Apple Watch teardown shows timepiece is difficult to repair

Smartwatch causes iFixit engineers trouble

A teardown of the Apple Watch has revealed the smart timepiece has several design features that make it difficult and expensive to repair.

The team at iFixit are currently live blogging their Apple Watch tear down and at the time of writing were at stage 28 and had already dismantled the device's Digital Crown and Taptic Engine.

The iFixit engineers highlighted the display connection and S1 chip as being particularly difficult to remove, requiring unconventional tools most repair shops will not have.

"Disconnecting the display isn't easy, as the display cables are trapped under a springy bracket (not unlike the Touch ID cable cover of the iPhone 5s)," read the blog.

"As we work our way to the S1 SiP, we encounter the tiniest Tri-wing screws we've ever seen. No, we don't think Apple had repairability in mind when they designed her.

"It's rare that we don't have the right tool for the job, but even our teensiest bit isn't up to snuff."

They added that even when past the small screws, repairers could easily cause serious damage when trying to remove the chip.

"The back of the S1 isn't as pretty as the front - with ribbon cables running to every peripheral and gobs of adhesive gripping it in place, the chip leaves a nasty mess in its wake," read the blog.

"Pulling this mess out is a destructive procedure, but after ripping out some soldered connectors we get our first real look at the S1.

"Despite rumors (and hopes) of an upgradable product - the difficulty of removing the S1 alone casts serious doubt on the idea of simply swapping out the internals."

The iFixit crew were still disassembling the Apple Watch at the time of publishing and were yet to give it a full repairability score. We'll update this article as and when more information becomes available.

The Apple Watch went on sale on 24 April. Pricing for the basic Apple Watch will start at £299 for the Sport version, rising to £479 to £949 for the standard Watch versions, and from £8,000 to £13,500 for the Gold Apple Watch Edition.

For more information about the Apple Watch check out V3's Interactive Guide.