14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft launched the Surface Duo with much fanfare earlier this year, but the availability of the device remains pretty limited, as only those living in the United States can get it right now.
Some of those who purchased the Surface Duo discovered the hard way that the glass panels aren’t necessarily as durable as they expected, and someone on reddit decided to take care of the whole thing on their own.
So what they did was replace the glass panel with aluminum, and by the looks of things, everything looks pretty good.
Detailed on reddit, the process isn’t necessarily something that everybody can do.
“Took some measurements sketched it up in fusion 360, exported to silhouette studio for the stencil. Cut it out of some thin aluminum cleaned it up a bit and bam, an aluminum back glass Replacement. Still have full folding function, no signal loss, and I kinda think it's helped with the dispersion of heat (but that may just be a suedo effect),” the Surface Duo customer who made the whole thing possible explains.
Looking exquisite
In theory, metal isn’t necessarily the best material for a smartphone, especially given it might eventually lead to overheating and cause various signal problems. But this doesn’t seem to be the case on this custom Surface Duo build.
“I haven't noticed a difference in signal. To be fair I've never gotten excellent service in my home. So going to work tomorrow will be a better test. Also, I suppose I'm not entirely sure if/where the antenna is. Could be in the left hand side of the phone, and that's why I've seen no difference,” the redditor explains.
Needless to say, this custom build looks pretty great, and while choosing other premium materials like carbon fiber would have made it even more visually appealing, the aluminum body certainly contributes to a super-premium design.
