Nexus 6 Teardown: A Look Inside Google's Beast

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Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s latest phablet Nexus 6 has hit the stores. Folks at iFixit broke the device took take a look at its components and to figure out how easily it could be repaired. The iFixit team gave it a 7 out of 10 on the repairability due to easily replaceable components and a standard screw size. That’s a decent score, on par with the iPhone 6 Plus.

Nexus 6 Teardown

 

Nexus 6 has 22 screws

However, it does have a few shortcomings. To begin with, many components are soldered to the motherboard. It prevents their replacement. However, Motorola has avoided using clips or adhesives in Nexus 6, so there is little chance of damage during repair. The 5.96-inch Nexus 6 has as many as 22 screws to secure parts of the frame, and has a single kind of screw. That improves the phone’s repairability score.

Nexus 6-1

iFixit said one won’t face much trouble replacing buttons, camera or the headphone jack. Once you open the device, it falls apart in two halves, the display/motherboard assembly and the midframe/battery assembly, thanks to so many screws in the midframe. The mobile repair tools maker added that the Nexus 6 takes the dual LED flash to a new level.

Nexus 6 has SK Hynix made 3GB RAM

However, the phone’s 3220mAh battery is glued-in. It’s not as accessible as expected, but can be replaced. USB port, speaker, SIM card slot and the vibration motor are some of the components that are soldered to the motherboard, and won’t be easy to replace. Nexus 6 has already received overwhelming reviews for its features and sleek design from critics.

Nexus 6-2

The teardown revealed components from a number of manufacturers. It has Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor, SK Hynix made 3GB LPDDR3 RAM, while SanDisk provides 32GB NAND storage. Qualcomm also supplies the phone’s power management and LTE modem. The Nexus 6 uses Texas Instruments’ digital signal processor.

Priced at $649, the Nexus 6 runs the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop. It is available in 32GB and 64GB storage options.

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