
iFixit Pixel 3a XL teardown [video] - mmastrac
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anoFNPXo2yA
======
vesinisa
Here is the relevant article for those who prefer HTML over video:
[https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Google+Pixel+3a+Teardown/123...](https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Google+Pixel+3a+Teardown/123256)

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olliej
awesome! 

Now can we replace the video link with the actual article? 

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ksec
The current iPhone 8 is at $599 / $699, assuming Apple drop its price by $100
this year to $499 / $599, replacing the iPhone 7 $449 / $569 ( While lifting
the entry level price yet again by $50 ).  How well would this compete with
Pixel 3a?  I believe A11 Single Core will still be faster than the flagship
current Qualcomm SoC. But its Camera and Design are quite dated. 

>The Pixel 3a packs a slower processor and plastic construction, among other
changes, to bring the price down a ton. 

I don't believe Metal casing makes much difference in BOM Cost.  The processor
is at best, $50 Dollar different?  POCOPHONE F1 can be had for under $400 ( £
329 in UK inc VAT ) with a more powerful SoC. So I assume Google is still
making some decent margin at this price. 

It is no wonder people are questioning Apple's pricing.  The price Gap has
never been this wide.  I hope Google does well with its 3A.

~~~
vanilla_nut
Very good point.  It really makes you wonder: if Google can make a profit on
such an overall-good phone at $400 (I have to assume that they aren't just
taking a huge loss on every phone, though I suppose that could be a strategy
to garner marketshare), and Apple has even shown that they historically can
make a profit at $350 with the iPhone SE... what on earth is in the X/XS to
justify the $1k price?  Stainless steel?  Maybe, but even the 4/4S had that. 
OLED?  On the 3a, at a similar (though admittedly slightly lower) quality
level.  NVMe storage?  On most phones these days.  Haptic engine?  A similar
quality one is in the 3a. 

The XS might be excused for being a luxury model.  But the 3a _really_ makes
you wonder about the XR, which is smaller, made of aluminum, uses an ancient
LCD screen (same quality as iphones since the 5 with incremental improvements
-- that must be a bargain compared to the XS's OLED), and even has a worse
camera than the 3a.  In fact the 3a even has a larger, nicer screen.  Where on
earth are those margins going? 

~~~
hangonhn
" if Google can make a profit on such an overall-good phone at $400"

Are we sure they're making much of a profit from sale of the phone?  Google
literally pays Apple billions to be the default search engine on the iPhone. 
If they can chip away at Apple's market share, every user they can convert to
Android will save them money and thus generate profit but indirectly.  If your
goal is to simply convert an Apple user to an Android user you can price the
phone very competitively or even afford to take a loss. 

~~~
rstuart4133
> Are we sure they're making much of a profit from sale of the phone? 

Yes, I think we can be pretty sure.  Like Apple, Google will drop the price of
the phone over time.  And other manufacturers who must make a profit to survive
(like Nokia) sell similarly speced phones for less. 

You are paying a premium for Google phone, a premium Google pockets.  They are
justifying that premium by ensuring some of their software is only available
on the Pixel.  The outstanding low light performance of the Pixel camera is all
done in software, as in the speedy voice recognition (they run the neural
network locally on Pixel's because Google has the best neural network
compression). 

I think it's safe to say Google is leading software engineering company on the
planet now, and here are leveraging that to charge a little more for their
phones.  As they should.  Good luck to them. 

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cannam
The 3a and 3a XL seem like sensible designs, the only disappointment here
being how deeply the battery is buried. 

This feels like a very dumb question, but are the current Google phones any
less usable than other Androids for people who are keen to avoid going all in
on Google services? 

I have an Android phone and use the Play store with it, but I don't use Gmail,
I don't store my contacts in my Google account, I have Assistant disabled, and
I generally use an OSM maps app rather than Google Maps.  I appreciate that
this makes no meaningful difference to my online footprint, but it pleases me. 
Is there anything about the Pixel hardware or Android builds that would not
sit well with this? 

