Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

Pixel 9 Pro XL battery is hard to remove amid difficult disassembly [Video]

Abner Li | Aug 28 2024 - 8:06 am PT

The consensus between two teardowns of the Pixel 9 Pro XL is that the battery is harder to remove this year.

According to JerryRigEverything today (and iFixit yesterday), the “battery is glued extremely well to the body of the Pixel 9 Pro XL.” The provided pull tab mechanism cannot slice through the glue, which has been the case in previous years and a common complaint. It required the application of a lot of isopropyl alcohol and strong prying to remove the adhesive.

Looking at the rest of the teardown, Google’s switch to a new design language is evident given some changes. For example, there’s the use of “less common T4 screws around the cameras and charging port,” as well as “hidden screws concealed under random pieces of black tape.”

Finally, “none of the screws are the same size, which makes reassembly super difficult if they aren’t kept organized during the tear down one.” This teardown also notes a “considerable amount of small annoying little brackets,” with iFixit breaking/bending an unknown one.

Meanwhile, given their close proximity, some might push their SIM ejection tool into the microphone. Fortunately, there should be no damage:

You’ll notice that the gold box for the microphone is mounted to the top side of the circuit board with the receiving opening on the underside of the board.

If we look at where the exterior microphone hole meets up with the interior waterproofing mesh, we can see that the membrane is located to the side of the shaft, and no matter how hard or deep the SIM tool inserts no damage could ever possibly happen to that membrane, even with a really small tool.

Moving forward with this new design language, Google clearly has room for improvement and optimization.