How I Got My 64GB Nexus 6. For me, though, 64GB was non-negotiable, particularly in a phone like the Nexus 6, which lacks a removable micro SD card slot. There’s history here: My first.
Sockpockets (Reddit)
Nexus 5 No Sd Slot Machine
One of the weirder Reddit threads for the day has got to be this guy that decided to manually add a microSD card slot to his trusty Nexus 5. It’s far from a polished piece of industrial engineering, but he did manage it and it does work. Who ever said we’d never see a Nexus with microSD expansion?
Long story short, the Redditor decided that if Marshmallow was capable of recognizing external memory cards as internal storage, then why not pull the back off his Nexus 5 and add one himself? The solution is as messy as it is simple. He just folded up the internal components to make everything fit and then soldered a microSD card slot on. Simple.
Sockpockets (Reddit)
The coolest part of the whole DIY trick is that no special software mod was required. Once the microSD card adapter was attached, Marshmallow instantly recognized it and the guy has been enjoying expandable storage on his fully functional, if lumpy, Nexus 5. Some commenters wisely suggested 3D printing a new back cover to accommodate the added bulk.
The reason everyone hasn’t been doing this since day one is because it’s a pretty aggressive mod. The guy pulled off the back cover and chopped it in half, flipped the bottom section where the microUSB port is around and MacGyvered a USB OTG solution on a folded up daughter board…after rearranging the speaker and antenna cables. Once all that was accomplished the whole thing was so bulky he had to chuck a TPU case on it to protect everything.
As the modder admitted himself, it was more of a “could I, should I situation”, vowing that if he were to do it again he would just solder a microSD card adapter to the microUSB port and keep it mounted on the outside of the device. As our parents wisely told us, just because we can do something, doesn’t always mean we should do something. In this case tough, I’m sure glad I got to see this done.
Did you think this would even work? Have you ever tried anything like this on your phone?
Google has unveiled the Nexus 9, an HTC-made tablet that will run Android 5.0 Lollipop. Curiously, there’s an 8.9-inch 2048×1536 display — 4:3 aspect ratio, rather than the customary 16:9 — and also BoomSound dual front-facing speakers. Inside the Nexus 9, of course, there’s Nvidia’s 64-bit Tegra K1 SoC. Curiously, there’s also a magnetic keyboard attachment for the Nexus 9 that makes it look a lot like Microsoft’s Surface Pro. Pricing starts at $400 for the 16GB model, and it’ll arrive in stores (in the US) starting November 3.
The Nexus 9 is a curiously placed piece of hardware. At $400, it’s $50 more than the new Kindle Fire HDX 8.9, which has a higher-resolution screen and otherwise fairly comparable specs. For that $50 premium, the Nexus 9 has a metal chassis (or at least a band around the edge), and you get the new 64-bit Tegra K1 SoC. (You also get Android 5.0 instead of Amazon’s own Fire OS, which is probably an important factor for most people who will be buying the Nexus 9.)
The 8.9-inch 2048×1536 4:3 screen is also quite interesting. As you may be aware, the iPad and iPad Mini have always stuck to 4:3 (which is fairly square), while Android tablets have generally gone towards 16:9 or 16:10 (which is rectangular). Depending on your point of view, 4:3 is either superior because it offers more overall real estate and better balance in the hand, or it’s worse because 16:9 content is heavily letterboxed (the black bars at the top and bottom of TV shows and movies). I’m not sure why HTC/Google opted for a 4:3 design on the Nexus 9, but it’s definitely interesting.
Read: Nvidia details 64-bit Denver Tegra K1, claims Haswell-class performance
Under the hood of the Nexus 9 is the new Tegra K1 SoC (with dual 64-bit Denver CPU cores) and 2GB of RAM. Like the Nexus 6, there’s no word on WiFi, NFC, Bluetooth, or other wireless connectivity. Google said at I/O in May that Android 5.0 would support 64-bit processors like Nvidia’s K1 and Intel’s Valleyview. We don’t know a whole lot about the Denver CPU core other than it should be very fast. Likewise, it isn’t clear what 64-bit support actually means for Android 5.0. In the long term, it should mean that Android (and apps) are faster, stabler, and more secure.
Nexus 9, with folding magnetic keyboard attachment thing
Rounding out the hardware, there’s dual front-facing speakers, a magnetic keyboard attachment that can fold into such a position that it can rest on your lap like the Surface, and… drum roll please… there is no micro SD card slot.
The Nexus 9 is part of the “new Nexus family,” including the phablet Nexus 6 and the new Android TV box. Like the other devices, the Nexus 9 comes with Android 5.0 Lollipop. Google’s new Material Design — a simple, material-inspired design language — is designed to make it less jarring to switch between your various Android devices, which might all be using a different layout/skin/etc. We’ll have more coverage on Android 5.0 soon.
The Nexus 9 will be up for pre-order on October 17, and it will appear in the real world (in the US) on November 3. Pricing starts at $400 for the 16GB WiFi model, $480 for 32GB, or $600 for 32GB and LTE. Yes, the lack of a micro SD card slot is exacerbated by a lack of a 64GB model. So far, only T-Mobile has announced carrier support; otherwise you can pick one up at your favorite retailer (Amazon, Best Buy, etc.)
Now read: Google announces the Nexus 6: A phablet monster running Android 5.0 Lollipop