The Pixel 8 Parts Store Goes Live, Should Be Up For 7 Years

Genuine parts for the Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro are now available on iFixit's Pixel parts store. "The Pixel 8 is the first Google phone with seven years of major OS updates, and Google previously said these parts will be in stock for seven years to match, so the phone sounds like it will be a longevity champion," reports Ars Technica's Ron Amadeo. From the report: The most common replacement will probably be the screen, which costs $160 for the Pixel 8 and $230 for the Pixel 8 Pro. The product described as a "rear case" is the entire aluminum body of the phone, with the rear glass, camera bar, camera cover glass, side buttons, and charging coil. The Pixel 8 version of this will run you $143, while the 8 Pro version is $173. The batteries are both $43.

If your camera breaks, get ready for some serious sticker shock: The Pixel 8 Pro rear camera assembly is $200 for the bundled set of three cameras. Interestingly, the Pixel 8 also has $200 worth of camera parts despite having one less camera by skipping the complicated periscope zoom lens. The Pixel 8 parts come in separate pieces: $143 for the main camera and $63 for the ultra-wide. Along with the $43 front camera, a Pixel 8 is $700 and has $243 worth of camera parts!

Other than that, there are various small adhesive and thermal strips. There's no replacement motherboard available, which is a shame since that's probably the first thing that would break from water damage. (Phone motherboards contain your IMEI number used for things like billing and theft blocklisting, and the industry doesn't have a good solution for repairing these.) Since the USB port is part of the motherboard, there's no official repair method. The Google Pixel 8 Parts store is available here.

if i am going to buy a phone for repairability

[FudRucker]

i would only buy something like the FairPhone or PinePhone = something i can repair or upgrade myself, just order the parts and when they arrive in the mail i can do if myself at home on the kitchen table

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[arglebargle_xiv]

Yup. Wanna bet that, like endless other Google things [killedbygoogle.com], this never sees its claimed lifetime before Google kills it?

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[TheRealMindChild]

The hardest part in repairing these things is opening it up. All you need is a cell phone suction cup tool that can be had for ~$5, and a heat gun/hair dryer. Once you do it a couple of times, it isn't nearly as daunting as it seems

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[Anonymous Coward]

Looks like you should get your shift and/or capslock key(s) booked in for repair, regard.

To be clear

[fahrbot-bot]

The Pixel 8 is the first Google phone with seven years of major OS updates, ...

Google could easily support older versions of the Pixel for that long, if they wanted to. Just sayin' ...

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[Xenx]

That may, or may not, be accurate. I would lean towards accurate, but there are reasons it may not be true. Driver updates are one of the limiting factors when it comes to OS updates. It's quite possible their older contacts with suppliers didn't account for a longer update window, and the supplier either didn't want to provide additional updates or the cost of renegotiating was too high to consider it retroactively. However, with the SOC being in house, I don't know how much that holds up.

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[Xenx]

contacts = contracts

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[AmiMoJo]

Maybe not. It depends on the manufacturers of all parts to keep providing drivers and spares.

It seems like the 8 is the first where they have the contracts in place.

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[diffract]

I'm not sure they will honor the 8 years of updates. this is google after all

Sorry Google

[bjwest]

Your phone, however good the hardware is, sucks due to your shenanigans with the software. I traded in my Samsung Galaxy G23 for the Pixel 7, and I've regretted it damn near from the beginning. As soon as the G24 drops, I'm ditching this POS for a better product. I only wish LG still made a phone.

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[dohzer]

Yup. Screw the Samsung phones and their bloatware.

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[omnichad]

I remember right around the time the Nexus 6 came out - I wish someone would make a phone like Samsung but just put Android on it. Of course, Kit Kat was the other reason. Android finally wasn't ugly to look at. I actually skipped all smart phones before Kit Kat because I didn't want an iPhone.

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[diffract]

don't forget the poor quality control. i bought a brand new Pixel 8 and the screen goes blank because the connector on the back is flimsy. That's one of many many failures you can find online for other people

$200 for a camera is cheap

[SethJohnson]

I don't have first-hand experience with the Pixel 8 photo quality, but if it's at all competitive with equivalent iPhone photography, it takes dang good pictures. The crappiest DSLRs with three lenses are going to be nowhere near $200, new or even used. That's a reasonable price.

Regarding the price for repair parts... manufacturers price repair parts partly based on the anticipated frequency of their failure. It costs them a lot to warehouse the parts until the product is officially EOL and they're off the