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Major smartphone makers have made concerted efforts to make their phones easier to repair, but it looks like Google’s new Pixel 7 Pro is bucking that trend.
youtuber PBKreviews managed to get hold of a Pixel 7 Pro (opens in new tab) before the October 13 release date and with a set of phone repair tools, the device tore into its individual parts. He is known for doing this with other smartphones as a way of assessing their repairability. His process involves prying the screen open with a pickaxe and at one point using isopropyl alcohol to eat away the glue holding the battery in place. Admittedly, seeing the inner workings of the phone in full screen is quite fascinating.
After stripping the Pixel 7 Pro, PBKreviews gave it a 5.5 out of 10 in terms of recoverability. This score is in line with his other videos breaking down Pixel Pro phones, namely the Pixel 6 Pro, which was given the same number.
Difficult to repair
He specifically points to the more diverse parts of the Pixel 7 Pro as the most difficult parts to repair. The video doesn’t list every issue but it does mention the charging port and back screen. According to the video, the charging port is soldered directly to the motherboard, making it difficult to replace if it ever gets damaged. PBKreviews goes on to say it couldn’t pry the back screen off, so suspect it’s stuck to the Pixel 7 Pro’s frame.
For the rest of the parts, PBKreviews says they’re easier to replace if they’re a little tricky. Removing the battery was difficult because the strength of the adhesive made it nearly impossible to remove, even with the pull tabs. In addition, he seems to find the internal organization of the parts quite complex, as PBKreviews gave that aspect of the phone a mediocre score.
History repeats itself
If there’s two things to take away from this teardown, it’s that A) the Pixel 7 Pro might be hard to fix, at least for hobbyists, and B) not much has changed from the 6 Pro. If you browse through the catalog of PBKreviews, you will see: Pixel 6 Pro (opens in new tab) was constructed in a similar fashion with a hard-to-remove battery and strong glue holding everything together. The only difference is that PBKreviews was able to remove the glass on the back of the 6 Pro.
It’s worth pointing out that the teardown of the Pixel 6a revealed a device that was much easier to repair, as it isn’t quite as physically safe as the 6 Pro. If history repeats itself, the potential Pixel 7a could be repaired just as easily if Google ever decides to make a mid-range version.
While we have you make sure you check out TechRadar’s coverage of Google partnering with iFixit to offer repair kits for Pixel phones. There’s no support for the Pixel 7 (it’s not even out at the time of writing), but that could happen and we recommend learning how the program works, in case you eventually need it.