An Exclusive Look at Reliability Labs, Where Google Stress-Tests Pixel Hardware

Smartphones are durable, powerful devices we transportation everywhere. They get slightly better each year, too. Whether that's done improved solid exertion that's much shatter- and scratch-proof, aliases surface size adjustments to guarantee nan champion acquisition successful your hand.

Take nan just-announced Pixel 10 Pro Fold, for example. It's now IP68-rated for h2o and particulate resistance, conscionable for illustration astir flagship candybar phones. Just a fewer years ago, nan hinge system connected folding phones was still having problems pinch dust, and moreover Samsung's latest Galaxy Z Fold7 is only IP48, meaning it's not as dust-proof arsenic nan Pixel.

Phone manufacturers tally a artillery of tests connected their devices perpetually passim nan improvement cycle—sometimes much than a twelvemonth earlier nan merchandise moreover comes out. Google invited maine to its office successful Mountain View, California, to cheque retired 1 specified testing center, dubbed Reliability Labs. It's a nondescript building connected Google's campus, but wrong are next-gen Pixel phones and smartwatches getting tumbled, dropped, and moreover stiff to measurement their wide durability. (Google paid for a information of my recreation expenses to spot its investigation facility.)

The Folding Test

You've astir apt seen a trial conscionable for illustration this pinch different folding smartphones. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is clamped to this machine, which continuously folds and unfolds nan device, and it's what allows telephone makers to opportunity their instrumentality tin withstand 250,000 aliases 500,000 folds, offering a small much bid of mind for nan hinge's reliability. This is conscionable 1 testing machine, but Google says it has aggregate of these operating successful Asia, folding and unfolding preproduction units.

Google claims nan caller Pixel 10 Pro Fold tin withstand 10-plus years of folding, aliases 200,000 folds for nan hinge. Samsung claims 500,000 folds for nan Galaxy Z Fold7. (If you fold nan telephone 100 times a day—which is connected nan excessive end—that's 365,000 folds aft 10 years.) But Google's 10-plus-years declare isn't conscionable astir nan hinge. The caller gearless creation of nan Pixel 10 Pro Fold allows for much room for nan show to flex, putting little strain connected nan screen, and location are respective caller strengthening layers to support nan display. That intends some nan show and hinge should past a decade.

Scratch and Wear Tests

Next up are a fewer deterioration tests. The first was a mannequin's limb wearing nan Pixel Watch 4, bolted to a robot limb that moved backmost and forth. The watch's set was resting connected a portion of wood, and nan trial measured really good nan strap fared erstwhile rubbing against nan material. (It's easy to move nan worldly it rubs against to thing else, for illustration a metallic sheet.) It's a aboveground scraping trial Google runs to trial caller strap types for its smartwatches; a unit sensor applies accordant unit for meticulous measurements.

There aren't immoderate caller strap materials for nan caller Pixel Watch 4, but this is 1 of nan processes utilized to trial various materials utilized for nan bands. I asked nan institution astir recent studies that show fluoroelastomer straps—like nan ones Google, Samsung, and Apple waste for their respective smartwatches—have precocious concentrations of “forever chemicals,” though there's constricted knowledge connected really overmuch they're absorbed by nan skin. Francis Hoe, elder merchandise head for nan Pixel Watch, says Google runs respective biocompatibility tests earlier releasing immoderate benignant of product, and is “always reasoning astir caller materials,” though he didn't stock immoderate different details.

In nan adjacent room, there's a tray pinch respective generations of Pixel phones wrong (including nan latest Pixel 10 series), lying look down connected different woody surface. This is designed to mimic a real-world personification sliding their telephone look down connected a table. Google's testing squad runs these tests for definite intervals, for illustration 30 minutes, and past checks for scratches. It offers an accelerated look astatine really nan screen solid will fare complete a agelong period, connected different aboveground types, and really it compares to erstwhile generations. (The Pixel 10 bid uses nan aforesaid Gorilla Glass Victus 2 worldly arsenic its predecessor.)

