Google began taking pre-orders for the Pixel 6a yesterday, with official sales expected to begin on July 28. The Pixel 6a was announced in May and represents an interesting departure for the ‘a’ line as it uses the same. Tensor SoC like the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, though still cheaper than both.
If you’ve ever wanted to take a peek inside a Pixel 6a, today’s your lucky day, as YouTube channel PBK Reviews has captured it, on video, for your viewing pleasure. This is a step-by-step teardown of the new phone, revealing all its insides.
It starts with a pretty nasty surprise, which is that the unit in question ships with the camera lens bezel and backplate scratched and scratched. Fortunately the screen was fine as it is protected by a sheet of paper, but this is clearly a pretty serious quality control issue at the factory.
Anyway, the first step in the disassembly is removing the display, which reveals that the fingerprint sensor is attached to the display panel. There’s a large piece of graphite inside the Pixel 6a for heat transfer, and removing the battery is easier than other Pixels. After that, you have to remove the main board, with the USB-C port soldered to it, which makes repairs difficult. The good news for fans of mid-range smartphones is that this one has an actual proximity sensor. Be sure to watch the video above for all the details and aspects that led to it receiving a repairability score of 7/10.