Google Pixel6Pro Teardown reveals Amazingly Repairable Phone

Google Pixel6Pro Teardown reveals Amazingly Repairable Phone

Have you ever wanted to take a peek under the Google Pixel 6 Pro's curved display, and while several teardowns of the Pixel 6 Pro have already been released, this one details the ease of repair should something unfortunate happen to the Pixel 6 Pro.

A very detailed teardown video of the Pixel 6 Pro by Hugh Jeffries reveals that Google is much more generous than other smartphone manufacturers when it comes to making this phone repairable. In addition, we get a glimpse of some of their cutting-edge smartphones that we don't usually get to see.

Jefferies' teardown mission is to check whether Google has copied Apple's practice of component serialization (locking components to the phone in which they were originally installed so that replacement parts will not work unless installed by an authorized Apple partner) ) was to check if it was copied. We witnessed this with the iPhone 13, specifically that replacing the phone's display, even with another brand new iPhone panel, would disable Face ID.

That's why you see two Pixel 6 Pros in the video above. Jefferies took both apart and replaced the phones' motherboards to check if components like the cameras still worked.

For the most part, they worked; on the Pixel 6, the only thing locked out by serialization is the fingerprint scanner.

Google offers a tool to calibrate the new fingerprint sensor to the Pixel 6. However, unlike other cellular companies that only offer this software to authorized partners, it is freely available online and can be run in a browser, making it surprisingly easy to get the Pixel 6 Pro working normally again, whether you use an independent repair service or repair it yourself. The only difficulty is whether the tool works with third-party parts or just the official Pixel 6 Pro screen, which Jeffreys was unable to test.

But don't make the mistake of thinking that the Pixel 6 Pro is a super-modifiable device for aspiring electronics engineers. As with basically all modern smartphones, the mix of glued-on components, a motherboard with all the parts soldered to it, and numerous tiny screws to operate it still makes repairs tricky. Jeffries also points out other design decisions Google has made, such as making it impossible to remove the display without first removing the battery for safety reasons.

If anything, the most disappointing thing inside the Pixel 6 Pro is the design of the Tensor chip that powers the phone. Google's flashy marketing does not represent the actual appearance of the silicon inside the phone, which is a dull black design with no identifying marks. Perhaps this is a lesson Google should learn from Apple, which even puts its brand mark on invisible components.

Ease of repair aside, both the Pixel 6 Pro and the base Pixel 6 are great phones and are on the list of best Android phones. Despite some drawbacks, such as display issues and a slow fingerprint scanner, they have proven to be great at photography and smart software features.

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