Pixel 8 Pro teardown exposes its temperature sensor and a sticky battery setup

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Image: iFixit via YouTube

We’ve already seen a teardown of the standard Pixel 8 model, but now iFixit has taken apart the $999 Pixel 8 Pro, offering a close look at the new temperature sensing tech that lives beneath the phone’s display.

iFixit’s Shahram Mokhtari starts by removing the Pixel 8 Pro’s screen using a heating mat, a clamp, and a pick. After disconnecting the display from the device, Mokhtari folds back the 5G mmWave antenna cable and unscrews the main frame. From there, Mokhtari attempts to remove the 5,050mAh battery by pulling at the plastic tabs beneath the component.

Image: iFixit via YouTube

iFixit offers a look at the Pixel 8 Pro’s camera setup.

However, Mokhtari runs into the same issue as PBKreviews, the YouTube channel that tore down the Pixel 8. Both iFixit and PBKreviews ended up loosening the battery’s adhesive using isopropyl alcohol instead. Once that’s done, Mokhtari dismantles the Pixel 8 Pro’s camera array, revealing the 50MP main camera, 48MP ultrawide lens, and the 48MP telescopic lens.

Finally, we get a look at the built-in thermometer that’s exclusive to the Pixel 8 Pro. Mokhtari offers a super zoomed-in look at the component... but it doesn’t look like much other than four circular sensors. When the phone is actually put together, you can find the temperature sensor within the camera bar on the back of the device. It’s supposed to provide you with accurate temperature readings of surfaces, with body temperature readings awaiting FDA approval.

Image: iFixit via YouTube

Here’s a close-up of the Pixel 8 Pro’s thermal sensors.

Unlike the iPhone 15, Mokhtari notes that the components on the Pixel 8 Pro aren’t software-locked, which means you aren’t forced to purchase new components directly from Google. Google is also promising seven years of Android updates for the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro. However, Google is still limiting certain features, such as Night Sight and Zoom Enhance, to the Pixel 8 Pro, which, as my colleague Sean Hollister points out, makes that promise mean a bit less.