Yep, that’s a cracked Apple Watch display. Nope, it’s not actually an Edition, just plated, but the $549 and up steel model uses the same sapphire display as Apple’s $10,000 and up watch. And yes, the Apple Watch’s sapphire display reacts to accidental drops against hard surfaces just like iPhones.
In describing the craftsmanship of the Apple Watch, Apple calls sapphire “the second-hardest transparent substance after diamond,” adding that “that’s why we chose it to cover the Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition faces,” but it still sells a $79 AppleCare+ warranty to cover accidental damage because sapphire is clearly not invincible.
Here’s what to expect if you accidentally break your Apple Watch display and what I learned about how easily it can happen…
As I mentioned during this week’s 9to5Mac Happy Hour podcast, the damage to the display happened during the tail end of my travels last week, adding an unfortunate surprise to an otherwise relaxing trip.
My wife took her Apple Watch off in the evening to charge before she washed her face, but decided to wear it just a little longer to get credit for standing and reach her activity goal. When she removed it at the sink to wash her face, it slipped from her grip and hit the sink’s countertop. Not the floor a few feet below, but the sink, a drop only inches down.
The watch landed face down and the surface of the countertop was just hard enough that the extremely short drop caused an impact substantial enough to shock the screen. As you can see, the result isn’t exactly like iPhone screen cracks which usually vary from a single hairline crack to a spiderweb of damage. The Apple Watch Sport appears to crack in a similar way, but the sapphire display found on stainless steel and gold Apple Watches tends to crack where it seems to be weakest: around the curved outline of the display.
Like many cracked iPhones I’ve encountered over the years, the Apple Watch still functionally works, although the reliance on Force Touch, or firmly pressing the flexible display, means we’re hesitant to really test how long that remains the case. The damage to the display also means that watch isn’t going anywhere near water for obvious reasons.
For my own stainless steel Apple Watch, I’m being about 10,000 times more careful than I’d been since it arrived. I’ve been hitting door knobs around the house and bumping car doors outside without much concern since the sapphire display means added durability over the Apple Watch Sport’s X-Ion glass.
It’s a lesson in durability learned the hard way, though, and hopefully a precautionary tale to readers. Accidentally drop the Apple Watch like an iPhone, and it just might shatter on impact like an iPhone. As a side note, this had me thinking that perhaps a sapphire display might not be ideal for 4.7- and 5.5-inch iPhones as the added weight and reduced visibility in outdoor lighting may not be worth the expense if the durability isn’t markedly better.
So what should you expect if you do happen to accidentally crack your Apple Watch screen (and not in the way that Steve Jobs cracked TV) First off, virtually all Apple Watch-related servicing at the Apple Store’s Genius Bar that can’t be fixed with easy troubleshooting gets shipped off to an external service center called depot.
Apple brings out the fancy mat before safely boxing up your band-less watch (it makes you remove the strap before servicing) and sealing it shut in front of you. Even software related issues like downgrading from watchOS 2 beta to the stable version of the Apple Watch software goes through this external service center. You’re quoted a price for servicing or repair, which may change depending on what gets discovered at depot, and promised roughly 5 business days before your Apple Watch returns to the store.
Covered under the $69 AppleCare+ for stainless steel Apple Watches, the watch service fee for accidental damage is another $79. You’re in for roughly $180 at this point, and you get one more instance of those $79 accident replacements within 2 years from buying the device. Circumstances may vary, but repairable watch damage outside of the added AppleCare+ warranty for the stainless steel watch will cost your $329 every time.
The unfortunate twist is in a case like mine where there’s a modification to the hardware introduced despite having AppleCare+ coverage. Despite welcome optimism from the Genius Bar crew, Apple’s offsite depot determined that the plating modification, although unrelated to the damage present, meant I would have to pay $500 for a replacement Apple Watch unit. The model with a Sport band and fresh warranty plus accessories only costs $549, so this choice obviously didn’t make sense.
