Pixel 9 Pro Fold has an unexpected advantage over its rivals

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is Google’s second entry into the increasingly crowded foldable space. While every foldable has its selling points, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold reportedly has a unique advantage over its competitors — repairability.

The iFixit team has conducted a teardown on Google’s newest foldable to assess the device’s repairability. According to the video and the accompanying blog, the team walked away very impressed with the company’s latest offering. In fact, they go as far as to describe it as the “most exciting foldable we’ve seen on the iFixit teardown table.”

First off, iFixit’s Shahram Mokhtari speaks on the impressive modularity of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Mokhtari says that the internal layout is intuitive and the use of 3IP screws makes disassembly simple enough for the layman. He goes on to highlight how easily removable high mechanical wear parts are. For example, the USB-C port is isolated from the logic board, which means replacements can be cheaper and easier. The same seems to be true about the device’s SIM card tray.

On top of that, it appears it was also easy to remove the back plate and the external display. The team was able to remove these parts using only a prying tool.

However, there was one sticking point that kept the foldable from getting total praise. Mokhtari notes that the battery removable tabs are pretty much useless. He states that the tabs don’t work whether you’re using heat or not; they are also flimsy and prone to breaking. You may even need a second pair of hands to secure the device as you attempt to cut through the adhesive with the tabs. There was also some difficulty removing the internal screen without damage.

Something interesting that’s pointed out is that over half of the phone’s insides are occupied by the batteries on each side. In the rotating video above, you can see just how much space those two lithium polymer battery cells take up.