Microsoft Surface Pro Earns Repairability Score of 1/10 from iFixit

So with such a low repair score does that mean the Surface it now cooler than an iPad

Sorry people but as tech gets more compact and thin something has to give and repairablity it top of that list.Just like many smart phones and the likes of the MBPr, MBA, iPad and new iMac computers will become more like consumer items. When they stop working just go out and buy a new one, re-sync your files and move on.

iMikeT said:

And you thought Apple products were hard to repair.....

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As TechCrunch notes, that is even less than Apple's iPad, which scored a 2/10 in repairability.

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Well played, MS. You've made something even harder to repair than a product from a company that intentionally makes its products hard to modify, less user-friendly than any other tablet, expensive, and power-hogging.

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Lancer said:

So with such a low repair score does that mean the Surface it now cooler than an iPad

Sorry people but as tech gets more compact and thin something has to give and repairablity it top of that list.Just like many smart phones and the likes of the MBPr, MBA, iPad and new iMac computers will become more like consumer items. When they stop working just go out and buy a new one, re-sync your files and move on.

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Yeah, another $2000 rMBP and it's all over. Pretty simple.

Removed.

blueroom said:

I was surprised the Surface Pro didn't have a VGA port

Fans in a tablet = not ready for prime time.

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Hmmm so the MacBook with an i5 would need no fans...guess that isn't ready for prime time either.

It's not a tablet in the iPad sense it's a laptop without a close-able screen.

As it turns out, the Surface Pro is sealed with what iFixit termed "a metric duckload" of adhesive, which took more than an hour to overcome.

Wow, really MacRumors, you highlighted this quote? How about the one they said about the iPad:


The iPad Mini continues Apple's repair-impeding practice of keeping iPads together with copious amounts of adhesive. This is one area in which the friendly-to-open Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD are clear winners.

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPad+Mini+Teardown/11423/1


And:


Continuing the trend, this iPad is glued shut. This isn't our first adhesive-riddled iPad, and we've been working to figure out how to make the painful opening process a lot easier.

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPad+4+Teardown/11462/1

As much as we hated trying to remove the clips in the original iPad, this much adhesive is even more of a pain. Be ready to crack your front panel if you dare open it! We'll be investigating the best way to get inside over the next few weeks.

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPad+2+Wi-Fi+Teardown/5071/1

Some heat, guitar picks, and a plastic opening tool make quick arduous work of removing budging the front panel.

Just like its predecessor, the new iPad is very difficult to disassemble. Adhesive secures the glass to the case, making common repairs and battery replacement difficult.

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPad+3+4G+Teardown/8277/1

oh and:

iPad 4 Repairability Score: 2 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair)

Just like in the iPad 2 & 3, the front panel is glued to the rest of the device, greatly increasing the chances of cracking the glass when trying to remove it.

Gobs, gobs, and gobs of adhesive hold everything in place, including the prone-to-start-a-fire-if-punctured battery.

The LCD has foam sticky tape adhering it to the front panel, increasing chances of it being shattered during disassembly.

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPad+4+Teardown/11462/2


Basically have no idea why you are trying to nit pick from the teardown when the iPad doesn't fair any better?

I wonder when apple will let the ipad run OSX?

OrangeSVTguy said:

I wonder when apple will let the ipad run OSX?

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Isn't it getting closer to the other way around, the Macs running iOS?

AppleScruff1 said:

Isn't it getting closer to the other way around, the Macs running iOS?

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It seems to me that features like Mission Control and that new swipe-down app launcher are crying out for the ability to perform gestures on the screen.

Windows 8 might actually be on to something.

Does this mean the iPad is twice as repairable as the Surface?

well if they cannot copy / overdo apple on the outside they sure will on the inside, it's in their very nature...

They didn't seriously put 2 fans in it did they? Come on .... really?

omfg

Why is everyone freaking out about fans?

OMG you have to blow air on a computer to cool it down? FUHWAHT? MS FAILS AGAIN!

When iFixit opened up the iPad and iPad Mini, choirs of angels could be heard singing faintly, as if far in the distance, as they removed the adhesive. The glue used is made from the tears of Chinese virgins mixed with unicorn urine and thickened with powdered rose petals.


Clearly, Micro$oft is not up to these standards. If they are too cheap to use unicorn urine in the $urface "Pro," I can't see why any "Pro" with any sense would buy it.

maflynn said:

Not surprising these tablets are scoring so low from ifixit the way companies are trying to squeeze so much into such a small enclosure.

