We recently saw the Pixel 7 Pro put through the wringer by YouTuber Zack Nelson on his channel, JerryRigEverything. The phone survived, but just barely. Eager to pinpoint the likely reason for the phone breaking, Nelson used his trusty razor blade and a few other tools to take a look under the Pixel 7 Pro’s hood.

After applying heat and slicing the adhesive attaching the screen to the frame, Nelson discovered that the display has a protective plastic border along its periphery. It must remain intact for the screen to operate normally, just like on the Pixel 6 Pro. Once inside, several stuck-on graphite pads for thermal management conceal the screws holding everything in place, including the C-shaped mid plate running along one side of the battery.

Unlike the mid plate on the Pixel 6 Pro which extended beyond the camera visor, the Pixel 7 Pro’s component stops short, making the antenna line just underneath the camera array the phone's weakness, as we saw in the bend test. The plate itself is constructed from a hard and brittle material, meaning it isn’t very strong on its own.

Using electromagnetic coils to stabilize the telephoto camera’s lens array was another interesting teardown discovery. Instead of stabilizing the mirror or the sensor, Google has placed small electromagnetic coils along the direction of motion of the lens assembly to stabilize it. Nelson notes it isn’t as effective as optical stabilization, though.

Besides these details, it was a fairly standard JerryRigEverything teardown, complete with a look at the water damage indicators, ingress protection seals, and several LEGO-style connectors. Since Nelson fried the display early on, there was no way to tell if the phone survived the teardown and reassembly. The device is repairable, but you’re better off getting one of the best protective cases for the Pixel 7 Pro, to avoid playing with fire.