It's time we take apart my brand new, barely 10 minutes old, Google Pixel Fold. It,
um, didn't do too well during my durability test. The hinge seems mostly fine, but the frame has
catastrophically snapped in multiple places. Today we perform the autopsy, see how Google designed
their folding hinge, and find out why the Pixel Fold is as fragile as it is. Let's get started.
[Intro]
The exterior 5.8 inch display of the Pixel Fold is rather easy to remove. Kind of just falls away on
its own after the event. Google is using T3 screws throughout the device, and we find 4 of them
securing the metal bracket that holds down the screen ribbon cable. The screen unsnaps itself.
There's another bid old T3 flat screw holding down the SIM card tray board. This gets caught
on the large magnet that holds the phone shut when it's closed. Remember the magnet
for later. With the SIM card tray removed, the first little circuitboard can pull up and out of
the phone. And then we can take out our first of two batteries. This guy is 3,332 milliamp hours,
and is severely bent and damaged. Luckily, a lot of people don't know this, but 95% of
a lithium battery can be recycled and reused in new batteries. Most big home improvement stores
have drop off locations, and that's where this model is headed right after I'm done filming.
It looks like that by prying we missed out on 6 magic pull tabs. We can see as the tab is pulled,
just like a command strip, it loses its stickiness and allows the battery to come free without any
violence. Thumbs up for that. Three more screws hold down what looks like the right vibrator, and
then we can pull away the front 9 megapixel selfie camera. This little guy does not have any optical
image stabilization. There is a loudspeaker in the top left corner, and judging by all the white
foam splattered everywhere, the speakers and the balls inside have been crushed during the
bend test. It looks like the frame of the phone buckled and the speaker just gave way with it.
The earpiece is uniquely positioned off to the far right of the phone,
shooting its soundwaves up into the top, which then travels over to the center,
and exits out the earpiece slit above the screen glass. The shiney markings we see underneath
the battery components are left from the milling machines as it hollows out the individual cavities
from solid blocks of soft aluminum. The material choice for this $1800 device is interesting, but
we'll get to that more in a second. To remove the back glass of the Pixel Fold, we can bust out the
heat gun. I'd hate to cause any more damage to our one remaining undamaged component. The heat allows
the watertight adhesive to soften and then we can yoink it right off the frame with a suction cup.
The LED flash ribbon is still connected under a metal bracket which has 6 screws.
And I can unplug that just like a little Lego.
The back glass has a wireless charging installed, as well as the camera lens. The motherboard has
8 more of the same T3 screws holding it in place, and then we can unplug the upper and
lower extension ribbons that traverse through the hinges before pulling out the battery. The
battery in this half of the phone is much smaller, and surprisingly I think this singler battery is
able to power the whole phone by itself, since I did feel the phone vibrate when pressing the power
button after having removed the larger battery. I have no additional screens to test my theory
with though, so a single battery operation might be a better question answered by Hugh Jeffries.
It would be interesting to see if the little 1,489 milliamp hour unit could do it though.
The lower loudspeaker on the left half of the phone seems to have two ball
locations – interesting. And then the Pixel Fold motherboard can pull up and away from the device.
And here we have Google's hardware in all of its glory. It looks like there is quite a lot of
copper and thermal paste on the back. Gazing upon a triple camera array we have our 10 megapixel
wide angle camera on the left with no OIS. And we have the 48 megapixel main camera which does
have OIS. And our 10 megapixel 5x telephoto periscope zoom camera which also supposedly
has internal optical image stabilization. Below the motherboard we do have a copper vapor chamber,
and this helps move heat to the aluminum frame of the phone. I know other reviewers have called this
frame stainless, but it's actually definitely aluminum, and definitely a huge reason why this
phone failed the bend test. In Google's rush to make the world's thinnest foldable. You can see
here where the stronger hinge components came in contact with the softer thin body of the device,
and the edge just buckled inward, stretching the flexible display to failure and cracking the front
screen glass. A graphic situation, of course, that can be avoided with proper care. But most
accidents are exactly that – accidents. So it's good for us to know what the device is capable of.
