HOW IT’S DONE
Relatively simple — eerily similar to Apple.
Google Pixel XL
Today marks our first ever teardown of a phone designed entirely by Google: the Pixel XL. What to expect? At first glance, it bears more than a passing resemblance to an iPhone — but it’s the innards in which we’re interested, of course...
MAJOR TECH SPECS
5.5-inch AMOLED display, with QHD 1,440 x 2,560 resolution (534ppi) ≠ and 2.5D Gorilla Glass 4 Quad-core, 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor (2.15GHz + 1.6GHz), with 4GB LPDDR4 RAM 12.3-megapixel, f/2.0 main camera, with phase detection autofocus, ≠ and laser detection autofocus; ≠ 8MP selfie camera 32GB or 128GB built-in storage Pixel Imprint back-mounted fingerprint sensor USB Type-C port and 3.5mm headphone port Android 7.1 Nougat
KEY FINDINGS
Given the familiarity of this iPhone lookalike, our confidence nears cockiness as we take a play from our iPhone 7 Plus guides, heat an iOpener and select our lucky opening pick. After a minute of heat and a minute of prying, we lift open the phone from the top, expecting ≠ to expose its inner workings. But a screwed-down bracket on the display cable halts our progress. Time to dust off our driver, and dive a little deeper. The slim and rigid midframe is likely made of magnesium, and is clipped on to the body of the phone. When we say ‘rigid’, we expect it to not be ‘bendy’. We expected wrong. Oops! On the left, the midframe holds a mysterious ribbon connector and an earpiece speaker. And to the right, the rest of the phone, complete with motherboard in matte black. Two strips of strong adhesive secure this HTC-made battery, but the pull tab does its job without heat. This 13.28Wh battery beats the 11.1Wh iPhone 7 Plus, but not the Galaxy S7 Edge, with its 13.86Wh powerhouse. Worthy of note: The Galaxy Note 7 packed a 13.48Wh battery before ≠ its demise. We really wanted to look at this motherboard, but were thwarted by a fingerprint sensor cable boobie trap! Fortunately, it’s easy to disarm. Next is another mini board with mic, and the rangefinder that enables laser autofocus. Repairability Score: 6 out of 10 ≠ (10 is easiest to repair). Many components are modular, and can easily be replaced once the display assembly is removed. The battery has a removal tab, and is adhered ≠ by a modest amount of adhesive, making removal painless. All the screws are T5 Torx. The opening procedure requires prying up a thin, poorly-supported display assembly, making it difficult to open the ≠ phone without damage. In addition to screws, the midframe is secured by snug, press-fit notches, which make its removal (and subsequent repairs) laborious.