Google Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL Teardown Reveals Easy Display and Battery Repairs: iFixit

The teardown reveals that the Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL phones lack wireless charging and come with no ingress protection rating either.

By Tasneem Akolawala | Updated: 10 May 2019 12:14 IST

Google Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL Teardown Reveals Easy Display and Battery Repairs: iFixit

Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL teardown reveals internal components

Highlights

Pixel 3a teardown reveals easily repairable display
The battery is also easy to pry out, is glued with an adhesive
Pixel 3a, 3a XL gets reparability score of 6 out of 10

Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL were launched at I/O 2019, and now the two phones have gone through their customary teardown by iFixit. In the teardown process, it was found that the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL were easy to prop open, and the battery is easily repairable as well. The teardown confirms that the two new affordable Pixels lack wireless charging and come with no ingress protection rating either. The two phones also come with 3.5mm audio jack support.

iFixit has published the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL teardown, and it has given the two phones a repairability score of 6 out of 10. The display was found to be glued by a spongy, easily-separated adhesive which is good for repairs, but it's probably a trade-off that also leaves this phone less than waterproof. The OLED display is found to be made by Samsung, and the golden flex cables for the Active Edge sensors are not placed underneath the battery like the Pixel 3. They are placed out of harm's way, where destroying them with wayward prying is less likely.

The report notes that most components are modular and can be easily replaced once the display assembly is removed, and the battery is easily removable as it is glued using a stretch-release adhesive. The only screws found inside the phones were standard T3 Torx fasteners. The downsides include the thin and poorly supported display, and the myriad long, thin ribbon cables connecting the internal componentry are difficult to work around, and are easy to accidentally tear.

As mentioned, iFixit has given the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL a repairability score of 6 out of 10.

Has Google Pixel 3a's pricing ruined its prospects in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Google Pixel 3a

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Very good cameras
Good software features
Guaranteed updates for three years
Stereo speakers

Bad
Expensive
Weak processor and low storage for the price

Read detailed Google Pixel 3a review

Display 5.60-inch

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 670

Front Camera 8-megapixel

Rear Camera 12.2-megapixel

RAM 4GB

Storage 64GB

Battery Capacity 3000mAh

OS Android 9 Pie

Resolution 1080x2220 pixels

More Google mobiles Google mobiles price in India

Google Pixel 3a XL

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Very good cameras
Good software features
Guaranteed updates for three years
Stereo speakers

Bad
Expensive
Weak processor and low storage for the price

Read detailed Google Pixel 3a XL review

Display 6.00-inch

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 670

Front Camera 8-megapixel

Rear Camera 12.2-megapixel

RAM 4GB

Storage 64GB

Battery Capacity 3700mAh

OS Android 9 Pie

Resolution 1080x2160 pixels

More Google mobiles Google mobiles price in India

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