The Apple Watch Series 10, Apple’s thinnest and lightest watch to date, has arrived in stores with major improvements to its design, as well as new features. However, this device leaves a lot to be desired in terms of repairability. Despite Apple’s efforts to make its products more accessible to repair, as happened with the iPhone 16, this new smartwatch does not follow the same path.
Apple has highlighted that the Series 10 is a 10% thinner and lighter than its predecessor, maintaining all its functionalities while improving its screen, which is now brighter. But these design innovations appear to have had consequences in terms of access to internal components.
Apple Watch Series 10 Repair
According to iFixit’s teardown, downsizing has led to spaces extremely tightwhich makes any repair a real nightmare.
Inside the Apple Watch Series 10, iFixit discovered that there is just 0.176 mm of space between the display glass and the metal casing, which contributes to greater water resistance, up to 50 ATM. However, this also means that accessing the inside of the device is incredibly complicated.
Unlike the latest generation iPhones, the Apple Watch Series 10 does not use Apple’s new electrically conductive adhesive, which makes battery repair easier. Instead, this watch still uses a lot of standard adhesive to hold the battery in place, making it very difficult to remove. The battery and Taptic Engine take up most of the internal space, leaving very little room for maneuver when attempting repairs or replacements.
The disassembly process requires applying a lot of heat and carefully prying around the edges to remove the screen. Once inside, iFixit discovered that the components are highly compressed and extremely difficult to manipulate without damaging other elements of the watch.
The Apple Watch Series 10 disappoints
One of the big news that Apple highlighted at the launch of the Apple Watch Series 10 was the improvement of the screen. According to the company, the screen of the new watch is a 40% brighter when viewed from inclined angles. However, microscopic analysis carried out by iFixit revealed that, in structural terms, the screen has not changed much compared to that of the Apple Watch Series 9. Although the difference in brightness is noticeable in daily use, there do not seem to be any major innovations. internal design level of the screen.
With all of these difficulties in mind, it’s no surprise that iFixit has given the Apple Watch Series 10 a repairability score of just 3 out of 10. This puts the device in the “very difficult to repair” category, which is a bad news for those who were hoping to be able to perform basic repairs without completely relying on Apple technical services.
Despite its design improvements, the Apple Watch Series 10 is difficult to repair due to excessive use of adhesives and internal complexity, presenting a challenge for those who prefer to repair it themselves.