When it comes to teardown, iFixit does a fine job with it. The latest device to fall in the hands of experts at iFixit is Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s recently announced Kindle Fire HDX, which comes in two variants: 7-inch and 8.9-inch. Of the two, they’ve opted to tear open the 7-inch variant.
Kindle Fire technical specifications
Before saying anything about the teardown, let’s first take a look at the Kindle Fire HDX 7’s technical specs.
- 7″ display with 1920 x 1200 resolution at 323 PPI
- Quad-core 2.2 GHz Snapdragon processor
- Dual band, dual antenna (MIMO) Wi-Fi
- Dual stereo speakers and built-in microphone
- Front-facing HD camera
- 16/32/64 GB internal storage options
Kindle Fire teardown
Popping open this device is no piece of cake, as there’s too much adhesive used. Even if you’re able to open the device, you’ll need to be extra careful as there’s a pesky cable connecting the two halves.
One of the reasons for opening up the Kindle Fire HDX might be to replace the battery, and such a task seems to be next to impossible for the average user since there’s a powerful adhesive applied to the plastic mindframe which holds the battery as well. But that’s not all. The battery connects via spring contacts beneath the motherboard, which makes replacing the battery process an extremely difficult task.
Regarding the LCD screen, it is fused to the front glass, which means that if you want to replace the cracked screen, then you’ll need to replace both components.
The LCD and digitizer cables are trapped between the LCD and midframe. The only way to get the connectors reseated is to remove the midframe from the display assembly.
In the end, the Kindle Fire HDX 7″ gets a very low repairability score: 3 out of a possible 10 (10 being the easiest to repair). This is the lowest score for any Kindle that iFixit has ever taken apart. We just hope Amazon doesn’t follow Apple’s footsteps for its future products.
