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Nexus 5 Teardown

Written By: Brittany McCrigler (and 13 other contributors)
Published: October 31, 2013
  • Comments: 105
  • Favorites: 365
  • Views: 899.4k

Nexus 5 Teardown

Written By: Brittany McCrigler (and 13 other contributors)
Published: October 31, 2013
  • Comments: 105
  • Favorites: 365
  • Views: 899.4k

Teardown

Introduction

KitKats, snapdragons, unlocked? Google is making us feel like we've got the golden ticket, as we head into Willy Wonka's—er, the Nexus 5. Will Google's latest smartphone be a sweet treat? Or will we be having nightmares of green-haired Oompa Loompas mocking us in rhyme? Join us as we find out.

Hungry for more? Candy-coated, delicious photos on Instagram, bite-sized morsels on Twitter, and a lifetime supply of goodies on Facebook are all yours for the taking.

What you need

Video Overview

This teardown is not a repair guide. To repair your Nexus 5, use our service manual.

  1. Nexus 5 Teardown, Nexus 5 Teardown: step 1, image 1 of 3 Nexus 5 Teardown, Nexus 5 Teardown: step 1, image 2 of 3 Nexus 5 Teardown, Nexus 5 Teardown: step 1, image 3 of 3

    • The Nexus 5 is the first phone to ship with the latest version of Android's OS, KitKat. It may not be coated in chocolate, but it has plenty of tasty features:

    • 4.95" full HD 1920x1080 display at 445ppi

    • Quad-core, 2.26 GHz Snapdragon 800 processor and 450 MHz Adreno 330 GPU

    • 2 GB RAM

    • 8 MP/1080p rear camera with optical image stabilization, and 1.3 MP front-facing camera

    • 4G/LTE wireless support, 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz and 5GHz) dual-band Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, and wireless charging

    • 16 GB or 32 GB built-in memory

    • Android 4.4 KitKat

  2. Nexus 5 Teardown: step 2, image 1 of 1

    • Sounds of joy emanate from the teardown factory as we find this Nexus is held together by…plastic clips!

    • These clips are plenty stubborn, but nothing like the headache that a glued panel would be.

    • Agent P.O.T. (plastic opening tool) is deployed to handle this noble mission.

  3. Nexus 5 Teardown: step 3, image 1 of 2 Nexus 5 Teardown: step 3, image 2 of 2

    • We may have cheered too soon—either someone spilled some chocolate syrup, or that's adhesive securing the bottom of the case.

    • Finding glue in your gadget is as much fun as finding chewed gum on your shoe.

    • Luckily this bit of foam adhesive is no match for a few swipes of a plastic opening pick. Our poor fixer souls have seen much worse recently.

    • With the adhesive out of the way, we get our first peek inside this delicious new device.

  4. Nexus 5 Teardown: step 4, image 1 of 3 Nexus 5 Teardown: step 4, image 2 of 3 Nexus 5 Teardown: step 4, image 3 of 3

    • Before taking another bite, we pause to chew over the back case:

    • We find conveniently labeled antennas for the Wi-Fi, MIMO, and GPS. It's not quite instructions, but hey, we'll take what we can get.

    • The NFC and wireless charging cables' spring contacts aren't so nicely identified, but are present and accounted for.

    • The vibrator is held in place with only a small amount of adhesive. That means an easy repair, should your phone lose its ability to shake it up.

    • How many licks screws does it take to get to the center of a Nexus 5?

    • No matter the number, our Pro Tech Screwdriver Set is up to the task.

    • Google gives us the Goldilocks of glue: It's just enough to hold the battery in place, but not too much—the battery can still be removed with minimal prying and virtually no bending.

    • Non-LG manufacturers, take note! We don't want none of your "that ain't possible" funny business when it comes to using glue in devices.

  7. Nexus 5 Teardown: step 6, image 1 of 3 Nexus 5 Teardown: step 6, image 2 of 3 Nexus 5 Teardown: step 6, image 3 of 3

    • LG's 3.8 V, 2300 mAh battery offers a slight jump in capacity over last year's Nexus 4.

    • Google boasts that this pack will keep you sugar-high for 17 hours of talk time, 300 hours of standby, or 7 hours of LTE web browsing.

    • We're pretty sure this warning icon indicates that it's unsafe to let pets smaller than this battery anywhere near it.

  8. Nexus 5 Teardown: step 7, image 1 of 3 Nexus 5 Teardown: step 7, image 2 of 3 Nexus 5 Teardown: step 7, image 3 of 3

    • Time to break us off a piece of this KitKat phone!

    • The speaker pops out with minimal fuss; it's only secured by few screws and no cables. This is the Nexus standard single speaker, despite the dual grilles.

    • No, this Nexus is not preparing for a BBQ—the second grille is for the microphone. Don't worry; we'll get there soon.

