Pixel 4 XL Teardown Video Reveals a Tiny Soli Chip and Reparability Issues

Pixel 4 XL is the latest flagship from Google in the Pixel lineup of smartphones. It was released worldwide in a Made by Google event held on October 15. The folks at iFixit have released a teardown video of the Google Pixel 4 and the Pixel 4 XL on their YouTube channel. The video reveals some reparability issues and a remarkably small Soli chip that allows the device to have motion-sensing capabilities.

Google Pixel 4 XL iFixit Teardown Video

The teardown video started with removing the back panel from the phone casing. The adhesive used by Google to hold the back panel was easy to remove as they use a thin but durable adhesive. However, once the back panel is opened, there is a thin ribbon cable for the cameras that need to be removed before separating the wireless charging supported back panel from the rest of the device.

Furthermore, they discovered that most of the cable connectors inside the device were covered by metal brackets that needed to be removed to access the connectors. There are fifteen cables attached to the motherboard which can be a huge task in itself to remove.

Once the motherboard comes out, we can spot the 6GB Micron LPDDR4X RAM as well as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor along with 64 GB of UFS storage. The dual-camera setup contains a 16 MP telephoto lens along with a 12.2 MP wide-angle lens.

The Front Facing Sensor Array

The front-facing camera on the Pixel 4 XL comes with a wide array of front-facing sensors. The sensor array includes two Near Infrared Cameras, a Near-Infrared Flood Emitter, and a Near-Infrared Dot Projector.

One of the most unique features of the Google Pixel 4 was the inclusion of the Soli chip by project Soli. This chip allowed the users of this phone to control it using gestures. The chip works on RADAR technology that was made smaller to fit inside a smartphone.

Poor Reparability

The final reparability rating for the Google Pixel 4 XL was 4 out of 10 on the reparability scale by iFixit. The main reason for this score was that the display required efforts to come out and the back panel needs to be removed for any display replacement efforts. Also, the front and back glass panels double the potential drop damage for the device.

On the positive side, all the screws that are used in the device are standard T3 Torx fasteners that are easy to remove for repairs. The battery includes stretch release adhesive securing that makes it easier to replace.