advocacy group’s newest launch highlights how simple it’s to purchase expired laptops, which may result in safety threats, e-waste, and wasted cash.
Gutterman instructed Ars Technica:
We have been monitoring the precise Chromebook fashions listed within the June letter that just lately expired this summer time and had been shocked to seek out them still for sale with no warnings. Retailers have to make modifications to guard clients, since Chromebook help expiration dates may be unclear if they don’t seem to be included on itemizing pages.
However, our important focus is Google’s means to increase help. We simply needed to seek out one retailer still promoting these expired fashions for instance. … We might keep away from this concern if Google had been to increase help for the 13 fashions listed within the June letter.
Gutterman urged retailers to obviously point out expiration dates to shoppers, acknowledging that it is not simply Amazon carrying expired Chromebooks.
“Retailers ought to embrace help finish of life dates for all tech merchandise that they promote, however Chromebooks are significantly vital to point as a result of help ends after an expiration date slightly than attributable to {hardware} necessities,” he added.
It’s troublesome to think about the tech novices, college students, and consumers with funds constraints losing sources on a tool that can quickly turn out to be out of date. It’s additionally regarding to think about how simple it’s to purchase these merchandise with just some clicks on among the hottest and profitable on-line marketplaces.
Online marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart are already notorious for carrying fraudulent and poorly vetted tech merchandise. The PIRG’s newest launch emphasizes but one more reason consumers should be alert when shopping for tech from such websites. It additionally underscores the significance for OEMs to vet what’s made accessible of their identify on-line and raises the query of whether or not on-line marketplaces ought to require EoL dates on product listings. Walmart’s Marketplace even has a particular “Restored” part for refurbished tech that Walmart claims is “professionally inspected and examined to work and appear like new by top-rated, performance-managed suppliers.” Still, Ars discovered an expired Chromebook for sale by a Restored vendor and not using a discover of its lack of help.