Microsoft’s Surface Book is one of the coolest-looking laptops to come around in a long time, but those looks come at a price (well, other than the actual price): it’s nearly impossible to repair yourself.
The Book earned an abysmal 1 out of 10 on iFixit’s repairability test. For reference, that’s about the same as all of Apple’s current laptops – in fact, iFixit calls much of the internal design Apple-like. The Book is also a tiny bit worse than the 2 out of 10 scored by the Surface Pro 4.
The main problem points seemed to be the use of glue and soldering just about everywhere, requiring iFixit’s team to constantly heat up pieces in order to soften the adhesive. It also found may components were mounted behind their boards, such that you’d have to remove an entire chip assembly just to reach a small piece.
On the plus side, you can replace the SSD and battery, though it’s no easy task and you’ll have to cut through a lot of glue.
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While it’s nice that that the laptop features some degree of upgradability thanks to its replaceable bases, I suppose you have to make some compromises to fit a full computer inside a 1.6 pound display.
➤ Microsoft Surface Book Teardown [iFixit via Engadget]
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