You shouldn’t open your Apple Watch Ultra, Derek, but we appreciate your service by giving us an inside look at Apple’s newest smartwatch. Now, iFixit has posted its own teardown. The company calls this product “beautiful, rugged, and almost repairable.” Does it mean 9to5Mac‘s Derek Wise will ever be able to make his Apple Watch Ultra waterproof again?
iFixit’s video starts by showing us the Apple Siren in action. Although the Apple Watch Ultra speakers are more prominent and louder than in any of the other models, iFixit doesn’t think it’s loud enough.
Then, to open the Apple Watch Ultra, the company took the same steps as Derek Wise did. Here are the steps he took a few days ago:
The bottom of the Apple Watch has four P5 pentalobe screws. These are the same sort of screws that hold on the bottom of MacBook, and while they aren’t as common as a Philips or flathead screwdriver, pentalobe screwdrivers aren’t uncommon either. After I took out those four screws, the first complication arose – there is a very tiny o-ring around each screw. These are, no doubt, part of the extreme waterproof ratings of Apple’s high-end smart watch. As I went to screw back in those initial four screws, it proved nearly impossible to tighten them without the o-ring partially slipping out of its place.
As noted by Wise and iFixit, the Apple Watch Ultra isn’t exactly glued, which means it’s not that easy just to reseal the device after you repair it. Perhaps a rubber O-ring would have been a more repairable fixture.
Another important aspect is that you can’t remove the battery through the bottom of the Watch, which means you have to open it through the screen. In the professionals at iFixit’s case, the display broke.
The company also shows the internal differences between Apple Watch Series 8 and the Ultra version: battery, speaker, and taptic engine stand out from one device to another.
You can take a look at iFixit’s teardown of the Apple Watch Ultra below.
One thing is for certain, Derek shouldn’t feel bad about losing the waterproofing on his Apple Watch Ultra after professional disassemblers not only did that but also broke the screen.
Were you able to get your hands on this Watch yet? How do you like it? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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