The water proofing between the two halves is different than what we found on Samsung's
folding phones. Samsung uses a goopy rubber filler, while the Pixel's using more of a hard
plastic. My opinion is that just like the caulk that surrounds a bathroom bathtub is flexible,
I think Samsung's waterproofing solution is going to last a lot longer than the pixels,
which is good because Samsung's folding phones actually live long enough to need
it. (Ba dum tss. Kick 'em while they're down.) Speaking of Samsung, let's scope out the flexible
folding display which supposedly has ultra thin glass installed because UTG, or ultra thin glass,
is a Samsung trademark. Peeling off the black bezels around the flexible inner display is
easy enough. It's really interesting to learn that Google has teamed up with iFixit to supply
replacement parts for this Fold - user replaceable replacement parts. I think that my unit is a bit
beyond saving at this point since the frame is toast. But maybe iFixit will sell those too...we
don't know yet. Either way, make sure you're subscribed to stay updated on that situation.
With the flexible display removed from the phone, we can see that the screen has the same
metal slats that we saw on the Samsung Fold 4 which helps strengthen the screen crease.
The 7.6 inch flexible OLED panel has quite a few layers to it, but the layer we're most interested
in lies just below the top plastic, where we find the ultra thin glass. Samsung says the
UTG adds some strength, rigidity, and firmness to their displays, and that's probably true.
And we can indeed see it here on Google's folding phone as well. With a pinch from
my fingers we can crack the super thin, sorry, ultra thin glass layer
just below the permanent plastic on top. It's pretty cool. Samsung does indeed make the
display for the Pixel Fold. Samsung also makes the front screen. The hinge of the Pixel Fold
is surprisingly simple. By just removing two screws on either corner of the hinge, 8 total,
and slicing through the extension ribbons, the whole contraption can be shimmied out between the
two halves of the phone. Definitely the simplest hinge mechanism we've ever seen on a foldable.
Now, Google says that their hinge is a custom, dual axis, quadcam synchronized mechanism made
from mirror polished, multi alloy steel. So let's break down those buzz words and figure
out what's actually going on. Not all steel, or even stainless steel alloys are magnetic,
but judging by the fact that we know the frame is aluminum, since Google said so, and since a
magnet does not stick to the sides. The magnet also does not stick to the center spine, but
that spine isn't actually doing any of the pivot work, and probably isn't technically considered
the hinge. The magnet does, however, stick to the four phalanges on each end of the spine,
and I'm going to assume that these are the steel alloy that Google is talking about.
And also where we'll find the dual axis quadcam synchronized mechanism. Magnets like to stick to
steel just like the stainless on my JerryRig Knife. A cam, like a camshaft in an engine,
means something that's designed to make sliding contact with another part. So I assume the quadcam
system that Google mentions are probably these 4 loaded springs, two on either side of the spine,
that slide along the profile to lock out when it hits the 180 degrees. I mean obviously
the rest of the phone continues to rotate 360, but at least the hinge stops at 180.
The synchronized portion of the adspeak probably just means that the springs on either side are
attached to the same aluminum frame. The aluminum frame is doing the synchronization since each
spring is independent once removed from that frame. As you can see by the way they pop out from
the end of the spine. There is a simple rotating pin on top and a simple spring which provides
clamping pressure to help the phone stay open. The springs and screen provide enough resistance
and friction that it can hold its position at any point along the opening process. The only thing
locking it in the closed position is probably the large magnets in the frame that we saw earlier.
It's a super cool and extremely efficient design, and functionally definitely gets the job done. If
Google would have made the side panels out of stainless steel or something more rigid than
aluminum, it probably would have survived my durability test. But by trying to be the
thinnest and lightest, they definitely lost a substantial amount of strength. But really,
the only way for Google to compete with Samsung's Foldables while still using Samsung's own folding
screen technology is by cutting corners with the manufacturing. And milling soft aluminum
at a Mohs 3 is much cheaper and easier than milling stainless steel which is like a 6 or 7
on Mohs scale of hardness. But as we can all see, as thin as it is, the aluminum just can't hold up.
If you want to see the insides of your own device with substantially less carnage,
I've gone ahead and made Teardown Skins that cover more than 100 different devices.
So there's a very good chance we have one that fits whatever phone is in your pocket,
or your tablet or computer. You can see the insides from the outsides with the link in
the description. Overall I think Google did good, minus the aluminum frame thing. I am
looking forward to seeing what they come up with next year. Hit that subscribe button and
you'll see it here first. Thanks a ton for watching, and I'll see you around.