Google’s latest smartphone appears to be an early hit among consumers (it’s certainly priced right) and according to teardown specialist iFixit, it’s also a winner in terms of repairability. The team awarded the Nexus 5 an eight out of 10 repairability score (10 being the easiest to fix) based on a modular design, subtle usage of adhesive and standardized screws.
Getting inside the Nexus 5 is relatively easy as the panels are held together by plastic clips instead of glue. There’s a tiny bit of glue holding the back together but nothing major. Once inside, antennas for Wi-Fi, MIMO and GPS are all labeled and the battery is held in place with just the right amount of sticky adhesive.
Speaking of, the battery is a 3.8V, 2300mAh model that’s slightly larger than the one found in last year’s Nexus 4. It’s reportedly good for 17 hours of talk time, 300 hours of standby or seven hours of LTE web browsing.
It’s not all smooth sailing for the Nexus 5, however, as iFixit found the front frame, LCD and glass are fused together. This will of course present a challenge should you need to repair the display as it’ll be more expensive than might otherwise be necessary. This isn’t a surprise, really, as the Nexus 4 featured a similar panel assembly.
Compared to other handsets on the market, the Nexus 5 finishes pretty good at eight out of 10. The iPhone 5s and 5c both earned a score of six out of 10, the Moto X finished with a seven out of 10 while the Galaxy S4 also received an eight out of 10.