That’s the price though for applying a really great looking gold plating as it wasn’t unexpected and the plating had a solid run before the accident. Based on the positive feedback of the plating job, I’d continue to recommend it as an affordable option for classing up the Apple Watch while emphasizing the already known effect it has on the warranty.
The real lesson for me is that while it’s reputation tends to be that it’s indestructible, the Apple Watch’s sapphire display is hardly immune to the common slip and impact that leads to shattered screens we’ve seen plague other iOS devices for years.
If you’re on the fence about AppleCare+ for your Apple Watch and plan to keep it around for a while, I’d lean toward buying it. And if you’re using your Apple Watch during any extreme activity so you can capture your fitness data, investing in a cheap Apple Watch case that you only use for specific occasions may save you a lot of money in the event of an accident.
For me, the cost of repair isn’t economical versus paying for a new Apple Watch altogether, which feels like a shame considering for now only Apple seems to be offering screen replacements. So for now, our gorgeous-but-damaged Apple Watch will stay unused, while serving as a costly experiment for testing just how durable that sapphire screen really is in a real-life scenario.
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Hard vs brittle. This is the sapphire trade off. In the end it’s better. Watches use it for a reason
Exactly, there’s no perfect material.
Normal good watches tend to use sapphire.
Sports watches tend to use acrylic because it’s more flexible and can take hits better, but scratches easily.
An in-between solution is some products like IonX, that’s in between the two.
DRAGONTRAIL GLAS is not BETTER ? ;-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F92CvRflk18
Are you serious? Sapphire is more brittle than the glass that is on an iPhone and Sport, it is hard, but brittle. meaning that it is ideal for not getting scratched up, but it will fracture much easier than the gorilla type glass they are using on other products. The sapphire used is no different than a rolex and is just as brittle.
Which is why watches generally have a bezel.
It’s just as common to not have a bezel. The a watch is not unusual here.
I had to send my limited edition Tissot PRS512 in for repair to have the rear sapphire crystal replace because it cracked. Yes, it baffled the guys at Tourneau, but it does happen. I hope people realize this isn’t purely an Apple problem, but I don’t hold out too much hope.
At least on my Tissot it was a $100 repair for that and an ‘ultrasonic cleaning.’ Admittedly, the Tissot was a bit more money up-front…
I thought the benefit of sapphire was about being less prone to scratching not that it would be less likely to crack or shatter if dropped.
I think everyone know this except “tech writers”.
That must have been one hard surface.
nothing in this article that we didn’t know already.
The Sapphire screen can crack easier than the X-ion glass because it’s more brittle, the X-ion glass is more prone to scratches but less likely to crack easily.
What makes you think that the plating process did not compromise the sapphire display?
Tell me you are kidding…nobody is that dumb are they?
How can anyone be so stupid as to think that electroplating a watch wouldn’t damage the sapphire crystal, either by removing and reinstalling the crystal or by firing an electrical charge through it while it rests in a bath of nickel and potassium cyanide?
Seriously, educate your sorry-self…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroplating
http://www.wired.com/2015/05/cheap-risky-way-gold-plate-apple-watch/
Seriously, you need to understand what sapphire glass is first before making yourself look so stupid. Sapphire glass is created in a kiln at 4,000º F and at high pressure from aluminium oxide, not silica . It is not electroplated glass. It is manufactured sapphire, from scratch. If you’re going to use wikipedia for your information, at least search sapphire glass first.
The screen cracking is a manufacturing defect. A drop to the floor is one thing, but a few inches to a counter, even a concrete, ceramic or granite one, shouldn’t do this. Apple should honor the basic warranty for such repairs, let alone when someone has AppleCare.
But Apple is also justified in refusing service to a product that has been materially altered with plating.
Absolutely not. A screen cracking from drop, no matter how low or high, is still an accident and should never be covered under warranty as a manufacturing defect. Apple never promised it wouldn’t crack from X height. That’s why AppleCare+ covers accidental damage, keyword being “accidental”. I sympathize with the author because my iPhone 5 screen cracked in a similar fashion but it was due to my carelessness in an unexpected moment and for that I had to replace it through AppleCare+.
