00:00It's scientifically proven that about 10% of humans, usually females, can see more colors
00:07than all the rest of us. They're called tetrachromats, and due to an extra type of cone
00:12cell in the retina, they can experience a 100 fold increase in superhuman ability to perceive
00:18different shades, hues, and pigments than the rest of us normal-eyed peasants. So when Google
00:23calls this Pixel 9a the color of iris, I can only assume that whoever named it can see more colors
00:29than me. Personally, I'm just going to call it light blue and continue on with my day.
00:38I am a big fan of the minimalist camera bump. The ability to lay flat on a table is massive
00:43improvement. What bothers me most about the Pixel 9a though isn't visible on the outside. Yeah,
00:49it's throwing off iPhone vibes, and that's totally fine. We'll get to my deal breaker in just a second.
00:54First, the scratch test. Google is selling the Pixel 9a for $499, which is pretty good. Not having a
01:02camera bump is rather amazing for my Mohs hardness picks. We also know that Google picked an older
01:07recipe of Gorilla Glass, Gorilla Glass 3, to help save on costs. It might not be as impact resistant
01:13as Gorilla Glass Victus, but we still see the normal scratches at a level 6 with deeper grooves at a level
01:197. The Gorilla Glass 3 is also protecting the 13 megapixel hole punch selfie camera. And the glass
01:25continues upward through the black screen bezels to the edge of the phone where it meets with a razor
01:30thin earpiece slit. And honestly, I imagine that a good chunk of the costs from this phone come from
01:35the aluminum side rails. You can always save two Benjamins and go with a plastic CMF Phone 2 Pro instead,
01:46but it all depends on what you like or what your wallet likes. The buttons are also metal and do not
01:52separate from the frame of the phone. The top has dual antenna lines and a noise cancelling microphone hole. The
01:58left side is a button free blank slate of anodized aluminum. The bottom of the phone is where I start to
02:07have a few more concerns. It has a 23 watt USB-C 3.2 port, a microphone hole, and a SIM card tray, which like,
02:15yeah, major bummer about that no microSD card slot. But the thing I'm worried about is supposedly the IP68
02:22water resistance rating. You know, the submersible level of water protection. The thing you should watch
02:27out for is this large opening for the speaker grill. Usually these are small holes punched into the
02:32frame like we see on the iPhones, Samsungs, or Red Magics of the world. But Google's just got a slot
02:38down here worthy of a Nintendo Switch cartridge, and the waterproofing mesh is left unprotected on the
02:44inside of that slot. Just like leaning on a screen door would destroy the screen, any dirt, lint, or pocket
02:50sand entering into this crevice could very easily completely eliminate the waterproofing. So it's something
02:56to watch out for if you ever need to clean this slot out. The mesh screen can very easily be punctured
03:02and damaged. My favorite part of the Pixel 9a though is the lack of camera bump. The two cameras,
03:07a 48 megapixel main camera and the 13 megapixel ultra wide are protected with an oval piece of glass
03:14instead of a wall to wall camera shelf. The single tone LED flash is covered with plastic. The only metal
03:20we find on the back panel is the black ring that surrounds the camera ovals. Now while I have you,
03:26it turns out that blueberries weren't always called blueberries. Back in the day, hundreds of years
03:33ago, they were called star fruits thanks to the little star shape formed from where the blueberry
03:39blossom used to be on the berry. Personally, I think star fruits is a way cooler name, and I didn't realize
03:48until halfway through our class with Jerry that the color iris is also a flower. It's blue obviously,
03:54but there's no way I'm drawing one of those, so star fruit it is. One blueberry bush can produce
04:00thousands of berries a year, so they make excellent low maintenance snacks if you have a garden.
