One of the key highlights by iFixit was that the phone was relatively easy to pop open without the need of an iOpener. In fact, the company says that popping open the screen barely required any heat, with the “spongy easily-separated adhesive” that secures the display to the phone barely gave them any difficulty. Speaking of displays, iFixit confirmed through its teardown of the phone that the display is, in fact, a Samsung-made OLED panel and not one made by LG. In fact, both Pixel 3a devices are equipped with display panels made by Samsung.
As one would expect, the Pixel 3a’s build is not without its own set of construction issues. iFixit says that while taking it apart, the ribbon cables that connect multiple components in the phone were “obnoxious” to work around. However, iFixit points out that this new cable management and layout is better than what Google used to do with prior Pixel devices. To recap, the Google Pixel 3a ships out of the box with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 SoC, 4GB LPDDR4x RAM, 64GB storage, a 12.2MP f/1.8 OIS main camera, 8MP front-facing camera. And a 5.6-inch OLED FHD+ display with Dragontrail Glass. On top of that, the back of the phone is made entirely out of polycarbonate, rather than the glass back that presides with the higher-end Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. Unlike its more premium cousins, the Google Pixel 3a does lack any form of wireless charging. However, the phone does come with a 3.5mm headphone jack; a feature that Google has since removed with the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3XL.
Unfortunately for us, it is unlikely that the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL will be arriving on our shores anytime soon, as Google doesn’t officially bring its Pixel lineup into Malaysia. (Source: iFixit)
