The Nexus 5X has begun shipping to customers in the US, as well as to other countries included in the initial rollout. One phone has made its way to the iFixit team where it’s been subjected to all sorts of rigorous dismantling. There wasn’t any unicorn dust in this phone, but there were a lot of parts inside so let’s take a look at what they found.
The specs list is fairly well established and you can get to them using a fairly standard Phillips head screw driver (a plus in their summary), the back is held on by similar clips to what was found in the original Nexus 5 so it’s fairly easy to get inside.
Inside the phone sees many similarities to the LG G4, processor, LTE Transceiver, power management IC, Audio Codec and a few of the same design considerations such as the USB port soldered into place.
In terms of repairability, the Nexus 5X scores a fairly respectable 7 out of 10, though slightly worse than the original which nabbed an 8 out of 10. On the plus side for DIY repair agents is the modular design of some components and those Phillips head screws. The battery too isn’t terribly hard to replace, but is a little more difficult than an actual removable battery. On the down side, the usual fused glass/LCD combo means you’ll be placing a whole unit if you crack the glass.
We haven’t been given a date for launch of the Nexus 5X (or 6P) in Australia, but we’re seeing strong signs that October 26th (Monday) could be our go date. We’ll be up early and checking store.google.com on Monday to find out.
