The Google Nexus 5 may well be “the high-end Android phone bargain of the year,” according to our review, but it’s also one of the easiest to repair.
That’s according to the findings of the good folks over at iFixit, who routinely strip down the latest smartphone hardware to assess its fixability.
According to their latest Teardown, the Google Nexus 5 is one of the few high-end smartphones not to be glued together. Instead it’s two main chassis components are held together with plastic clips (plus a tiny amount of adhesive foam) – a major plus for gaining access to its innards.
It’s a similar story once you get inside the device, with only minimal glue used to secure its various components. As the report puts it at one point, “Google gives us the Goldilocks of glue: It’s just enough to hold the battery in place, but not too much.”
In addition, there’s an appreciably modular approach to the smaller components that makes removal and replacement a doddle. The final treat is the fact that none of the screws are specialised – they’re all off-the-shelf examples, and all the same type at that.
There is, however, one major drawback to the Google Nexus 5’s design in terms of access and repairability – the front panel and screen are fused together. As the report explains, “the front frame, LCD, and glass are doomed to a single shared death sometime down the road.”
Overall, though, the Nexus 5 seems to be one of the most readily repairable high-end smartphones around, and the iFixit crew awards it eight out of ten accordingly.
Read More: Google Nexus 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S4
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
