back to article Pixel 3 XL reveals innards festooned with glue and... Samsung?

Teardown demon iFixit has pulled Google's shiny new flagship Pixel 3 phone to pieces, revealing more glue and glass than strictly necessary. The Pixel 3 and its oversized sibling, the 3 XL, made an appearance last week after so many leaks that its IP68 rating could have been put in jeopardy. iFixit chose the Pixel 3 XL as its …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Disposable

    With most phones getting no more than 2 years of security updates from launch (perhaps Google is an exception here) it seems that repairs shouldn't be needed before it becomes defunct.

    Unless you drop it....

    1. Dan 55 Silver badge
      Devil

      Re: Disposable

      Don't forget the irreplaceable battery coming to the end of its useful life so the phone shuts down at 40% or becomes so slow as to be unusable.

      1. Spazturtle Silver badge

        Re: Disposable

        "so the phone shuts down at 40%"

        That is caused when the SoC draws more current then the battery can supply, as voltage drops as the battery depletes charge more current is needed to power the device. Apple have come up with an ingenious solution to that, they reduce the max all-core clock speed of the SoC to prevent it from drawing more current then the battery can supply, so users are able to use that last 40% of the battery at the cost of 10% reduced all-core performance (although the reduced performance is only for when there is low battery charge, at high charge the SoC is clocked normally).

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Disposable

        I have had 5 nexus phones over the years. The only one that had the battery issues you mention was the nexus 6p. The pixels have not displayed this problem.

  2. MiguelC Silver badge

    4/10 for repairability?

    How standards have changed, some 2-3 years ago kit like that it would have got 1/10 (tops!)

    1. Dan 55 Silver badge

      Re: 4/10 for repairability?

      iFixit has suffered grade inflation over time, otherwise everything made in the past three years would have just got a 1/10.

      1. DropBear

        Re: 4/10 for repairability?

        And that sounds exactly like what they all should get, if they're all this miserable to dismantle / fix...

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Recycling

    Do any parts of current phones get recycled? It sounds like all that glue won't help; so are millions of units just destined for landfill at end of life?

    1. Dan 55 Silver badge

      Re: Recycling

      I'm sure there one state-of-the-art facility in the world that can do it. Got to be able to claim that the phone is green somehow.

    2. Steve Crook

      Re: Recycling

      It'll depend on the type of glue. It might actually be more recyclable if they can put it on a conveyor, warm it up and then jiggle it around a bit to have all the glue melt and leave the components loose and recoverable.

      I remember reading about car manufacturers experimenting with plastics that deformed when heated so that it was easy to separate them from metal components for recycling.

      But I'm not holding my breath...

      1. Dave 126 Silver badge

        Re: Recycling

        Glue makes it much easier to dismantle end-of-life products en masse than screws. It also avoids stress risers in the frame of the product.

        1. AustinTX
          Holmes

          Re: Recycling

          An unsatisfying excuse when certainly it would be quicker to place pre-cut gaskets inside, than to wait for glue to cool or set. Gaskets would probably peel out and be re-useable after repairs, while also filling empty spaces to bear pressure.

          Perhaps though, this glue dissolves easily in some special solvent so they can just soak the phones in a tumbler until they fall to pieces.

      2. the spectacularly refined chap

        Re: Recycling

        I remember reading about car manufacturers experimenting with plastics that deformed when heated so that it was easy to separate them from metal components for recycling.

        ISTR hearing another approach for cars where they would point an ultrasonic "gun" at the car which would cause specially designed plastic bolts to fracture so all the plastic trim simply falls off. The idea failed when it was observed this could be done by anyone with the gun whether they owned the vehicle and were in a scrapyard or not.

      3. DropBear
        Trollface

        Re: Recycling

        "I remember reading about car manufacturers experimenting with plastics that deformed when heated so that it was easy to separate them from metal components for recycling."

        An obvious dead-end; what we really need are clearly a myriad of 5G/WiFi-connected Smart Bolts, each running a tiny (but non-updatable) full-scale Linux stack inside, that can be commanded to let go by anyone in possession of the correct engineering keys and credentials who bothers to ping them. Just think of what that could do to IPv6 uptake rates...!

  4. Gene Cash Silver badge

    > including the iFixit tinkerers, who snapped it

    So basically there's no hope for the rest of us, if these blokes broke it.

    I've never had a glued-together piece of electronics go back together right, from all the way back to my Palm V/Vx/m500/Tungsten/etc ages ago, to my Nexus 6P.

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      The iFixit tinkerers broke it because they didn't have an iFixit guide to follow.

      Walking across a minefield is pretty easy... provided you're following someone else.

    2. AustinTX
      Terminator

      I've always felt uncomfortable with this statement

      They should have x-rayed it first!

  5. Bloodbeastterror

    "replete with a hidden ribbon cable"

    Dictionaties exist for a reason. They prevent people wanting to appear clever from making mistakes.

    "complete with a hidden ribbon cable"

    FTFY;

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "replete with a hidden ribbon cable"

      Dictionaties exist for a reason. They can halp peaple from speeling werds wring.

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

      2. Bloodbeastterror

        Re: "replete with a hidden ribbon cable"

        @RichardT

        "Dictionaties exist for a reason."

        Ha ha ha... I take that one on the chin. Bad proofreading... :-)

    2. Dan 55 Silver badge
      Headmaster

      Re: "replete with a hidden ribbon cable"

      Dictionaties exist for a reason. They prevent people wanting to appear clever from making mistakes.

      Replete | Define Replete at Dictionary.com

    3. rmason

      Re: "replete with a hidden ribbon cable"

      There's nothing wrong with "replete" in that context, it's entirely correct.

      Unlike your heroic attempt at a snarky correction.

