From PC Mag: A Microsoft video presentation has revealed the obscure reason why Surface devices ship with soldered RAM, and explained why they don't include Thunderbolt ports.
An increasing number of devices are shipping without upgradeable parts, and in the case of laptops, 2-in-1 hybrids, and tablets, that usually means no way of replacing the battery or the RAM modules. This has always been the case for Microsoft's range of Surface devices, but Microsoft has now explained the rather bizarre reason why you can't upgrade their RAM.
As MSPowerUser reports, part of a Microsoft presentation video has appeared on Twitter courtesy of user WalkingCat. It's only a brief snippet, but explains why the RAM is soldered to the board in Surface devices and why they don't ship with Thunderbolt ports. In both cases, it comes down to offering more secure devices.
Soldered RAM stops someone from removing the memory and "easily" freezing the modules using liquid nitrogen. Once frozen, Microsoft says it's possible to purchase a special memory reader for a few dollars from Aliexpress and access all the data stored in the modules, "including the Bitlocker recovery keys."
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