Moto X Teardown Shows a Very Repairable, Well Made (in the USA) Device
Score a victory for the boys and girls in the good ol' U.S. of A. The tech Dexters at iFixIt hijacked Motorola's American made Moto X smartphone and were prepared to pry it open no matter how messy things might get, but as it turns out, the device is really not all that difficult to service and repair, scoring a respectable 7 out of 10 on iFixIt's repairability meter.
It's worth noting that the Moto X is the first smartphone assembled in the United States, so this wasn't just another teardown, it was in part an evaluation of American craftsmanship. Motorola's smartphone plant resides in the fine state of Texas and is reportedly home to around 2,000 jobs.
Getting back to the teardown, the discovery of a "small defect next to the SIM card tray" set an ominous tone (iFixIt surmises it might be limited to the first batch of phones), but the Moto X quickly bounced back by allowing easy entry into its internals.
Image Source: iFixIt
"Snap snap SNAP! The melodious sound of easy teardown access fills our ears as we release clips holding the rear panel in place," iFixIt notes in its worklog.
The rear panel was a little more difficult to remove due to the use adhesive, but it came off nonetheless. Once inside, you get glimpse of the 3.8V, 2200 mAh battery that Motorola claims is good for 24 hours of "mixed usage." Motorola can make that claim with just a 2200 mAh battery because of its efficient X8 Mobile Computing System, a custom architecture that intelligently delegates processing chores.
In the end, iFixIt lauded the Moto X for its pressure contacts and cable connectors that make modular components such as cameras, buttons, headphone jack, and speakers a cinch to replace. The Moto X also scored bonus points for using a single type of screw, albeit a fairly uncommon size (T3). The only real negative was the sticky adhesive on the back cover, which is more of an annoyance as opposed to a restrictive barrier.
Well done, Fort Worth!
It's worth noting that the Moto X is the first smartphone assembled in the United States, so this wasn't just another teardown, it was in part an evaluation of American craftsmanship. Motorola's smartphone plant resides in the fine state of Texas and is reportedly home to around 2,000 jobs.
Getting back to the teardown, the discovery of a "small defect next to the SIM card tray" set an ominous tone (iFixIt surmises it might be limited to the first batch of phones), but the Moto X quickly bounced back by allowing easy entry into its internals.
Image Source: iFixIt
"Snap snap SNAP! The melodious sound of easy teardown access fills our ears as we release clips holding the rear panel in place," iFixIt notes in its worklog.
The rear panel was a little more difficult to remove due to the use adhesive, but it came off nonetheless. Once inside, you get glimpse of the 3.8V, 2200 mAh battery that Motorola claims is good for 24 hours of "mixed usage." Motorola can make that claim with just a 2200 mAh battery because of its efficient X8 Mobile Computing System, a custom architecture that intelligently delegates processing chores.
In the end, iFixIt lauded the Moto X for its pressure contacts and cable connectors that make modular components such as cameras, buttons, headphone jack, and speakers a cinch to replace. The Moto X also scored bonus points for using a single type of screw, albeit a fairly uncommon size (T3). The only real negative was the sticky adhesive on the back cover, which is more of an annoyance as opposed to a restrictive barrier.
Well done, Fort Worth!
