Microsoft’s Surface Pro 10 And Surface laptop 7 Copilot+ PCs are finally launching and it turns out they’re some of the most repairable laptops on the market.
According to a new breakdown of the laptops thanks I fix it, they praised how easily technicians can maintain them. Shahram Mokhtari from the official YouTube channel goes through the process of disconnecting each part, including the motherboard, to demonstrate how easy it is to remove and repair them.
Under the casing of each device there are several labels and QR codes with a wrench symbol above them. Microsoft calls the labels ‘Wayfinder Markings’ and they tell you what kind of screws you need and how many of them to secure components in that area. Meanwhile, the QR codes will take you to Microsoft’s official service guide page for easy instructions.
The ease with which parts can be removed has been significantly improved, which is a particular benefit for laptops. For example, the batteries in the Surface Laptop can now be removed by simply removing the bottom legs and back cover, compared to older models that required removing almost all other components first. This was especially egregious when the battery was the only usable part of the laptop. SSD cards are also easy to remove. Unfortunately, the memory is soldered to the motherboard, making it difficult for the average user to disconnect and replace.
The Surface Pro is just as easy to work on, with the SSD being replaceable without disassembly, and removing the screen being much easier than other tablets. However, due to the adhesive used to secure the screen, replacing other components such as the battery can be a bit trickier.
The Surface Pro and Surface Laptop each receive a repairability score of 8 out of 10, a vast improvement over Microsoft’s disastrous score in 2017, when iFixit upgraded the original Surface Laptop zero out of ten score for repairability. It seems like Microsoft was determined to turn over a new leaf after that collaboration with iFixit in 2021 to start selling Surface repair tools.
Meanwhile, MacBooks and Chromebooks are one of the worst laptops in terms of repairabilityaccording to a report called The failure of the solutioncompiled by the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), a consumer organization in the US. It sounds like Apple and Google should take a page from Microsoft’s book and overhaul their own PCs to be much more user-friendly.