Inside the Apple Watch is as expensive as the iPhone

Experts say that disassembling the Apple Watch Ultra could damage the device and lose its water resistance.

 

 

Not only is it difficult to repair, the cost of repairing the Apple Watch Ultra is also very expensive. Photo: iFixit .

Electronic device repair company iFixit has just posted a video “dissecting” the Apple Watch Ultra, showing the many risks of damage of this heavily advertised smartwatch. The components inside the device are designed by Apple, making the disassembly process more difficult, easily damaging parts.

 

Specifically, this smartwatch has an outward-facing edge that helps protect the screen effectively only when the device is bumped on the sides. Therefore, any vertical impact on the screen can damage the Apple Watch Ultra.

 

Besides, if you want to remove the battery of the watch, users need to remove the whole screen instead of just removing the back as before. This makes it difficult to repair or replace components because it is easy to damage the OLED screen if it is repeatedly removed and inserted.

 

 

The Apple Watch Ultra has a sophisticated design that makes it difficult to disassemble components. Photo: iFixit .

According to iFixit , when removing the ceramic back of the smartwatch, the rubber padding inside to prevent water from entering the device was damaged. The process of replacing this padding is not simple. Users need to consult professionals or be extremely careful because it can affect the watch’s WR100 water resistance.

 

Previously, other Apple products also caused users headaches when they needed to repair or replace components, so the Apple Watch Ultra was no exception. But when welding the back of the smartwatch with ordinary screws, users can remove the device more easily than previous generations, The Verge said.

 

In addition, 9to5mac’s Derek Wise pen also tried to “dissect” this smartwatch and advises users not to do the same because it is easy to damage the device. Experts discovered that the Apple Watch Ultra uses a 5-point screw similar to the MacBook, but this screw is not too common.

 

Similar to iFixit , to remove all 4 screws on this back, author Derek Wise also had to remove the rubber gasket around the device frame. He then used an extremely thin tweezers and spacers to separate the ceramic back from the titanium bezel of the device.

 

According to Derek Wise, all internal components are attached very carefully, so it is possible that the waterproof feature was damaged during the implementation. Besides, the glue helps to fix the back with the body and parts such as health sensors, batteries, etc. are also very easy to damage when removing the device.

 

Users should not disassemble the Apple Watch Ultra by themselves at home. Photo: 9to5mac .

It is worth mentioning that after successfully removing the back, the author cannot connect the device to the phone as usual. Most likely, during the implementation, he mistakenly removed the metal plate that helped connect the screen to the device.

 

Not only having difficulty in disassembly, re-installing the device as the original is also not easy. Derek Wise struggled to reattach the fixed adhesive. The rubber part that helps prevent water is also deviated and is no longer as sturdy as before. This would render the device’s waterproof standard useless, he said.

 

These experiments have shown that the Apple Watch Ultra is very difficult to disassemble. If there is damage, experts recommend that users go to Apple’s official repair shops. However, not only is the price on par with a basic iPhone 14, the repair cost of this device is also very expensive.

 

Specifically, on its website, Apple says that if users break the screen, buttons, sensors or other parts during use, they will have to pay a repair cost of 499 USD , higher than 200 USD compared to the price of regular Watch models.