Those who have owned a Pixel Watch and had to deal with the warranty and repair process are likely aware that one does not simply repair a Pixel Watch. Instead of repairing cracked screens, it appears easier for Google to simply send replacement devices, but this is something the company is looking to address.
In a recent Climate Week NYC panel the topic of repairability was brought up to Nicole Azores, a manager of Government Affairs and Public Policy at Google. Two things struck us as mildly concerning, with one being Azores describing watches as “so new” as a category. I mean, we’re on the third generation of Pixel Watches already, and with so much focus on e-waste and self-repair these days, being 3 years deep feels like forever to still be in the “thinking through” stage.
Here’s the complete excerpt from Wired.
“Watches and wearables are still fairly nascent, and we are thinking through how to make this repairable,” Azores said on the panel. “We’re thinking about repairability on a broader scale, not just on phones and tablets, and we want to make sure that all of our products eventually become repairable. I think watches being so new as a category, there are some design elements that need to be considered on how we make them repairable.”
No doubt, the Pixel Watch’s design may be the leading issue with regard to its repairability. iFixit’s guide on replacing the screen has quite a few warnings you’ll need to read through before attempting the replacement process yourself and they also flat out say that your IP rating will be gone following the repair.
When reading through user comments for the Pixel Watch series, repairability and replacement has always seemed like a pain point. The hope is that Google can eventually solve this issue, but as of right now, we’re still in the “thinking through” phase on how to accomplish that. A solution must still be a ways off.
// Wired