~~~
elagost
The pixel phones (and the nexus phones before them) tend to be a little easier
on those who unlock bootloaders and load custom ROMs.  I use LineageOS on my
Pixel, with OsmAnd maps and no Google services. 
[https://lineage.microg.org/](https://lineage.microg.org/)

It works quite well!  Having not used 'normal' Android (anything that's not
Lineage/Cyanogen) for years, I attempted to start out using this phone with
the stock Google Android build.  I disabled all the bundled crapware (Play
Music, Play Movies, Play Games, YouTube) and they all kept re-enabling
themselves.  If you're looking for a device that will help you avoid Google at
least a little bit, look at this page first. 
[https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/](https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/)

~~~
folkrav
How's the camera on Pixels w/ AOSP roms?  I haven't installed a custom ROM in
years now, and my last experiences were on Samsung where custom ROM means
destroying your camera's picture quality. 

~~~
commoner
On Pixel and Nexus phones, the Google Camera app works properly if you have
either microG or Google Play Services installed.  If you're using microG,
you'll need to install the Google Camera app manually:

[https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-
inc/camera/](https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/camera/)

The camera quality and features are the same as in the stock ROM. 

Google Camera is proprietary, but you can disable its internet access through
the app settings (in LineageOS) or a firewall like AFWall+:

[https://github.com/ukanth/afwall/](https://github.com/ukanth/afwall/)

If you're using another camera app, then you'll lose Google Camera's optimized
features.  This may still be worth it if you prefer to use FOSS software. 

------
snops
It's surprising they have both the "Titan M" security chip and a ST33J2M0
security microcontroller. 

You would think just one would do for key storage.  Skimming the hardware
backed keystore overview, it only mentions one secure coprocessor:
[https://source.android.com/security/keystore](https://source.android.com/security/keystore)

~~~
Abishek_Muthian
I was expecting see those chips mentioned in the video, but they didn't.  Full
tear down has them[1]. 

[https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Google+Pixel+3a+Teardown/123...](https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Google+Pixel+3a+Teardown/123256#s238163)

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totaldude87
I just traded in my 5 year old iPhone 6 for $250 , effectively bringing pixel
3a to ~$175 which is pretty cheap for a new phone for Google. 

If Google can break even with cost and this becomes a blockbuster, then this
is good for the entire industry

~~~
INTPenis
I wouldn't even pay 25 dollars for a 5 year old phone.  Was the battery
replaced on it?  Is it even possible to replace it? 

Besides software support the battery is the major issue with phone longevity. 
I installed LineageOS on my Nexus 5X and gave it to my brother who was more
than happy to have it.  He'll likely enjoy it for 2 more years before the
battery issues become too much to bare. 

I used the Nexus phones for 5-6 years, 5 and 5x, now I have the Pixel 1 which
I purchased for the equivalent of 280 USD in Sweden.  New, but no longer in
production.  Still works like a charm.  And when it stops getting security
updates I can hopefully reinstall it. 

There is no OS to revive old iphones.  So I just can't understand how anyone
would pay 250 USD for a 5 year old iphone. 

~~~
totaldude87
Exactly, i was like "why would someone want my iPhone 6 for $250?!" .  May be
they can still use some of the internal parts?  or this is a far greater
marketing push to convert stubborn iPhone 6 users like me to Android(before
they move to latest iPhones?) 

~~~
sct202
They probably want to convert iPhone users to Android and are willing to pay
for it.  Galaxy S7 was released a year and a half after iPhone 6 and only has a
trade in value of $75.  It looks like market prices are similar for both at
around $100 used. 

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fulafel
Does this still have the much hyped Intel image coprocessor chip[1]?  I wonder
if it ever saw any significant use. 

[https://www.pocket-
lint.com/phones/news/google/143562-what-i...](https://www.pocket-
lint.com/phones/news/google/143562-what-is-pixel-visual-core-inside-the-new-
co-processor-from-google)

~~~
koverda
No, I believe that it doesn't. 

Here's a link to the relevant section of the article:
[https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Google+Pixel+3a+Teardown/123...](https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Google+Pixel+3a+Teardown/123256#s238152)

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pleemin
I bought the 3a on friday.  Basically got the phone for free when I traded in
my s8.  Love it so far. 

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th0ma5
Besides a nicer camera and just being newer, would I benefit coming from a 2
XL? 

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legohead
Audio jack!