  9. Nexus 5 Teardown: step 8, image 1 of 3 Nexus 5 Teardown: step 8, image 2 of 3 Nexus 5 Teardown: step 8, image 3 of 3

    • We free the Oompa-Loompa-colored daughterboard, and she's got more goodies than the Easter Bunny:

    • Microphone

    • RGB Indicator LED

    • Micro-USB port

    • Speaker spring contacts

    • Antenna spring contacts

  10. Nexus 5 Teardown: step 9, image 1 of 3 Nexus 5 Teardown: step 9, image 2 of 3 Nexus 5 Teardown: step 9, image 3 of 3
    Tool used on this step:
    Spudger
    $2.99
    Buy

    • Less tasty, but more powerful than a Pixy Stick, our spudger makes motherboard removal easier than taking candy from a baby.

    • We quickly spudge away the wireless charging control and NFC board. LG built this little board into an EMI shield assembly that pops in right over the motherboard.

    • This shape reminds us a little of this helpful KitKat map…

    • NFC is the tech behind Google Wallet—one of the Nexus devices' most loved features and one often blocked by carriers. Last month, the rumor mill speculated that the Nexus 5 would feature a Broadcom NFC controller that could eliminate carriers' ability to wallet-block customers.

    • Lo and behold: the Broadcom BCM20793M NFC controller.

    • Also on board: Texas Instruments BQ51013B Qi 1.1 Compliant Wireless Power Receiver

  11. Nexus 5 Teardown: step 10, image 1 of 1

    • That's some scrumptious silicon! Feast your eyes on these ICs:

    • Sandisk SDIN8DE4 16 GB NAND flash

    • Qualcomm WTR1605L LTE/HSPA+/CDMA2K/TDSCDMA/EDGE/GPS transceiver

    • Qualcomm PM8841 power management IC

    • Broadcom BCM4339 5G Wi-Fi combo chip with integrated power and low-noise amplifiers (the updated version of the BCM4335).

    • Avago RFI335

    • InvenSense MPU-6515 six-axis (gyro + accelerometer) MEMS MotionTracking device

    • Asahi Kasei AK8963 3-axis electronic compass

  12. Nexus 5 Teardown: step 11, image 1 of 1

    • SK Hynix H9CKNNNBPTMRLR-NTM 2 GB LPDDR3-1600 RAM

    • The Quad-core, 2.26 GHz Snapdragon 800 SoC is layered beneath the RAM

    • Qualcomm WCD9320 audio codec

    • Analogix ANX7808 SlimPort transmitter

    • Qualcomm PM8941 power management IC

    • Texas Instruments BQ24192 I2C controlled 4.5 A USB/adapter charger

    • Avago ACPM-7600 Multi Mode, Multi Band RF power amplifier

    • Qualcomm QFE1100 Envelope Tracking IC

  13. Nexus 5 Teardown: step 12, image 1 of 3 Nexus 5 Teardown: step 12, image 2 of 3 Nexus 5 Teardown: step 12, image 3 of 3

    • Out next is the 8MP rear-facing camera.

    • Google has taken some criticism for the less-than-impressive image capture in last year's candy-powered devices. This year they've added Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), but we've only heard tepid reviews so far.

    • The Nexus 5's OIS is powered by an InvenSense IDG-2020 dual axis gyroscope.

  14. Nexus 5 Teardown: step 13, image 1 of 3 Nexus 5 Teardown: step 13, image 2 of 3 Nexus 5 Teardown: step 13, image 3 of 3

    • We pop out the last of the bite-sized morsels in the Nexus 5:

    • Earpiece speaker

    • Headphone jack

    • 1.3 MP front-facing camera.

    • What a treat! These components were modular and only lightly adhered, seasoned just to our repair tastes.

  15. Nexus 5 Teardown: step 14, image 1 of 2 Nexus 5 Teardown: step 14, image 2 of 2

    • Unfortunately, our hopes come crashing down like a blood sugar crash after a candy binge: the front panel is one fused flustercluck.

    • While we saw this in the Nexus 4, we had hoped the LG/Google team could learn the error of their ways.

    • Alas, the front frame, LCD, and glass are doomed to a single shared death sometime down the road to Candy Land.

    • Imagine if one cavity meant losing all your teeth... Talk about a hard pill to swallow.

    • Tucked in at the base of the display, a Synaptics S3350B IC provides touchscreen control.

  16. Nexus 5 Teardown: step 15, image 1 of 2 Nexus 5 Teardown: step 15, image 2 of 2

    • Nexus 5 Repairability Score: 8 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair).

    • Very modular design allows independent replacement of several wear-prone components—like the headphone jack and speakers.

    • Only very mild adhesive holds the battery in place, making it fairly easy to safely remove and replace.

    • Standardized screws (ten identical #00 Phillips) simplify repairs and reassembly.

    • The back cover is held in place with plastic clips. Sturdy and rather difficult to remove, but easier than glue.

    • The glass and LCD are fused to the display frame. Fixing broken glass will be either expensive or very difficult.

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