Ahead of shipping the Pixel 6a next week, the demolition has revealed the insides of the $449 Google mid-ranger. Design-wise, there are more than a few manufacturing similarities with last year’s Pixel 6 phone.
To start tearing (via PBKreviews), heating is required to remove the adhesive, though the Pixel 6a continues to Google using clips to secure the screen as well. Just below the front camera and just to the left, you’ll notice a rounded square hole for what should be the ambient light and proximity sensor. Compared to the Pixel 6 Pro, it is located at the bottom of the screen.
Before you go ahead, you have to remove the protective film and several screws to take off the middle plate, which has a vibration motor attached to the underside and a large piece of graphite film to help dissipate the heat. Once removed, you can access the battery with pull tabs that aid in the process, although some extra staring is required and a couple of sets of tabs may help.
For its part, the iFixit repair manuals only recommend the use of isopropyl alcohol:
The adhesive is only located under the top and bottom areas of the battery and not down the center. The clear plastic tape around the center of the battery is not particularly useful during the removal procedure. Feel free to remove it for easier handling by opening the adhesive seal and pulling it from the bottom of the battery.
However, PBKreviews notes that “removing this battery was much easier compared to the Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro,” so hopefully Google has made improvements since last year.
The charging port is unfortunately soldered to the main board, while you can look at the Tensor (the left rectangle). Finally, the black slate is removable (thermoplastic) from the frame and we see how flexible it is as a flexible plastic, or what Google calls a “3D thermoplastic backing” as seen in the top cover photo.
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