The Tumble Test

How does a telephone fare erstwhile thrown into a container aliases purse filled pinch different stuff? Yes, group really flip their pricey telephone into a bag, but that can scratch up nan glass. This is what nan tumble trial monitors. This small, reddish tumbler is filled pinch a fistful of communal items, from a hairbrush and a nail clipper to keys and pens. A squad personnel popped a Pixel Watch 4 into 1 machine, and a Pixel 10 Pro into another. Just for illustration your dryer, everything tumbles together for a definite number of cycles, aft which Google's squad will cheque nan hardware for harm and rinse and repeat. This allows Google to show nan wide durability and scratch-resistance of nan devices, from nan solid to nan buttons and nan anodized metal.

The database of items successful nan tumbler stays accordant twelvemonth complete year, allowing for nonstop comparisons pinch prior-generation hardware. Hoe says these kinds of tests statesman early connected successful development, and Google past uses reliability results to pass cardinal decisions astatine nan adjacent checkpoint of nan improvement phase.

Shock Tower

Arguably nan loudest trial I experienced, Shock Tower is what Google calls this contraption. Think of it for illustration a driblet building thrust astatine an amusement parkland that plummets you instantly from a awesome tallness (leaving you pinch soiled pants). Shock Tower is simply a controlled driblet test—a Pixel 10 was clamped connected and dropped astatine a circumstantial velocity and height, pinch a large CLANG erstwhile it deed nan bottom.

It doesn't needfully measurement really nan driblet affects nan outer parts of nan phone, for illustration nan solid aliases display—though I was offered information glasses conscionable successful lawsuit nan solid cracked (it didn't). Instead, it's much to thief show really nan daze affects internal components, and it allows Google to bring these components to nonaccomplishment to spot really nan assembly of these submodules could beryllium affected by drops. You wouldn't want your artillery to get disconnected from a drop, and that's thing this trial could perchance flag.

Drop Test

There is a not-so-controlled driblet test, too. Rivaling nan Shock Tower for loudness, this 1-meter metallic container is benignant of for illustration nan tumbler instrumentality successful that it's perpetually rotating 360 degrees. On 1 broadside is nan Pixel 10 Pro Fold, and connected nan other, a Pixel Watch 4—both perpetually hitting 1 extremity and falling successful a frenzy to nan different arsenic nan instrumentality spins. It is simply a painfully large sound, and aft a fewer spins, you commencement to consciousness sorry for nan hardware.

Hoe says Google typically runs this trial for respective cycles, but it usually involves 100 drops per test, aft which nan squad inspects nan hardware to find if it's a walk aliases fail. There are different criteria successful what determines a walk aliases fail, but it's not conscionable astir checking to spot if nan solid cracked. Did nan buttons break? Did nan camera module popular out? Does nan telephone still move on? Those are nan kinds of things nan squad looks at.

Freezing and Extreme Heat Test

This room was cramped pinch machines that helped measurement really devices could grip power and cold, and accelerated transitions betwixt utmost temperatures. Naturally, location was a Pixel Watch 4 sitting stiff successful a instrumentality that blasted it pinch h2o that's quickly cooled, and different instrumentality ratcheted nan somesthesia from –10 to 35 degrees Celsius (14 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit) astatine 95 percent humidity levels to show nan somesthesia change.

These tests person 2 purposes. They show really good nan instrumentality tin proceed to execute aft enduring utmost temperatures. However, they besides let Google to simulate nan property of nan hardware, testing devices astatine different intervals to show capacity complete an accelerated period.

Water Resistance and Pressure Test

Next, I went into a room wherever I had to deterioration a poncho to debar being deed by jets of water. It's nan h2o guidance test! I watched a Pixel 10 Pro Fold get doused successful jets of h2o from each angles, ensuring that Google's hardware would pass nan IPX5 test. (Google would still request to nonstop its hardware for independent testing to gain nan IP68 badge.) The “5” successful that number specifically tests for protection from jets of h2o astatine immoderate angle, but location are different tests Google conducts, for illustration IPX8 for h2o immersion. It's conscionable not arsenic absorbing to look at—think of a Pixel 10 sitting successful a h2o vessel for 30 minutes.

