iFixit Pixel Watch Teardown Gives Heavy First-Gen Technology Vibes

While the Pixel Watch received glowing reviews for its chic external looks, the same cannot be said about its innards. Google certainly needs to take a cue from Apple in this regard, and hopefully, things should only get better with successive generations. iFixit found it relatively easy to pry open the top case after placing the Pixel Watch on a heating pad.

Opening up the watch revealed the battery, which seems to be capped with yellowish-colored tape. After removing a couple of screws, and a trip to the heating pad later, iFixit managed to remove the vibration motor and move the battery aside to finally reveal the display connector. Removing the display connector separates the AMOLED panel from the rest of the watch body. It took the team a couple more attempts using Torx screws to remove the battery completely.

iFixit then proceeded to remove a couple of other connectors and disconnect other components, including the loudspeaker, the tactile crown, and the depth and optical sensors. Finally, opening up the watch’s other side revealed the Pixel Watch’s heart: its mainboard. Attached to the mainboard are the antennas and the heart rate sensors. iFixit describes the teardown experience of the Pixel Watch as an interesting puzzle, with the product giving them “strong first-generation tech” vibes. The Pixel Watch is a mixed bag in terms of reparability; while it gets a removable back panel, some other components inside it are irreplaceable.