Surface Go teardown reveals smaller battery than the iPad

iFixit tears down a Surface Go to give us a closer look at the components that make this tablet tick.

Surface Go teardown (source: iFixit)
Surface Go teardown (source: iFixit)

Microsoft’s new Surface Go tablet became available on August 2, and the guys from iFixit torn down one to give us a closer look at how the company cramped an entire computer in a such small body.

If you were hoping to upgrade the new Surface Go, think again, as the iFixit gave the tablet a score of only 1 out of 10 for repairability, which is not surprising in this kind of device. However, you have a MicroSDXC slot, which you can use to upgrade the storage up to 1TB, but that’s it, as everything else is pretty much glued in making it virtually impossible or very expensive to repair.

One of the biggest surprises was the battery. The Surface Go includes a 26.1Wh battery pack, split in two cells, which is much smaller than the 32.9Wh pack found in the latest Apple iPad.

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In addition, for cooling the Pentium Gold processor, the Go uses only a copper shield and thermal paste instead of heat pipes as we’re used to seeing in other fanless Surface models.

While the Surface Go is not a device that you’ll be upgrading or repairing yourself, it’s an impressive piece of hardware that has already exceeded the expectations of many people, and it’s slated to become one of the most popular Surfaces.

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.