In nan adjacent room over, I recovered respective Pixel Watch 4 models sitting successful what looked for illustration a unit cooker. This contraption is what Google uses to measurement really overmuch unit nan hardware tin withstand, adjuvant for swimmers and divers. The latest Pixel Watch maintains its 5-atm rating, meaning it tin grip up to 50 meters for a definite magnitude of time. Once nan devices are wrong and nan 5 bars of unit person been set, aerial bubbles will aboveground connected nan hardware, meaning there's a leak; Google would person to return isolated nan instrumentality to spot what's causing nan issue.

Empathy Models

The past point Google showed maine revolves astir nan size of nan phone. You'll spot 2 rows of clone devices: The near exemplary connected nan apical is nan Pixel 8's existent size, and nan near exemplary connected nan bottommost is nan Pixel 8 Pro's real-world size. The different slabs approximate what nan telephone feels for illustration for folks pinch mean to smaller hands (they're weighted accurately). The mediate is what group pinch medium-sized hands consciousness erstwhile holding nan phone, and nan correct exemplary is what it's for illustration for personification pinch mini hands. I did a small manus measuring trial that wished my manus was moreover bigger than nan “large” size, truthful I'm positively sorry for each nan folks pinch mini hands who person to acquisition these Very Big phones.

It's this benignant of trial that helps style sizing decisions for nan phones. “We're often trying to make judge our devices are arsenic comfortable for each nan group purchasing nan merchandise … really trying to understand nan captious dimensions,” says Stephanie Scott, group merchandise head astatine Google. With this test, folks pinch ample hands connected Google's squad are capable to spot what nan telephone they're designing feels for illustration for smaller paws (hence nan “Empathy Models” sanction for nan test). Google did stock that its information shows that women thin to gravitate to nan smaller phones, and that nan Pro models thin to person a antheral demographic.

Continuous Testing

It's worthy noting that these tests tally continuously passim nan improvement cycle. That intends erstwhile a caller prototype type of nan hardware is ready, Google saves a fewer models to spell done nan artillery of tests astatine Reliability Labs, and that'll hap again pinch nan adjacent type of nan hardware. And Google doesn't conscionable do laboratory tests.

“Reliability helps america beryllium nan robustness of nan design, and past we tally an soul squad testing program, and we trial it crossed each nan iterations of nan product,” Hoe says. There's a squad of real-world users that put nan phones and watches done their paces extracurricular of a laboratory setting.

Google isn't nan only institution moving these kinds of accent tests—every awesome telephone shaper apt does similar, if not identical, tests. However, these tests don't guarantee a merchandise will beryllium free of issues erstwhile it hits nan market.

There are plentifulness of instances wherever Google has dealt pinch hardware issues complete nan past 9 years of its Pixel phones, from screen issues to moreover problems pinch nan camera module. More recently, nan company's Pixel A-series phones are moving into artillery problems. Some Pixel 4a, Pixel 6a, and Pixel 7a devices are undergoing a artillery capacity programme wherever a mandatory package update cuts nan artillery capacity and reduces charging capacity to forestall overheating risks. (Google is providing a free artillery replacement aliases Google Store credit.) I asked Google if these artillery woes could impact nan latest Pixel 9a, and here's what a Google spokesperson said:

“Google continuously improves Pixel testing based connected personification feedback and thoroughly investigates reported incidents for each components, including batteries. With Pixel 9a, we delivered nan largest and longest-lasting artillery of immoderate A-series yet. We’ve been encouraged by its reception truthful acold and are assured successful nan phone’s longevity and durability.”

We'll person to hold a fewer years to spot really that holds up.