Microsoft Surface Duo Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

As reported by Forbes:

Gadget repair specialists have slammed the repairability of Microsoft’s newly launched Surface Duo smartphone, claiming the batteries are so hard to replace the device has a “built-in death clock”.

iFixit is renowned for taking apart newly launched devices to find out how easy they are to repair. The bad news for owners of the $1,400 dual-screen device is that iFixit gives it a rating of only 2 out of 10 for repairability, suggesting many everyday faults may be fatal for the device.

The Surface Duo doesn’t only have two screens joined by a hinge, but two batteries. While that might help the device last all day on a single charge, iFixit is worried about the long-term health of the batteries because they are so difficult to replace.

The company’s teardown reveals the batteries are glued in place and held down by uncommon tri-point screws, making them extremely difficult to remove. Furthermore, one battery’s connector is pinned underneath the phone’s motherboard.

This, claims iFixit, means “the only way to kill power is to remove the board completely… making any repair just a short circuit waiting to happen”.

iFixit adds that “it really doesn’t seem like Microsoft had any thought of battery replacement in mind here. $1,400 is a lot to shell out for any device, let alone one with a built-in death clock.”