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ZDNET Highlights
- Google’s Pixel Watch 4 is designed to be repairable, swapping out adhesive for screws.
- The design changes have not compromised the waterproofing of the device.
- iFixit gives the smartwatch a repairability score of 9 out of 10.
Smartwatches, overall, are very difficult to repair. They are usually small and filled with adhesive. They live out their lives, and then they are discarded – hopefully in the electronics recycling pile, but many end up in the back of a drawer or in a landfill.
And while many companies love to enhance their green credentials, it’s hard to make them repairable in the real world.
Also: Do you want a complete technical repair shop of devices in one messenger bag?
But that’s just what Google has done with the new pixel watch 4According to teardown experts I fix itIt is “the most repairable smartwatch on the market”.
How has Google overcome this? But the screws are being used by removing the adhesive material. Yes, screw it.
Changing the battery requires three Torx Plus bits, a spudger, a pair of tweezers (everything you need comes with Ultimate iFixit Toolkit), and a few minutes. All screws are visible, not buried under stickers for easily damaged trim.
And the lack of adhesive doesn’t compromise water-resistance in any way – the Pixel Watch 4 is rated IP68 for water and dust resistance – as Google has equipped each external screw with its own little O-ring.
The teardown is one of the easiest, least brutal smartwatch teardowns I’ve seen.
One of the easiest, cleanest deconstructions I’ve seen.
iFixit/ZDNET
Elizabeth Chamberlain of iFixit writes, “Everything inside this watch points to a repair-first design philosophy, and I have to agree.” The ease with which this smartwatch can be torn apart for repair gives me hope that it will eventually become much easier to repair all of our personal devices, from smartphones to earbuds.
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iFixit gave the Google Pixel Watch 4 a repairability score of 9 out of 10, which is an incredibly high score for a smartwatch, which made it a surprise. apple watch ultra 3 Out of water.
At a minimum, I would like to see batteries that are easy to replace regularly, as this will save a lot of electronics silicon heaven,
