One thing we can all agree on is technology is progressing far faster than most people
can keep up with. Today we'll be taking apart the new Pixel 7A and talking about
something you should probably be wary of moving forward. Let's get started.
[Intro]
As we discovered in our durability test of Google's new Pixel 7A, the back panel is made
from plastic and we don't have to worry about it shattering during this removal. I'll add
some heat to help soften the adhesive holding everything together. Unfortunately though,
that same heat that helps detach the glue also melts the back panel. It's not the first time
this sword has fallen apart. Not a huge deal. Replacement back panels for last year's 6A can
be found for about $15...which coincidentally is the same price as my JerryRigEverything
Knife. Pretty inexpensive. I imagine this year's 7A back panel will follow in those
same low-cost footsteps. I really am a fan of this unbreakable back plate.
Speaking of following footsteps, Google did take a page out of Apple's book with some non-standard
screwage. We have fifteen T4 screws, and one much tinier T2 screw that's thrown in there
just for kicks and giggles. A T2 isn't something most people have laying around, so I'll include
this toolkit down in the video description as well for those of you who like to be prepared.
The internal plastic protection comes off in chunks. The top left corner comes off first,
and then once the LED camera flash is detached, the rest of the plastics can pull away from the
phone. This also includes the 7 ½ watt wireless charging coil. I am glad this
coil is here of course, don't get me wrong, but 7 watts worth of charging is the slowest
we've seen in a long while. Google tossed in another tiny T2 screw just for funsies. It's
next to the charging port plug. I'll set that metal plate off to the side and disconnect the
battery plug like a little Lego. And then we can pull out the battery. There is a
clear nifty little plastic pull tab here to help pry the battery up and out of the phone,
but it's still kind of difficult to pull without applying pressure to the rest of the circuits.
So I do have to say, I like Apple's magic pull tabs a bit better. Finally, the battery's out,
all 4,385 milliamp hours of it. And interestingly enough, the Pixel 7A has 30 milliamp hours more
battery life than the regular Pixel 7. And as we all know, every milli counts.
I can remove the SIM card tray. There's one more screw holding down the top stereo speaker.
It has a red rubber ring around the opening that helps maintain the IP67 water resistance
rating. And then the motherboard can lift up and out of the phone.
Kinda. There's a tricky little screen ribbon cable all accordioned up and
screwed into the bottom of the motherboard. It's a tad more complex of a design than we
normally see on Pixel phones, but it's not impossible and we've definitely seen worse.
With the motherboard officially out we can get our first glimpse of the main 64 megapixel camera
which does have OIS. Then we have the 12 megapixel ultra wide camera that does not have OIS. Both of
the units are built into the same plastic housing. The front facing camera is also made with plastic
and is 13 megapixels with no OIS. The 18 watt USB-C charging board is soldered to the main
board with a waterproofing red rubber ring around the lip. We also have some thermal foam on the
board that helps transfer heat from the processor to the frame of the phone. Not quite as intensive
as the motorized aerial active cooler flap we found on the ROG7, but this phone is also 3x
less expensive. The underscreen fingerprint reader that didn't work for me is also visible back here
in its spot underneath the battery. The circular vibration motor is in the bottom right corner,
and we have the lower stereo loudspeaker in the left corner which has some included
waterproofing mesh over the opening to seal off this hole from liquid. Not too shabby.
The thing that really caught my attention though on the Pixel 7A is the huge rectangular cutout in
the center of the screen below the pixels. A hidden window of sorts that Google never
mentioned. We've seen similar squares a few times on smartphones with invisible
underscreen cameras like the ZTE Axon 40. And to be totally fair, it does look like
Google is only using this current cutout for the proximity and light sensors, and not hiding hidden
cameras. But for people saying Google would never intentionally hide hardware...that might be true,
but sometimes Google has forgotten to mention important little details like hidden microphones
in their Nest security devices. All I'm saying is that it's good to be on your toes. Technology
is advancing faster than regulation can keep up, and most current politicians were born before the
microwave and don't even know the difference between a cookie and a bitcoin. So from a
technology perspective, it's always a good idea to see the insides before the insides see you.
With the motherboard and battery back in place we can get the metal bracket installed and the
back plastic screwed in. And even after disassembly, everything still turns on.
I'm a fan of the 7A. I think Google has made a good phone for a good price. And while I don't
think Google is necessarily spying on us...I mean, besides already knowing everything,
there are most likely more nefarious pieces of hardware out there. And invisible underscreen
cameras do already exist and will be an issue in the future. You can let the AI
know that you're ahead of the game and already keeping an eye on your hardware by grabbing one
of my Teardown Skins for your own phone. I'll leave a link down in the description.
Let me know what device you want to see the insides of next down in the
comments. And thanks a ton for watching. I'll see you around.