Agreed. Also how does Apple know you dropped it from 1 foot versus 10 when all they have to go on is a damaged device and your word?
Can you clarify? I thought that Apple Care + lets you replace the device 2 times. So, if you broke it, they would just give you a brand new Apple Watch. That is what they do with iPhone 6 Apple +. What am I missing?
As an example, I dropped my iPhone 6 Plus by accident. It was still fine, but I was paranoid. So I took it to the Apple Store and replaced it under my Apple Care +. I can drop it or throw it in a lake 1 more time and have it replaced. That is what I expect of the Watches too.
Plating meant the casing was changed. Even though it was unrelated to the damage, it wasn’t a straight forward incident.
As the article states, this watch had a modification that voided AppleCare. It was gold-plated or something.
I am pretty sure electro plating your watch voids any and all warranties.
unrelated but still an apple watch issue… I run (inside) with it… a 5k ALWAYS registers as 5 miles… anyone else have this issue??
That is the only reason I did not gold plate my watch.
You should by now know that apple warranty voids in any type of modification despite it affects the damage directly or indirectly.
It shields it from scratches, any high end watch that uses sapphire will break when you drop it. This isnt news. Another fearmongering article from 9to5. How bout you just don’t drop your watch on the ground?
Not fearmongering but hoping my lesson informs others to be more careful. Most I encounter perceived sapphire display to be less susceptible to damage from drops. If readers are more careful now like I will be than that’s a positive.
Fearmongering? LOL! Seriously, fearmongering? Hahahahahahaha! Jeez . . . . you just made my day! Thanks for that. :)
I’m skert.
My car is just as bad as the apple watch, it dents when I drive into another car accidentally.
Mine dents when I drop it on the bathroom sink.
Thats a shame, especially with the gold plating. Not surprised by Apple’s ruling on its warranty. I’m sure this will lead many to pick up those super ugly Apple Watch cases. Ugh!
People told you already. Still going to repeat it so that you understand better : hardness =! resistance to impacts
Hit a diamond with a hammer it will explode in a thousand pieces.
Almost definitely, the electroplating process was performed on the watch with the crystal in place. From elementary school science (http://www.sciencekidsathome.com/science_topics/what_are_crystals.html), if an electrical current (as needed to plate steel with gold) passes through a crystal, a vibration is induced internally. Should the vibration reach the natural frequency of the sapphire, the motion will cause microfracturing to occur, weakening the structure of the crystal and making it MUCH more susceptible to stress-induced catastrophic failure.
I was intrigued by the stainless version and plating it since the plating reviews were so favorable. In the end I got a sport this time around and put a film on the crystal which handles any scratch possibility. Feel good? Plate the Milanese loop and put it on the space grey sport. Still don’t like it put the rugged America case on in black. Great looking
A lot of people (myself included) are getting their first higher-end watch with the Apple Watch, so they may have unrealistic expectations about the strength of sapphire (plus I feel like traditional watches are less likely to be damaged in this way due to their bezels). So it’s definitely something to be aware of. I got Apple Care+ myself largely because I’m a little concerned about accidental damage like this, although I’ve had no problems so far.
I don’t know why the author would gold plate a watch that had Apple Care+ though. It’s pretty obvious that a modification like that voids the warranty.
I think the lesson here is don’t buy AppleCare if you are planning to modify your Watch casing.
Do they not teach basic physics in school anymore? What part of force and vectors do people not get? Are people really that gullible when it comes to claims about durability and scratch resistance vs scratch proof, water resistant vs waterproof?
This is why a number of posters were not upset when the “sapphire screen” never appeared on last years iPhone.
Sapphire is much more scratch resistant at the price of being much more brittle. I’m still very happy with the Gorilla Glass on the iPhones.
Sapphire on a watch is good / on an phone is not so good! YMMV
This is why I am happy to get the Sport model. Better readability, lighter, case won’t scuff, and less likely to shatter on impact. Getting AppleCare will make up for any accidental damage. Plus I hate shiny jewelry
Newsflash, watch screens, sapphire crystals on high end normal watches, phones, and the related crack with enough impact. It’s amazing you get paid for stating the obvious. BTW… Water, yeah it’s wet, the sky usually looks blue.
