The latest gadget to go through iFixit's labs is HTC's Nexus 9, which incidentally went on sale yesterday. The crew found during disassembly that while the tablet featured a back cover that is easily removable, the internal components were hard to access, which earned the device a reparability score of 3 out of 10.
The rear cover was found to come off easily, but the camera sensor at the back fit snugly into its cubicle, which meant that applying too much pressure would lead to disconnecting the camera connector from the motherboard. The connector itself was found to be attached to the underside of the board, which would require a complete disassembly to access.
The LCD was also difficult to remove, with iFixit stating that it was "some of the toughest adhesive we've ever encountered in a tablet—on par with, though in lesser quantity than, the infamous Surface Pro." The layout of the hardware seems to be made up of a lot of tiny boards, like the ones used behind the front speaker assembly, which incidentally turned out to contain low-volume earpiece speakers.
Do you guys have any concerns about the low reparability of the Nexus 9? Or are you okay with making the tradeoff considering the design of the tablet?
Source: iFixit
Reader comments
Nexus 9 teardown reveals the HTC magic contained within
Low volume EAR PIECE speakers lmao. Ya they tried to pull a feat with these price points. Terrible. Glad I decided to not buy
I can't pronounce your last name...
I would have already bought it but best buy only has the black one. I'm waiting for the white one.
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Thats the build quality
HTC Desire S»HTC Desire HD»HTC One S»HTC M8 (Naked)
Am pleased to see that the teardown doesn't literally reveal an HTC Magic at its heart as I'd first feared ;)
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Wish it were more...neat inside, but it won't effect my decision to purchase.
For the average consumer, repairs are so incredibly difficult and require obscure parts (I've yet to find the "Nexus 7 LCD replacements" section at Best Buy). I don't think manufacturers should be placing much effort into reparability, except as a last afterthought.
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I don't really mind. As long as it performs well (not dropping it or sitting on it) it's all good. A lot of people are tech enthusiast but not tech expert (like me), so in case if the tablet breaks down, just bring it to the workshop or claim warranty on it, not gonna fix it by myself. Higher repairability score doesn't always equal lower cost to fix, so it doesn't really matter..
Posted via Android Central App on Nexus 4
but less and less repair shops will be able to fix them the harder they are, and charge more
When the hell is HTC going to learn that you can't just have design. Engineering is important too. A well designed inside is easier to build. Apple figured that out a long time ago. I was devastated when I bought my M8 and then looked at the repair score on iFixit.
I'm actually surprised that google allowed this kind of crap, considering how good then nexus 5 was. Come on HTC. Get your head out of your ass.
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Uhhmm... The iPad Air 2 received a "2 out of 10" score; the iPad Mini 3 also received a "2 out of 10".
What exactly are you saying?
They have absolutely no idea what they're saying. Just trolling. Lol
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Magic? if most of the reviews in so far are anything to go by this tablet is less than impressive, apparently Nexus 7 quality with iPad pricing. Anxiously awaiting Jerry's take.
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What's the problem with it? It's still cheaper than an iPad and it runs unadulterated Android.
I think the issue is that when you start pricing a tablet in the price range of the iPad mini and Air (which the Nexus 9 definitely is)... you HAVE to expect that it will be compared against the Apple products. And as much as we may not like it, the iPads really are the standard to be compared against for tablets, and they also set the bar fairly high. I think it's too early to say, but for the Nexus 9 to be a real contender, it has to at least keep up with the iPad, or offer some sort of reason to consider it as a viable alternative. The Nexus devices in the past were a good option because they offered a great value proposition. I think it remains to be seen if the N9 can get it's wrinkles ironed out and provide a user experience that rivals the iPad... and a reason to justify the price.
If I had to review one right now based on my experience, I'd say the display sucks. For one. And I didn't even get a chance to log in before making that determination.
You should check cnet's, seems a bit more fair than verge's iPad extravaganza.
Most of those reviews have also been done on pre release software. Google sent out an update with the final version of android the day all those reviews came out.
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The latest round of Nexus products (6 & 9) is looking more and more like products to avoid based on pricing and quality. My fear is that these are the Swan Songs of the Nexus program :-(
Funny that you say that. I opened mine today, and realized in less than five minutes that it's going back. Light bleed at the top edge, and an eraser-sized bright spot in the lower right corner. Pathetic.
What do they mean by "low volume earpiece speakers"?
Any details on how possible it will be to replace the battery?
As someone who's survived on Samsung's exchangeable batteries till now I'm trying to understand what I'll do when the battery dies in a year or two.
Will I be able to take it to HTC or a tech lab to replace?
Is anyone buying tablets or any tech devices because they are easy to repair? When they break, you send them to the factory or to a professional.
It actually is a big deal to a lot of us.
Especially those of us who do the repairs for people like you.
I'm betting it's not a big deal to a lot more though.
Posted via HTC soon to be a moto 5.2 or 5.9
I don't like working on Volkswagen's cause they do a lot of stupid things other manufacturers avoid but I do anyway. Some devices are harder than others the only thing in your way is your skill level.
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Hmm, looks like the Nexus 9 teardown has been removed from the ifixit website. The link isn't working. https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nexus+9+Teardown/31425
Why would I fix it if I have warranty ?
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If you physically break the tablet then you don't have a warranty.
If you buy it from Amazon you can add a 2 or 3 year accident replacement warranty.
I always thought the same thing when these teardown scores are posted. If it breaks I don't care if its easy to fix or not, it won't ever be my problem!
Posted from my HTC One M8 via Android Central App
I'm looking for it but I can't find... I'm sure the article should have a little link saying: "source" where I could click and go to iFixIt website directly the Nexus 9 disassembly page
Didn't include the source link as the guide is not yet live on iFixit's site. Will be sure to add it in once it goes live.
Thanks. Articles like this I always run to check all the photos of the inside. Didn't know their stuff was not live. I'll check again soon.
You mean there aren't left over dre beats inside for speakers?
As long as I don't drop it or sit on it I'm okay with the low repairability.
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