Consumer laptop manufacturers which are not Apple have exactly one game to play: who has the most GHz and GB on the Best Buy shelf for the lowest price?
Other dimensions of quality (screen, keyboard, trackpad, hinge, case, battery, fans, overheating issues, preinstalled rootkits and adware, and certainly BIOS) are not relevant to their customers (who, even if they are frustrated with these things, don't necessarily know that something better exists).
So they go in whichever direction is cheapest (or, in the case of spyware, brings in the most 3rd party revenue).
Other dimensions of quality (screen, keyboard, trackpad, hinge, case, battery, fans, overheating issues, preinstalled rootkits and adware, and certainly BIOS) are not relevant to their customers (who, even if they are frustrated with these things, don't necessarily know that something better exists).
So they go in whichever direction is cheapest (or, in the case of spyware, brings in the most 3rd party revenue).