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Exactly.

If Apple continues to follow up with products that are even more thinner and lighter, these kind of "repairability issues" will be the norm rather than the exception for the foreseeable future. If there´s no intervention from anyone, why should Apple or MS or all the other manufacturers care at all.

iSunrise said:

Exactly.

If Apple continues to follow up with products that are even more thinner and lighter, these kind of "repairability issues" will be the norm rather than the exception for the foreseeable future. If there´s no intervention from anyone, why should Apple or MS or all the other manufacturers care at all.

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It's going to be the norm sooner than you think, even in the usually flexible desktop scene. The next generation of Intel chips are likely going to be soldered into the socket. If you want to upgrade the CPU in your future computer, you'll have to buy an entirely new motherboard.

With SOCs becoming proliferating more and more into the consumer market, and possibly being the future of all computing hardware within 15 years, well...lay of the land, sign of the times, people. It sucks, but there's not much you can do about it.

On the plus side, at least everything will be powerful and portable.

iSunrise said:

Exactly.

If Apple continues to follow up with products that are even more thinner and lighter, these kind of "repairability issues" will be the norm rather than the exception for the foreseeable future. If there´s no intervention from anyone, why should Apple or MS or all the other manufacturers care at all.

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The use of tablets dictates smaller, lighter thinner.

So the next thing is to go back and revisit how it's constructed and seeking different solutions to get the size down.

This would be a really interesting area to run a design exercise.

5hr battery life? What inside that SurfacePro is chewing up so much power?

notjustjay said:

Err... what?


And this is significantly different from the Surface, and much more elegant... how? Because Apple's logic board is smaller?

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I checked those tear downs before I made the comment.

Designs a visual thing and an opinion. Seems we have different views. I do believe MS need to seriously lift their act. You think that's not the case.

I think Samsung have a far better grasp on reality than MS do.

And I also checked the iFixit Samsung teardowns.

This not a pro apple anti other system thing. Microsoft have lost their way and then when they play catch up they produce this. It's like arriving at the ball late, making a big entrance then being the worst dressed. Personally I think MS need a "must try harder".

Although I'm sure Yoda would disagree... "Try not. Do or do not, there is no try."

macsrcool1234 said:

Yeah because as we all know the MBA/MBP circuit boards are made of the same material as Cylon ships....give me a break

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I'm talking about the fact that Apple are able to make an entire the MacBook Airs logic board, about a quarter of the size of the one used here. They even did it back in 2008 on the original Air, so why couldn't Microsoft do it in 2013? This one takes up pretty much the whole inside of the machine.

There obviously has to be tradeoffs if you want a small, compact and sleek-looking device. Apple correctly betted that most wouldn't care, much less attempt to repair it. And to think Apple once received flak for gluing their ipads together.

iMikeT said:

I agree.

Going forward, I think we'll have devices that don't even have a repairability score because so much of the components will be integrated. Imagine the day where the entire motherboard is the size of a CPU dye and the battery is the size of a small coin.

I think it's crazy knowing that the power in my iPhone 5 once occupied five floors of a building. Imagine how many of today's iPhones will fit in devices 15 years from now.

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Indeed in 15 years from now internal parts will look totally different, but mind also that this evolution is not analogue. The space required is reduced, but so is the ability to make these parts smaller and smaller.

Sooner or later there won't be any real reason to make any device smaller or thinner as they won't be usable by humans.

In other words, these devices (and their internals) are becoming smaller as time passes by, but our hands and fingers are not

macs4nw said:

5hr battery life? What inside that SurfacePro is chewing up so much power?

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A core i5 processor.

lol...

Must be the lowest score ever...

I think ipad may have been a bit higher....

I guess since it took over an hour, Microsoft obviously is seriously saying "do not open" ...... Of course we all know better.

So, the Surface has finally becoming "another non-repairable device, just like the iPad 3"

Welcome *add that to the number of @#!F#& off users who will get one*

5 hours battery life is what you come to except from something that runs a full blown OS..in addition not using ARM.

I think something small and compact is naturally going to be very hard to fix - it's the nature and wanting thinner, smaller, etc...

and a glued in battery is naturally going to increase rigidity of the case significantly. that reducing broken glass risk.

My MS should make a nice big donation to iFixit, like Apple did to epeat.