Google Pixel XL gets the iFixit teardown treatment and finds many modular parts

Google’s new Pixel XL smartphone may have just launched, but the ever busy folks at iFixit have already performed its standard teardown of the device. That procedure showed that the phone includes a lot of modular parts that, in theory, could make it easier to repair.

See also: Google Pixel XL initial review: first 48 hours155

iFixit discovered that parts such as the 8 megapixel front facing camera, the microphone, the USB-C port and more can easily be removed from the motherboard. That means the components should also be easy, and cheap, to replace if something goes wrong. The team also notes that the phone’s battery has its own removal tab, which again should make it easy to replace if it quits working.

Unfortunately, the repairabilty score that iFixit gave the Pixel XL was just a 6 out of 10. That’s because that while many of its parts can be replaced quickly, the phone itself has what the team calls a “thin and poorly supported display assembly”. Obviously that needs to be opened up first, and if not done correctly, the iFixit team feels that it could suffer some damage.

One more interesting thing about the Pixel XL is that while Google has contracted HTC to assemble the phone, there’s no real evidence of any HTC input in its design. Google did that all by itself, using components from Samsung, Qualcomm and others. The only HTC part in the Pixel XL is its battery, which is 13.28 Wh. That’s larger than the one on Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus at 11.1 Wh, but smaller than Samsung’s aborted Galaxy Note 7 at 13.48 W and the Galaxy S7 edge at 13.86 Wh.

If you are lucky enough to own the Pixel XL, what are your initial impressions and do you think it’s a well assembled phone?