There’s been a concerted effort by main smartphone producers to make their telephones simpler to restore, however it seems Google’s new Pixel 7 Professional would possibly fly within the face of that pattern.

YouTuber PBKreviews managed to get his fingers on a Pixel 7 Professional (opens in new tab) earlier than its October 13 launch date and with a set of telephone restore instruments, tore the system all the way down to its particular person components. He’s well-known for doing this to different smartphones as a approach of reviewing their repairability. His course of entails prying open the display screen with a decide, and at one level, utilizing isopropyl alcohol to eat away on the glue holding the battery in place. Admittedly, it’s moderately fascinating to see the inside workings of the telephone on full show. 

After gutting the Pixel 7 Professional, PBKreviews gave it a rating of 5.5 out of 10 when it comes to repairability. This rating falls in keeping with his different movies breaking down Pixel Professional telephones, particularly the Pixel 6 Professional, which bought the identical quantity.

Powerful to repair

He particularly factors to the extra miscellaneous components of the Pixel 7 Professional as being essentially the most tough to restore. The video doesn’t record out each single downside half however does point out the charging port and the again display screen. In keeping with the video, the charging port is instantly soldered to the primary board making it laborious to switch if it ever will get broken. PBKreviews goes on to say he couldn’t pry the again display screen off, so surmises it is glued onto the Pixel 7 Professional’s body. 

For the remainder of the components, PBKreviews signifies that they’re simpler to switch if just a little tough. Eradicating the battery was powerful as a result of the adhesive’s energy made it almost unimaginable for him to take away it, even with the pull tabs. Plus, it seems he discovered the interior group of the components to be fairly advanced as PBKreviews gave that facet of the telephone a middling rating.

Historical past repeating

If there are two issues to remove from this teardown is that A) it may be powerful to restore the Pixel 7 Professional, no less than for hobbyists and B) not a lot has modified from the 6 Professional. Trying by means of PBKreviews’ catalog, the Pixel 6 Professional (opens in new tab) was constructed in a really comparable approach from a difficult-to-remove battery and powerful adhesive preserving all the things collectively. The one distinction is that PBKreviews was in a position to take away the again glass on the 6 Professional. 

It is value mentioning that the Pixel 6a teardown revealed a tool that was a lot simpler to repair, because it’s not as bodily safe because the 6 Professional. If historical past repeats itself, the potential Pixel 7a may very well be simply as simple to repair if Google ever decides to create a mid-range model.

Whereas we’ve got you, make sure you try TechRadar’s protection of Google teaming up with iFixit to supply restore kits for Pixel telephones. There’s no assist for the Pixel 7 (it’s not even out but on the time of this writing), however that might occur and we suggest studying how this system works, in case you find yourself needing it.