14 DAY TRIAL // iFixit rolled out a 2017 review to look back at the devices that were torn down this year and proved the hardest to repair, with Microsoft and Apple products topping the list with the worst scores.
The number one place goes to Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop, with a score of 0 points out of a maximum 10, which means it’s impossible to repair if it breaks down.
iFixit said in June that “this laptop is not meant to be opened or repaired; you can’t get inside without inflicting a lot of damage,” adding that replacing certain parts is either impossible because they’re soldered to the motherboard (like the CPU, RAM, and storage) or can only be reached by removing other components.
The new Surface Pro and the Surface Book 2 are next with just 1 points, once again nearly impossible to repair, followed by two Apple devices, namely the 2017 MacBook and the new iPad with 1 point and 2 points, respectively.
2017 iPad gets two points
In the case of the new iPad, iFixit noted that the LCD is easy to remove and the battery is not soldered to the motherboard, making them somewhat easy to repair, hence the 2 points it received.
But on the other hand, Apple used plenty of adhesive on the device, and this means that whoever attempts to tear the iPad apart could very well break it down.
“Just like in previous iPads, the front panel is glued to the rest of the device, greatly increasing the chances of cracking the glass during a repair. Gobs of adhesive hold everything in place. As with its Air 1 predecessor, this ranks among the most difficult battery removal procedures we've seen in an iPad,” iFixit explained.
You can watch iFixit’s 2017 overview by clicking play in the video below and if you own one of these devices, you better not try to open them up all by yourselves because there’s a good chance you’ll break it down.
