> The RAM is soldered to the motherboard, something that iFixit would typically penalize in the past. But iFixit says that given the power savings and performance boost from proximity to the CPU, it can't punish the decision.<p>... seriously? At this point it's beginning to feel like iFixit is selling out to these companies. Score of 7/10 and the RAM is soldered. That doesn't compute for me.<p>If the SSD is actually replaceable as the teardown indicates, that's a huge plus.<p>If the wifi/BT module is still integrated, that's a big fat minus, because those are the most likely parts that have failed on pretty much every iteration of the Surface and I'm sick and tired of seeing these insanely expensive and impossible to repair devices with parts that quickly fail.
You still have to unglue the screen though. And it gets a 7/10?<p>I really like the Dell Latitude 2-in-1 (tablet) as my Surface clone/replacement. It's held together by screws and it has had Thunderbolt for quite a while now!
Original non blogspam: <a href="https://www.ifixit.com/News/68671/does-the-surface-pro-9-mark-a-turning-point-for-repairability-at-microsoft" rel="nofollow">https://www.ifixit.com/News/68671/does-the-surface-pro-9-mar...</a>
I have been looking for a few days for a small Windows-based 2-in-1 tablet with a keyboard cover and a stylus to<p><pre><code> 1. carry around and do some coding on,
2. watching movies / studying and browsing,
3. drawing / taking notes.
</code></pre>
My search so far landed on the Surface Pro 8 and Surface Go 3. The former has significantly better performance, which I like, but it's basically the size of a proper laptop. The latter is 10" or so, which is the size I'm looking for, but apparently has terrible performance. Can anybody recommend some more options?
It's unfortunate that needing a heat pad to melt glue simply to replace the battery is considered repairable. I miss the era when we could just pop a battery in or out of a phone or laptop.
I don't agree that this is that much of an improvement. I replaced the battery and screen on my old Surface Pro 5. Sure the battery was glued. But that's a drop in the bucket for the glued screen. And since the screen is still glued I don't see how the score should be so jaw droppingly better.
ifixit made a lot of concessions. maybe they should try microsoft's warranty process before giving it so many passes, as someone who is struggling to get the fan of my SP8 replaced for something that doesnt sound like it has a loose bearing.
>modular components: motherboard, thermal module, the Surface Connect Port, speakers, Wi-Fi module, front and rear cameras, and side buttons<p>Reads like onion. Its "modular" because motherboard is not glued to display and buttons ...