Of corse it can break. Otherwise it would probably have come here – from outer space. Like the iPhone :-)
In terms of scratching, I have the Apple Watch Sport Edition, which does not have sapphire, and yet it is also not scratched. My iPhone 6 Plus is also not scratched.
Whatever apple is doing, they are pretty good at it, either way. Sapphire holds no appeal to me, because it sounds like Apple is solving a problem, that, at least for me, isn’t a problem.
With that said, if Apple feels a new material is even better – great. It just won’t factor into any purchase decision.
The main problem with the Apple Watch, is the whole concept of having a second screen for my phone, instead of a standalone device. I want a standalone device. I want more watch faces. I want native apps. It’d be nice if it had a cellular radio too.
The other controversial subject this article evokes is AppleCare +. What can I say, some people love ‘peace of mind’ but I prefer to do whatever, on average makes the best economic sense. Since I rarely break my phone, I’m willing to pay the full replacement cost or repair cost on my own. On average, over the years, this has been cheaper than paying AppleCare + insurance. And in fact, its always cheaper, because I do what the author does, when something breaks – I still save money by merely not fixing it.
My son’s iPod touch is 3 years old and is still cracked and working, as it has been for 2 1/2 years.
But, I did notice its mostly my kids cracking their screens with drops, and so, I add Apple Care + to their products…as they are more likely than not to crack the screen. Still, that only helps the first 2 years, then it’ll be cracked.
by the way, I thought I’d share my experience with my iPhone 6 Plus.
So I had it about 10 months and it was working great. And then I was jogging with my Apple Watch, but at first I thought it was inaccurate, I didn’t realize there was a setting that was keeping it from calibrating.
So, it got me hooked on fitness tracking, but I didn’t think the Watch would do the job, so I thought, hey I’ll get a fitness band for the phone. And I wanted to make sure that was OK, and looked it up on Apple’s website, where they talked about using fitness bands, so I’m like great – good to go.
First day with the iPhone 6 Plus in an arm band – and I get home and the phone isn’t working any more.
So I was like paranoid, was the sweat a liquid? Would they refuse to fix for water damage? LOL
Anyway, there was no issue, and they fixed the phone under its warranty – replaced it on the spot, in less than an hour at my local apple dealer.
Still – the original iPhone broke in 10 months and had to be replaced under warranty. If it had been 13 months, I’d have been out of luck.
I also own a Dell Venue Pro 11 – the thing has been fixed twice in the first 12 months and is only partially working now…. which is a whole different issue. Even though that device can still be repaired, they’ve worn me down with two multi-week repairs that took up many hours of my life, and now I’ve decided to live with a partially broken device, because, they’ve taught me the next repair isn’t going to fix it anyway.
Was the sapphire glass removed for the electroplating? If so there may have been some structural compromise that could have made the glass more prone to shock. Also, are you 100% sure your sapphire glass wasn’t ‘mistakenly’ replaced with ion x glass during the gold plating process?
All Apple products crack and shatter. Androids…not so much. Keep track of your friends with busted screens. You’ll find that 90% of them are Apple product owners.
haha… you are very funny my friend…
i’ve been an iphone user for 4 years now — ive dropped it a few times, no cracks…
my android friends have chips and nicks and cracks…
well actually i know friends with iphone and android with cracks and other without — turns out it is down the the user being able to hold their phone and not drop it — nothing to do with the phone itself
Personally, I’m grateful for the article.
I’m not a watch guy, but have grown accustomed to relating sapphire to something really solid that is vastly superior to other materials. Apple in particular has hyped it quite a lot, and famously sunk a lot of cash into it, touted as being a mobile phone game-changer. But, like most things it’s not indestructible. This unfortunate example demonstrates how fragile your investment actually is.
Moreover, many tech reviewers have proclaimed the incontestable awesomeness of inexpensive gold plating for a poor man’s Edition. But this is also not the case: it renders your warranty and AppleCare + pretty useless against damage.
