Microsoft Surface Duo
We hope you didn’t expect this one would be easy...
Microsoft reportedly worked on the Surface Duo for six years. We can probably tear it down in less time than that, but with any brand-new form factor, there are no guarantees. Here’s hoping the Duo boasts the repairability of recent Microsoft sequels like the Surface Laptop 3 or the Surface Pro X.
Major tech specs
• Two 5.6in AMOLED displays (each 1800 x 1350, 401 PPI)
• Two batteries working in tandem, totalling 3,577 mAh
• A Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC paired with 6GB of DRAM
• 128GB or 256GB Internal Flash Storage
• A 11 MP f/2.0 camera, optimised for both front and rear use
• Wi-Fi-5, Bluetooth 5.0, 4x4 MIMO LTE, and USB-C 3.1 connectivity hardware
Key findings
• It’s a non-phone, but the Duo has a removable SIM like other Surface devices. When folded, it undercuts Samsung’s original Fold by 7mm (9.8 mm vs the Fold’s 17mm).
• The Duo’s entire left half bears a striking resemblance to a miniature iPad – big battery, with a sliver of circuit board snaking around the right side. The right half looks like nothing we’ve seen – it’s almost a solid wall of circuit board, with a little window in the middle for the second battery.
• Opening pick, meet chassis gap. No heat or suction cups necessary yet! This is way too good to be true. And it is. We quickly get bogged down in adhesive and break out the heat gun. Complicating matters, the panels are booby-trapped. Both batteries are stuck to their respective rear panels, and tethered to the rest of the phone via fragile cables. Careful carving through graphene cooling sheets and sticky strips of adhesive does the trick, but we nearly destroy a flex cable that houses some indicator LEDs and connects the earpiece speaker to the circuit board nearby.
• The Duo’s hemispheres are connected by two multi-strand interconnect cables routed through the hinges. They remind us more of old-school MacBook display cables than the flat ribbon cables we’ve seen in other hinges. We’re hopeful that this style of cable will be able to hold up to a lot of abuse.
• As for battery replacement.
Obstacle 1: Glue. Lots. Obstacle 2: Tri-point screws. Obstacle 3: One battery’s connector is pinned underneath the motherboard. As is often the case with Microsoft, it seems like the only way to kill power is to remove the board completely, making any repair a short circuit waiting to happen.
• Next we twist away Torx screws securing the spine and hinges. The two big wings are free to fly away from the central spine. These frames provide a lot of the device’s structure and torsional rigidity, helping the two halves open evenly, and provide mounting points for most of the internals.
• Repairability Score: 2 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair). Displays and back glass covers can be replaced without disassembling other components. Batteries are glued and require extensive disassembly to service. The USB-C port is soldered to the main board. Tri-point screws secure key components. OLED panels are not well protected from prying, yet must be removed for most repairs. Stubborn glue at all entry points complicates any repair attempt.