Microsoft Surface Duo Teardown Provides in-Depth Look at Internals, Display Hinge Mechanism

BY Mahit Huilgol

Published 1 Oct 2020

After being leaked extensively Microsoft Surface Duo was finally launched in August. The Surface Duo marks Microsoft’s re-entry into the smartphone market with an Android-powered device. Furthermore, Surface Duo has been getting a lot of attention due to dual display. Now JerryRigEverything has posted a Surface Duo teardown video.

The teardown video offers a more in-depth look at Surface Duo’s internals. It also reveals the mechanism used to hold both the displays together. JerryRigsEverything praised the hinge on the device and explained how it offers 360-degree movement. Once the display is removed, you can see the twin battery pack, one on each side. Interestingly, one of the batteries is larger while the other one is smaller. JerryRigsEverything says it will be complicated for users to replace the batteries.

Beneath the batteries is a layer of graphite tape that covers heat dissipation copper coils. Furthermore, the hinge frame is made out of metal for increased durability, and the metal wire strip runs into the hinges. All said and done, the Surface Duo seems to come with the excellent build quality, and durability is not an issue. The screen doesn’t get damaged even when it’s bent 360-degree on both sides.

Our Take

Smartphones with foldable displays like the Galaxy Fold series and new Moto Razr suffer from durability issues. This is because they use a flexible OLED display, whereas Surface Duo comes with two displays held together via a hinge. It would be interesting to see whether buyers will prefer a foldable device like Samsung Galaxy Fold F or Surface Duo.