TapTechNews May 14th news, as the 'right to repair' trend rises, Google has also begun to emphasize the repairability of its Pixel series phones. In the latest podcast, the company detailed its 'plans to make Pixel phones and tablets easier to repair in the future'.
As early as 2022, the company has partnered with iFixit to provide parts, tools, and repair guides for Pixel devices. Earlier this year, Google officially supported the 'right to repair' legislation in Oregon, in sharp contrast to Apple.
Steven Nickel, Director of Consumer Hardware Operations at Google, said his responsibility is to ensure that Pixel devices are designed with repairability in mind from the outset and provide after-sales support for Pixel users.
He has been advocating for a better 'right to repair' program within Google and believes that all Pixel users should be able to repair their devices themselves. He thinks reducing the amount of glue used in Pixel phones could be a starting point to achieve this goal.
'I remember visiting Google's repair center in Japan, they very effectively outlined the disassembly process,' Nickel said. 'They divided the workstations, with one workstation solely dedicated to removing adhesives.'
He mentioned that Google has considered many measures internally to improve the repairability of Pixel devices, such as setting a 'repairability score' for each device. Nickel revealed that the score for each generation of Pixel phones would be improved, which is the result of their collective efforts.
He also revealed that Google does not 'typically' restrict phone repair permissions to the production/sales location of Pixel devices, 'which makes no sense for us.'
Finally, he emphasized that Google's long-term goal is to make Pixel devices a model that can be repaired 'without fixed fixtures/tools.' Nickel explained, 'Our goal is to allow users to replace screens with common kitchen items.'
From what TapTechNews has seen so far, Google has made some progress in the repairability of Pixel devices, but there is still a long way to go to achieve this vision. At least for now, special opening tools and screwdrivers are still needed to repair Pixel phones.