The Camera Module on the Google Pixel 6 Pro Might not be Removable
It appeared as if we already knew everything there was to know about the incoming Google Pixel 6 Pro as its launch date approached. Renders, spec sheets, and even teardowns, camera samples, and price have all been shown to us for various products. Google may follow Apple’s lead and make it more difficult to fix the Pixel 6 Pro, notably the camera module, as we learn more now.
Google looks to be combining a triple camera module with a unique device from factory, according to a leaked page from the Pixel 6 Pro’s technical repair manual. The document states “RL rear camera is calibrated at vendor site to secure the image/video quality post repair.” This page was published to Repair.Wiki and the Wiki page mentions that a replacement module “is different from the production camera module that is paired to the original logic board.”
Using the camera module from an existing Pixel 6 Pro and installing it on another smartphone may not be possible. There’s a good chance the Pixel 6 Pro replacement module won’t function on any other Pixel smartphone.
Because Apple has made camera module repairs on the iPhone 12 more difficult outside of the company’s authorised repair network, other companies may see this as an opportunity to do the same, Louis Rossmann explains in a YouTube video posted on the Apple Developer Network. Google has not been accused of making it harder for third parties or do-it-yourselfers to do repairs, but the signs point in that direction. However, this needs to be verified by disassembling two Pixel 6 Pro devices and swapping the camera modules to verify if they work.
A camera module and the logic board are connected, but Rossmann is unsure of the advantages of this. The leaked document claims it is “to secure the image/video quality post repair.” but this statement is met with skepticism.
