Dell this week unveiled a new concept laptop, designed in conjunction with Intel, that is more environmentally friendly and easier to repair. The company is calling it the "Concept Luna," and if it makes it to market, it could be a big hit for Dell, especially among those who want the "right to repair."

This is a big step for Dell and could be a big win for its customers. Especially if the design elements that make Concept Luna easy to repair are introduced in a popular laptop like the Dell XPS 15 OLED.

I have been hoping to see such a commitment from companies like Apple, Dell, and HP to make more repairable laptops since I first saw Framework Laptop earlier this year. For those of you who don't know, the Framework Laptop is a new ultra-portable designed to be easy to disassemble, modify, and repair. It is also one of the best laptops you can buy. In our Framework Laptop review, we called it the anti-MacBook, and for good reason: Apple is one of the worst offenders when it comes to selling technology that is difficult (if not impossible) to repair without sending it back to the manufacturer.

With Concept Luna, Dell claims to have designed a device that is slightly more repairable than the average laptop. In particular, they say that only four screws are needed to access internal components for repair, instead of hundreds. The company also claims that Concept Luna, like Framework, uses modular components and the display can be easily removed, so a third-party repair shop (or even you yourself) should be able to disassemble and reassemble the laptop easily. Also unlike the framework, Concept Luna is designed with a bio-based PCB (printed circuit board) made of flax fiber (instead of plastic laminate) and a water-soluble polymer that can be dissolved for easy recycling.

This is the other half of Concept Luna's promise. In addition to being easy to repair, Dell is trying to make it environmentally friendly. The company claims that the Luna will have half the carbon footprint of a laptop like the Latitude 7300 Anniversary Edition. This was accomplished by tricks such as shrinking the motherboard by about 75% and reducing the number of components by about 20%. Interestingly, according to Dell, the smaller motherboard could be placed closer to the top cover to improve cooling and eliminate the need for fans. Dell claims that the advanced deep-cycle cell batteries used in the Concept Luna last longer than typical laptop batteries and are recyclable.

All of this leads to an exciting step forward for Dell. The company seems to be following in the footsteps of Framework with Concept Luna, and other laptop makers should take note and follow the same path.