04:05Where was I? Oh yeah. The back of the Pixel 9a is plastic. The screen of the Pixel 9a is a 1080p,
04:12120Hz, 6.3 inch actual display with 2,700 nits of brightness. It does last for about 30 seconds under
04:20the heat from my lighter with surprisingly minimal amounts of damage. The main structural issues we
04:25want to watch out for we find through the bend test. Yeah 500 bucks isn't a budget phone to be
04:30sure, but a low price point doesn't give any phone the excuse to not be durable. Luckily for Google,
04:36the Pixel 9a, while adopting the iPhone aesthetic, has also adopted the iPhone's rigidity, and this
04:43Android phone is on flexing from both the front and the back. So you might be asking, hey Jerry,
04:49if the Pixel 9a survives a durability test, why would you tell people not to buy it? And we're
04:54getting there, don't you worry. First I gotta vent about those annoying text message scams,
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06:22subscription along with a discount and thanks to Bitdefender for sponsoring this video. I was so excited
06:28about Bitdefender that I accidentally left my hot air on the plastic bag for too long and absolutely
06:33roasted that thing. It's all good though. Google's usually pretty good about selling replacement parts
06:37through iFixit. I'll pop a T3 bit into my screwdriver and remove the 15 visible T3 screws on the back
06:44plastics. These are different sizes, so if you're doing this repair at home, make sure to keep the
06:48screws organized. And make sure to turn the phone off. And remember that there are three more T3 screws
06:55hidden under the Pixel 9a's camera ring. The reason I would suggest not buying the Pixel 9a this year is
07:01because Pixel's still doing something that every other smartphone manufacturer has successfully quit
07:07doing. Apple has quit, Samsung quit doing it, Red Magic, and OnePlus never did it. Nothing is solid,
07:14and Huawei's good. But Google on this Pixel 9a still has the world's most garbage battery removal system
07:21on the planet. I cannot say enough bad things about this battery removal procedure. Not even with isopropyl
07:27alcohol can then dissolve the glue under this battery, and prying it out could cause it to combust.
07:33I've been there and done that. Honestly, I hope whoever greenlit this battery attachment style
07:38steps in a puddle of water while wearing socks. Permanent glue is a giant metal finger to recycling
07:44and the planet. Google says their aluminum frame is made from 100% recycled materials, but like the only
07:50way they got that recycled aluminum in the first place is because other manufacturers didn't contaminate
07:55the raw material by permanently adhering other elements to it. Separation is the first step to
08:01recycling, and until Google fixes their battery mounting procedure and gets rid of this glue and
08:07worthless pull straps, I can't recommend their phones to anyone. Because no matter how many years
08:12of updates the phone gets, it'll still need to be recycled at some point. I'm just going to leave the
08:17battery here where it is since I don't feel like exploding today. There are two more T3 screws holding down the
08:22ultra large motherboard. This lady snakes around the battery all the way down to the lower charging
08:27port board, which is soldered in place. There's also a ribbon attached to the back side with the
08:32Lego style ribbon connector. This is for the screen. Technically the screen could be fully replaced
08:37without taking off the back panel at all, which is pretty cool. Pixels have always been pretty repairable,
08:43minus, you know, the whole battery thing. The main camera is 48 megapixel and does have optical image
08:48stabilization, and the 13 megapixel ultra wide camera does not have OAS. Like even iFixit is
08:54heating up their battery with a hot air gun to get it out. Can you imagine trying to pry out a hot lithium
09:00battery? It's wild, and Google needs to change. The lower loudspeaker does not have any visible balls
09:06inside. However, the upper stereo speaker does have balls in the earpiece. And like I don't want to be a
09:11party pooper, this is a great phone, but for the past few years this battery issue has gotten ridiculous.
09:17We know that lithium batteries are 95% recyclable and reusable, but only if manufacturers build
09:23their phones in a way that allows us to get them out easily. So until Google's battery attachment
09:28method is different, vote with your wallet and don't buy one. Or seven years from now when all your
09:34updates are over, Google's lithium battery juice is going to be leaking out of the landfill into your
09:40drinking water. Get your Bitdefender discount with a link in the description, and thanks a ton for watching.
09:47I'll see you around.
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