I wish more wearables were as repairable as Google’s Pixel Watch 4

When Google made the Pixel Watch 4, it re-engineered it from the ground up to make it repairable

But how easy is it for someone like me, an idiot with a screwdriver, to actually repair it

Well, I wanted to find out. Welcome to All Things Mobile. Unlike smartphones, TVs and laptops, smartwatches and other wearable devices are notoriously difficult to repair, if not impossible

But Google has proved that this doesn't need to be the case, and has made the Pixel Watch 4 the most repairable smartwatch on the market

Gone is the glue of the Pixel Watch 3, replaced by screws and seals, making it easy to take

apart without compromising what's great about this watch, including its waterproofing. Why is that important? Well, increasingly our right to repair our own tech is enshrined

in law. It allows us to make something that we've spent a lot of money on last a lot

longer. That drastically reduces the amount of minerals being dug up to create new devices

reduces the amount of devices being shipped all around the world, and means fewer perfectly

good devices ending up as e-waste. You don't need to spend big on replacing your tech if

your screen breaks, especially when the rest of it might be working perfectly well. So it's

better for the planet and it's better for your wallet. It's a win-win basically, but

it's one thing to make a device that's technically repairable. That doesn't mean it's actually

easy to do it See if it realistic for someone like me with basically no experience of repairing electronics I ordered a screen replacement kit from iFixit and I going to perform open heart surgery on this Google Pixel Watch 4 Hopefully it will still turn on in the end Let go The first

thing I needed to do was remove the two screws holding the body of the watch together. Google

has tucked these away under the wristband to limit their exposure to accidental damage. Next up

I took a spudger, which is a new term to me, and slid it gently under the rim to lever the back

of the watch off the body. It's here that I got my first glimpse of the watch's internal architecture

Google has tried to make it simple and intuitive and it's true that when I looked at it I wasn't

immediately overwhelmed by its complexity. I didn't feel like I was trying to dismantle a

nuclear power station or anything. To remove the haptic engine there were another two screws to

undo. It then lifted out using some dangerously sharp tweezers that came in the screen replacement

kit. Disconnecting the battery meant once again using the spudger to gently nudge the connector

apart. Using the screwdriver I took out two more screws and then the battery

lifted out of the watch's body. It's at this point, if I was doing a straight battery swap, that I'd simply reverse the process. I however had chosen a more

complicated repair and therefore had to press on with disassembling the watch

even further Two more screws were easy but then I had to tease this sticker free without damaging it As you can see I had some trouble making that happen It did eventually come off and then it was back to the spudger to separate the screen cable connectors

There were four more screws to undo here, and then all that was left was to flip it over

and pop the screen off. Removing the O-ring felt like the highest stakes part

of the process yet. It's really important to make sure this isn't damaged even slightly

as it guarantees the waterproofing of the entire watch. Although iFixit does provide a spare in the kit

And then the fun really began. I had to do the entire thing in reverse order

This was the trickier part of the process. From trying to hook the O-ring over the new screen

to getting the sticker back onto the screen cable connectors, I did find the fiddliness really tested my capabilities

and my patience. That said, I did eventually manage to put the Pixel Watch back together

And yes, to my great relief, it did turn on. The time estimate for carrying out this repair

is between half an hour and an hour, but it took me a full 90 minutes

That's not because it's overly complicated. I just lack the experience and dexterity

to do it at this speed. I purposefully didn't want to rush it, so I'd have the best chance of completing the repair

without making any life-altering mistakes. Life-altering for the watch, that is. My own life was never at risk

in spite of these pincer tweezers I should also add that I found it quite fun and satisfying If you like Lego or putting together those fiddly air fix kits you probably enjoy repairing your tech too There also a

certain amount of pride taking a gadget that's destined for e-waste and giving it a whole new

lease of life. Making a repairable smartwatch isn't an easy feat, which is why Google is basically the

only company that's done it. But it is important. We spend a lot of money on our tech and the wider

trend is that we're keeping hold of our devices for longer and longer periods of time. Wouldn't

Wouldn't it be great if you were able to repair your watch at home, making it last at least

five years, instead of having to replace it every two years? Tech firms need to work with us to make sure we have the right parts and manuals available

to make repairs possible, as well as designing products that can feasibly be fixed without

us breaking them. This isn't just true of smartwatches. Right to repair can also include devices like phones, tablets, laptops, TVs, and even larger

devices like refrigerators and dishwashers. My hope is that Google has set a new standard for smartwatch repairability with the Pixel Watch 4

I'd love to see other companies follow in its footsteps and make it so that whether it's replacing a tired battery or a scratched up screen

we can repair our own smartwatches at home in the future, just as I did for this one right here

And next time your tech flakes out on you, why not give it a go fixing it at home first rather than just throwing it out