Hot news from the teardown table: The most repairable smartwatch on the market isn’t from Fairphone or Framework. It’s from Google.
The Pixel Watch 4 looks nearly identical to last year’s model on the outside, but inside it’s been completely reengineered for repairability. Gone is the glue, the frustration, and the heartbreak. In its place: screws, seals, and pure design joy.
Smartwatches aren’t a particularly repairable category; most watches on the market have earned 3s and 4s out of 10. This design, on the other hand, has truly impressed us.
Before we dive in, a quick note. iFixit does have a business relationship with Google that’s unrelated to our teardown work (our editorial team tries hard to stay out of the business side of things). But if we sound extra giddy here, that’s because this thing is actually repairable, and we can’t help ourselves.
But is it good? I’ve purchased two Android Wear watches. They both had to be charged at least daily. Both of the watches I purchased, which were different models from different manufacturers with different charger designs, and a third watch that was shipped to me as a replacement all developed a fault where eventually they could not be charged. Google has removed the “don’t” from “don’t be evil” so even if this watch could go multiple days without charging and could be seen in bright light and didn’t unexpectedly light up in dark rooms and didn’t permanently stop charging after a year or two, I don’t know if I would want to buy one. The only problem I’ve had with my Garmin watch was that the band wore out and I had to replace it.