Laptops are a powerful tool for learning, entertainment and work, but there are some aspects of the product that laptop users need to change, but the manufacturer has not seen any movement!
Technology is constantly evolving, and naturally, laptops are getting better every year. For the most part, but there are still recurring problems that never seem to be fixed, despite significant advances in both hardware and software. Here are some examples of disappointing choices that laptop manufacturers have yet to change.
See more: Acer Aspire Lite 14 review: Is a 10 million laptop worth buying?
Table of Contents
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- Too many unnecessary software pre-installed
- AI laptops must have the AI logo!
- Confusing decisions about USB-C ports
- The best configuration is always favored by Intel – what about AMD?
- Low-quality webcams still haven’t been improved
- Conclusion
Too much unnecessary software pre-installed
It’s an old story, isn’t it? Since the birth of laptops, manufacturers have always had the habit of “giving away” a series of software with all kinds of uses – or sometimes no use at all other than to fill up the system.
Too much unnecessary software pre-installed
Many pre-installed software like McAfee are often deleted by users as soon as they activate the machine
Some software is really useful, like driver update tools or system settings that Windows doesn’t support out of the box. But many of them just repeat features that are already in Windows, or even make it more confusing. For example, Windows already has a performance mode, but many manufacturers still add their own performance tuning software. The result? You have to change settings in both places if you don’t want your performance to be affected.
Worse still, many pre-installed software is just for advertising or selling additional services. Some apps require you to purchase a premium customer support package. Others are third-party tools that you never use. Many laptops come with antivirus software – often McAfee, which is often underrated. Many manufacturers even pre-install Microsoft Office, but you still have to buy a separate license to use it.
With so much redundant software, cleaning up bloatware is a must when you first turn on your laptop.
AI laptops must have AI logos!
This trend started in 2024 and is actually nothing new – whenever there is a “hot” technology, manufacturers try to show it off by attaching logos directly to the laptop. And this time, AI is the most favored name.
Stick AI logos on designs
Stick AI logos on designs
Stick AI logos on designs
Check out 8 things laptop users want to change, but manufacturers still… close their eyes and sit still!
Check out 8 things laptop users want to change, but manufacturers still… turn a blind eye!
HP and Acer are two typical names, when they put AI logos on most of their high-end laptop lines. Acer even equipped an AI light on the touchpad of the Swift 14 AI – a detail that is somewhat… confusing. These logos not only lose the elegance of the design but also create a feeling of lack of confidence, as if the companies are trying to shout: “Our laptops have AI, is it cool?”.
In fact, these are details that only appear when the technology is still young and not really strong. A laptop with an AI label today may be left behind by models without this logo in the next few years.
It only makes your laptop look unnecessarily outdated, because every time you look at that logo, you will remember that it was a silly idea to have it in the first place.
Confusing decisions about USB-C ports
USB-C was born with the goal of simplifying the connection port – a single port that can do everything. However, manufacturers still find ways to make this experience unnecessarily complicated. Many laptops have USB-C ports but the specifications are inconsistent, leading to users having to figure out which port supports Thunderbolt 4 or USB4, which is just USB 3.2 Gen 2.
List of 8 things laptop users want to change, but manufacturers still… turn a blind eye!
Many manufacturers still often cut USB-C ports
This is even more annoying when USB-C ports are only placed on one side of the machine, making it inconvenient to arrange the workspace.
Worst of all, expensive laptops still use regular USB-C ports instead of USB4, even though their price is completely enough to equip a higher standard. A recent example is the Honor MagicBook Art 14, a laptop that costs over $1,700 but lacks any USB4 ports.
Similarly, many AMD-powered laptops often cut USB4 or Thunderbolt 4, while the Intel version of the same model comes fully equipped. Thunderbolt 4 is not an Intel-exclusive technology, but manufacturers continue to favor Intel with better specs for no good reason.
The best configurations are always favored by Intel – what about AMD?
One of the most annoying things in the laptop industry today is that high-end configurations almost always come with Intel processors, even when they are not necessarily the best choice. Even if a company does experiment with other chip lines to create innovation, that product is often separated into a separate line, seemingly to avoid affecting the position of Intel-powered models.
List of 8 things laptop users want to change, but manufacturers still… close their eyes and sit still!
Many laptops with Intel chips are favored in hardware over other chip brands
Take the HP EliteBook Ultra as an example. HP previously launched an EliteBook Ultra with a Qualcomm processor, but despite being the company’s top-of-the-line business laptop, that version only had a 2.2K IPS display that wasn’t as bright and vibrant, a heavier chassis made of aluminum instead of lighter magnesium alloy, and a 5MP camera, while HP’s top-of-the-line models have long used 9MP sensors.
These worthwhile upgrades only came when HP announced an Intel-powered EliteBook Ultra G1 at CES 2025.
But HP isn’t the only one doing this. Lenovo’s top-of-the-line laptop, the Yoga 9i, is still Intel-only. The Dell XPS line has also been Intel-only for years, until the XPS 13 finally got a Qualcomm version last year, but AMD is still absent. Not only that, but equipment such as ports also often favor Intel models, as only this chip line supports Thunderbolt 4, while AMD-based devices are often left behind.
These constraints are clearly limiting user choice and making the laptop market less diverse than its true potential.
Low-quality webcams still haven’t improved
2020 has changed a lot, and one of the clearest realizations at that time was that laptop webcams really aren’t good enough for remote work. Many manufacturers still use 720p sensors, and some brands like Huawei and Honor even put the webcam right on the keyboard, providing an extremely uncomfortable viewing angle.
List of 8 things laptop users want to change, but manufacturers still… turn a blind eye!
Many high-end laptops still use low-quality webcams
Even as the remote work trend continues to grow, change is happening quite slowly. Dell still makes laptops with 720p webcams, even in its high-end XPS line, and on its entry-level models, this has been the standard for a long time.
1080p webcams are becoming more common now, but that doesn’t mean the quality has improved significantly. Many laptop webcams are still pretty bad, to the point where if you want to work professionally with online meetings or livestreams, a separate webcam is still almost mandatory.
It’s baffling that after all the changes in the way we work and communicate online, many companies continue to use the cheapest sensors possible. Not to mention, the microphone layout on some laptops is also unreasonable – like the Honor, with the microphone placed right next to the touchpad, making it difficult for users to operate comfortably during video calls.
Final thoughts
Of course, with cheap laptops, cutting some aspects is understandable. But the problem is that many products that cost more than $1,000 still suffer from these limitations, which should not exist in 2025. Hopefully in the coming time, we will see real improvements instead of just promises from manufacturers.