      1. Bloodbeastterror

        Re: "replete with a hidden ribbon cable"

        The usage is wrong, as is simply shown by replacing the word with its definition:

        "the 13.2Wh battery ... fully or abundantly provided or filled with a hidden ribbon cable".

        I don't think so. "Replete" implies "containing" (the battery does not contain the cable), whereas "complete" includes external components too.

        "I am replete" means "I've had enough". How does this apply to a battery and cable exactly?

        Language is important and I expect professional wordsmiths to use it properly.

        1. Dan 55 Silver badge

          Re: "replete with a hidden ribbon cable"

          Language is important and I expect professional wordsmiths to use it properly.

          It's the third definition in the link.

          Are you going to stop here or carry on digging?

          1. strum

            Re: "replete with a hidden ribbon cable"

            >It's the third definition in the link.

            Read the example attached to your third definition. Stop digging.

            1. DropBear

              Re: "replete with a hidden ribbon cable"

              Still a piss-poor choice of words. Synonym or not, I have never seen "replete" used instead of "complete".

              "Did You Know?

              Given that one of the roots of replete is the Latin verb plēre, meaning "to fill," it isn't surprising that the word has synonyms such as "full" and "complete." "Replete," "full," and "complete" all indicate that something contains all that is wanted or needed or possible, but there are also subtle differences between the words. "Full" implies the presence or inclusion of everything that can be held, contained, or attained ("a full schedule"), while "complete" applies when all that is needed is present ("a complete picture of the situation"). "Replete" is the synonym of choice when fullness is accompanied by a sense of satiety."

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: "replete with a hidden ribbon cable"

                In the context of IFIXIT's well known mission of establishing a procedure to repair these devices, the inclusion of 'booby trap' discovery and bypassing same, makes replete fit nicely with their discovery. It only takes one IED to kill you. So finding only one would be replete to me, it doesn't need twenty to be 'full' of them, when one suffices as well as many.

  6. Baldrickk

    Battery

    wait, 13Wh? what's that in mAh? How does that compare to, lets say the 3000mAh battery in my S7 that is coming to the end of its contract?

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but at 5V, that would be a worse battery? but at say, 2.5V it would be a better one?

    What voltage/s does the Pixel run on?

    1. Spazturtle Silver badge

      Re: Battery

      You cannot compare the mAh of different batteries at different voltages, mAh is useless for comparing batteries. Wh is the only valid measurement for stating the capacity of a battery.

      The Pixel 3XL has a 13Wh battery and the iPhone XS Max and Samsung Glaxy S7 have a 12Wh battery.

      A 13Wh battery can supply 13W for 1 hour or 1W for 13 hours. A 12Wh battery can supply 12W for 1 hour or 1W for 12 hours.

      So with 1W of power draw the battery in the Pixel 3XL will last 13 hours compared to the iPhone XS Max battery which would last 12 hours.

      1. Waseem Alkurdi

        Re: Battery

        And comparing the power draw is apples to, er, lots of things, pun unintended.

        Power draw differs depending on user activity.

        (It's true there's a TDP for the chip, but still, doesn't that change w/ powersaving, deep-sleep, whatever else?)

    2. Jeffrey Nonken

      Re: Battery

      Watts=volts x amps. mA=0.001A. Same with Watt-hours and Amp-hours and milliwatt-hours and milliamp-hours.

      So divide 13Wh by the battery voltage and then multiply by 1000 to get mAh.

  7. DrXym

    What is the point of a thin, glass backed phone

    It's so fragile that the very first thing an owner needs to do is buy a phone cover, bulking it out and protecting the glass andnegating any reason for doing in the first place. Just make thicker, more rugged phones out of plastic FFS.

    1. A Known Coward

      Re: What is the point of a thin, glass backed phone

      While I'm sure a lot of people have managed to drop their phones and crack the back, my now rather aged S7 Edge has never been in a case or cover is still in one piece and yes, has even been dropped a few times (I blame the bevelled edge for making it harder to maintain a firm grip). In fact, this phone has survived a lot better than many of the cheaper plastic phones I had in the past which would fly apart or crack when dropped.

      These things are both stronger than they appear to be and are just fine if looked after. I'm not saying glass is the most sensible choice, it's not but it does look good.

      1. Waseem Alkurdi

        Re: What is the point of a thin, glass backed phone

        Finally! A person who says that glass is good-looking! Totally agree on this one.

        But in actual fact, your experience is what's known as anecdotal evidence. You say that it never broke. I have a friend whose S7 Edge is a horrible mishmash of cracks, front and back, yet my dad's S6 Edge only cracked two screen protectors. Another piece of anecdotal evidence.

        The solution? Stats.

      2. DrXym

        Re: What is the point of a thin, glass backed phone

        "These things are both stronger than they appear to be and are just fine if looked after. I'm not saying glass is the most sensible choice, it's not but it does look good."

        I'm sure it does look good, but the reality is people put their phones in bumpers so they never see the back. So they've gotten a phone with a case compromised by material and being thin for no reason.

        Glass also tends to shatter when subjected to shock. Glass covers may have contain a layer of laminate to stop them flying apart but they still turn into crazy paving. Plastic absorbs shocks better and is more likely to just dent or have a localized crack.

        The reason glass, or aluminium are used as build materials are to make the phone appear to be expensive, to justify the higher price point. Not for any practical benefit.

    2. peachy001

      Re: What is the point of a thin, glass backed phone

      Glass backs are dire. Take a look at ikimobile, they produce a better solution, and look far more premium. Unfortunately, their chips (Mediatek), let them down.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Glass....

    Why do they keep making them all glass, whats the point.

    My Moto G5s Plus, solid aluminium, dropped it at least 3 times onto tarmac/concrete, only minor marks to edge.... would this all glass crap survive ?

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