Microsoft Surface Duo undergoes teardown by IFixit

The Microsoft Surface Duo is now ready to buy in the United States. You can get it from either the Microsoft Store and AT&T, as well as, Best Buy soon. There is a possibility it will launch outside the country next year. We’ve seen a hands-on video and we got to compare it with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2. It scored high on a benchmark and even outperformed other flagships. We learned more about the camera features and UI and also learned about the enterprise-level security by Microsoft.

IFixit got to do a teardown analysis already so we won’t have to. Let’s review first the specs and features of this $1,400 phone-tablet hybrid. The device comes with a pair of 5.6-inch AMOLED screens. Each one comes with 1800 x 1350 pixel resolution and 401 PPI. There are two batteries that total to 3577mAh of power. The phone runs on 6GB of RAM and Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor. You can choose between the 128GB or 256GB onboard storage.

When it comes to imaging, the single 11MP f/2.0 camera is optimized for both rear and front use. The usual connectivity options are available: USB-C 3.1, 4×4 MIMO LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, and WiFi-5. There are 360° hinges for unlimited folding potential as described.

IFixit shared an x-ray view of the device using a machine from Creative Electron. The phone-tablet has some similarities to the iPad. It comes with big battery capacity.

Opening the device is easy. No need for heat or suction cups, an opening pick will do. But inside you will see some more adhesive so a heat gun is still needed.

The batteries are stuck to the respective rear panels, surrounded by fragile cables. Be careful with the graphene cooling sheets and other cables you see as you may break some parts. Opening and removing some more components reveal the other parts.

The 60 Hz AMOLED panels are discovered to be from LG Display. Other parts found inside are as follows: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, 6GB of SK hynix DRAM, 128 GB Toshiba UFS 3.0 storage, Microsoft X904163 display driver, Qorvo 78052 RF Fusion MHB front-end module, Qualcomm SDR8150 LTE Transceiver, Qualcomm WCD9340 audio codec, and Qualcomm PM8150 power management ICs.

IFixit gives the Microsoft Surface Duo a low repairability score of 2. If you want to replace the displays and back glass covers, you can do so without having to disassemble other components. Removing the glue may be challenging and may even require extensive disassembly to service.

You will notice that USB-C port is soldered directly to the mainboard. The OLED panels are not protected from accidental prying. The panels must be removed for most repairs. There is glue on almost all entry points that make repair difficult.