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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Google’s Pixel Watch 4 is constructed to be repairable, swapping adhesive for screws.
- The design adjustments haven’t compromised the machine’s waterproofing.
- iFixit offers the smartwatch a repairability rating of 9 out of 10.
Smartwatches are, by and huge, very exhausting to restore. They’re often small and filled with adhesive. They stay their life, after which they’re chucked away — hopefully into the electronics recycling pile, however too many find yourself behind a drawer or a landfill.
And whereas plenty of firms wish to flex their inexperienced credentials, it is exhausting to place that into real-world repairability.
Additionally: Want an entire tech repair shop of tools in a single messenger bag?
However Google has achieved simply that with the brand new Pixel Watch 4. Based on the teardown specialists at iFixit, it’s the “most repairable smartwatch in the marketplace.”
How has Google pulled this off? However ditching the adhesive and utilizing screws. Sure, screws.
Changing the battery requires three Torx Plus bits, a spudger, a pair of tweezers (every part you want is available in The Ultimate iFixit Toolkit), and some minutes. All of the screws are seen, not buried underneath stickers of simply broken trim.
And the shortage of adhesive would not in any means compromise water-resistance — the Pixel Watch 4 is rated IP68 for water and dirt resistance — as a result of Google has kitted out every of the exterior screws with its personal little O-ring.
The teardown is without doubt one of the best, least brutal smartwatch teardowns I’ve seen.
One of many best, cleanest teardowns I’ve seen.
iFixit/ZDNET
“All the things inside this watch factors towards a repair-first design philosophy,” writes iFixit’s Elizabeth Chamberlain, and I’ve to agree. The convenience with which this smartwatch might be torn down for restore offers me hope that ultimately all our private gadgets, from smartphones to earbuds, can be a lot simpler to restore.
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iFixit gave the Google Pixel Watch 4 a repairability rating of 9 out of 10, an extremely excessive rating for a smartwatch, blowing the Apple Watch Ultra 3 out of the water.
On the very least, I would wish to see batteries which are simple to switch routinely, as a result of that might save plenty of electronics from Silicon Heaven.
