iFixit tears down the Galaxy Nexus

Jake Smith | Nov 29 2011 - 3:37 pm PT

The folks over at iFixit have torn-down the Galaxy Nexus, per usual, exposing what’s underneath. While they didn’t find anything we didn’t already know in terms of hardware, the team found that it’s fairly easy to get into the device — unlike the Droid RAZR — requiring only a few screws and a guitar pick. For replacing the 1750mAh battery users shouldn’t have any problem. The iFixit team does worn however that the screen is fairly hard to replace. They’re still working to identify a few power amplifiers and motion processing units , but we’ll let you know when iFixit finds them.

Don’t forget, we’re still waiting on the launch of the Galaxy Nexus in the United States. The Ice Cream Sandwich device has been available in the U.K. for a little over two weeks now, and has seen positive reviews. It shouldn’t be too long until we see Verizon’s LTE in the mix. iFixit gave the device a 6/10 on the repairability scale:

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Repairability Score: 6 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair).

Battery replacement is incredibly simple thanks to the removable rear panel.

Minimal adhesive makes removal of the motherboard and other components a snap.

Headphone jack and speaker assembly are not soldered to the motherboard, so replacement is easy.

The only soldered components are the volume switch and vibrator motor.

Removing the rear case to access the motherboard and other internals requires a lotof careful prying and guitar-picking.

The glass is fused to both the display and the display frame. So don’t crack the glass unless you’re good with a heat gun, or you’re fond of replacing the glass, display, and frame together ($$$).