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iFixit's teardown finds every new Apple Watch battery swap still starts at the glued screen
iFixit scored the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 at 4 out of 10 for repairability, up one point for the base model and flat for the Ultra. Repair budgets should treat every battery job as a screen job, and every Series 12 screen job as a battery job too.
The Product Desk
What happened
- The Series 12 now holds its battery with stretch-release adhesive and a pull tab, which make the cell easier to remove once the screen is off.
- The Ultra 4's four bottom-case screws give access only to the sensor assembly and the S11 chip, so the battery is still reached through the screen.
- iFixit says Apple is out of compliance with Right to Repair laws in ten states because it sells no Apple Watch repair parts or tools and offers no manuals.
Compiled by The Product DeskSomething wrong?How this is made
Why it matters
- cost Whoever holds the repair budget pays for a new battery on every Series 12 screen repair, whether or not the old one was worn out.
- exposure A routine Series 12 battery service can turn into a second, screen repair, because the display takes enough force to open that iFixit's own technician worried about damaging it.
- decision Buyers still choosing hardware can weigh a five-point repairability gap to the Pixel Watch 5 before the first repair ticket exists.
Shahram Mokhtari opened the Apple Watch Ultra 4 with heat. He warmed the screen, then worked iFixit's new metal pick under it until the battery and Taptic Engine were exposed [6]. Every Ultra 4 battery job begins this way, because the battery can only be reached through the screen [4].
A worn battery arrives on a ticket as a battery job. The work behind the ticket is a display removal. The Ultra 4 has no repairability changes and gets the same 4/10 iFixit has given every Ultra [3][4]. Its display sits on heavy adhesive used for waterproofing, and the display cable is easy to slice while prying [4][5]. Past that step the job gets simpler, according to 9to5Mac. Mokhtari found pulling the battery and unclipping the display's press connector straightforward, as long as the opening spared the flex cables underneath [18].
The Series 12 improvements also only help once the screen is off. iFixit called the battery pull tab a "modest" improvement [9], and the new press connector is simpler than the ZIF connector and tape it replaces [10]. Together they earned a 4/10 [1], one point above the 3/10 of the last base model iFixit scored [2][21]. Prying off the glued display is still the biggest obstacle to repairs, 9to5Mac reported [14].
Replacing a Series 12 screen now means removing and replacing the battery too, "which, if you've come this far, why wouldn't you?" Mokhtari said [12]. For a fleet, the upside is a watch that comes back from a screen repair with a new battery [10].
Both batteries grew slightly. The Ultra 4 holds 2.444Wh, up from 2.313Wh in the Ultra 3, about 5.7% more [15][22]. The 46mm Series 12 holds 1.461Wh against 1.403Wh in the Series 11, about 4.1% more [16][23].
Doing this work in-house would mean finding parts Apple does not sell, according to iFixit [19]. Neither report includes what Apple charges to replace a watch battery or screen.
iFixit's counterexample is Google's Pixel Watch 5, which scored 9/10 [17]. Its display comes off after two Torx screws and a gasket, and its battery comes out with no adhesive to fight [17].
The forcing function I'd use for an Apple Watch repair budget has two rules. Count every battery service on either model as a display-opening job, with a contingency for a damaged screen or a cut display cable [5][13]. Count every Series 12 screen job as a display plus a battery [10]. If the budget cannot carry those lines at the fleet's expected failure rate, the choice moves upstream to which watch to buy, and the Pixel Watch 5 is the benchmark iFixit itself points to [17].
What to watch
- Whether any state attorney general acts on the evidence iFixit says it is preparing about Apple's Right to Repair compliance.
- Whether Apple starts selling Apple Watch repair parts, service tools or manuals, the gap at the center of iFixit's ten-state compliance claim.