The tireless dismantler PBK he used the weekend to get a Pixel 6a and gave it a very good repairability score of 7/10, better than the Google Pixel 6 Pro score of 5.5/10 due to the harder-to-detach components such as the battery unit. The battery came out very easily, thankfully the center was not glued as well as on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. In addition, Google uses clips to secure the screen rather than a large amount of glue and the panel can also be removed relatively easily.
The phones have a “3D thermoformed composite” plastic back that can also be removed, meaning the Pixel 6a is a fairly durable phone, unlike most glass phones today. The only downside in terms of recoverability is the USB-C charging port which is soldered to the motherboard along with Google’s Tensor chipset and all other accessories, so if it breaks, it can be hard to fix easily.
Google did that recently though together with iFixit for providing genuine spare parts and repair schedules that should make repairing a Pixel 6a cheaper and easier, in an effort to avoid a warranty stemming from the recent passage of the Right to Repair Act.
Unfortunately, the teardown started with some dirt in the brand new Google Pixel 6a packaging and some scratches on the plastic back bezel and camera lens. Hopefully, such incidents won’t be a regular occurrence among early adopters, as they would again point to omissions in quality control by the assembly partners Google has partnered with on its Pixel phones.
Source: Lega Nerd