In the end, maybe sapphire (which also has visibility problems) and gold plating aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.
So… Changing the device material by plating will change how durable the display is due to thickness changing in changing the material it was originally built and designed for. Someone who is not an apple technician took apart the device and changed most of what makes this an Apple watch. So the fact that this display is cracked and plating process cracked as well only should serve as a lesson to not modify your device outside of apple. If you can’t trust that apple is designing a great product, you shouldn’t trust them to fix an issue you initially caused.
I bought a Movado in 1997 and replaced the face with sapphire in 2001. I’ve worn that watch through basketball games, fist fights, car accidents, face first drops on concrete floors, etc. and it doesn’t have a scratch on it. No, there are literally no scratches whatsoever.
Then you have someone that drops a watch less than a foot on a sink and it cracks like that? Then to make matters worse, you pay $69 for a protection plan that requires you pay another $79 as a deductible? Apple’s not doing something right.
My question is how many times did she drop it before it broke? I saw an AppleWatch get thrown from a window of an Expedition onto pavement and there was barely a scratch on the stainless steel and no cracks or damage to the glass.
My Apple watch with Sapphire glass fell on the floor and shattered in the exact same way. I didn’t expect Sapphire to be so fragile. I didn’t have Apple Care and they asked me 361 euros.
I think the real moral of this story is…if you want to take advantage of Apple Care, then do not modify your hardware in anyway. I think wanting an Edition looking watch goes a little deeper into you or your wife’s neuroses. Apple made these gorgeous time pieces with different metals, just get the one you want and don’t mess with it.
can you imagine if they just used ordinary glass…
i’m curious though – could the plating process have caused weaknesses in some way???
Zac, I am thinking you let Apple off the hock too easily on your claim with your Apple Care+. I think in law, there’s something called a “privative clause.” Best example is any restaurant with a coatracks sign that says “we are not responsible for lost or stolen articles.” Yup. They can say that, but it ain’t true. Common law principles over ride the privative clause. In this case the common law principal of duty of care trumps the privative clause. I think if you look around, you will find cases comparable to yours where the guarantor tried to escape their financial obligations. I bet you would find that to void a warranty, it must be proven that the modification led to the failure. You already have Apple’s comment that most likely your plating did not affect the sapphire. So, do some research. It’s worth $500+. And those are valuable dollars – not the Canadian ones I use!
BTW. Liked that your wife kept the watch on to get one more standing point. I catch myself obsessing about keeping my daily points high on the Watch fitness app.
My guess is that the modifications make it harder for Apple to salvage the watch as a future replacement or refurbished sale, hence the higher replacement price. I’ve managed to make a tiny nick in the anti-reflective coating but otherwise the Apple Watch has been pretty solid for me. The curved sapphire probably does create a few more weak points than in a normal watch, though.
I’m definitely not happy With how Apple decided to design the Apple Watch. Not only I still think that one day of battery life is not sufficient, but also having to take your watch off in order to charge it is not what I expected from Apple.
I know that the only alternative to that would be solar power, and maybe we still don’t have the technology to be able to charge a device with the power requirements of the Apple Watch using solar energy. But then I think, would Steve Jobs allow the iPhone to hit the market if the capacitive screen technology, were not ready on 2007? I guess not.
The problem with Apple Watch is that the device leaked way to early and the other companies wen’t into panic mode and started releasing smart watches by the dozen. I understant Apple felt the pressure to release something now.
I can’t help to remember how many times the industry tried to introduce cellular phones that were like computers, I remember how many times the industry tried to release tablet computers, I remember how many times the industry tried to create handheld devices that were also phones. They existed long before the iPhone and the iPad, and they failed to capture the mass market.
So, I’m starting to wonder if the Apple Watch really belongs to the New Apple and not the Apple that released the Newton PDA.
check out the apple watch display which is made of sapphire http://www.weijieworld.com/2015/11/25/the-apple-watch-display-is-made-of-sapphire-check-out-where-else-sapphire-is-used/