With the Apple event this week and the imminent launch of new MacBook Pro models, it's easy to forget that the Apple Watch Series 7 just came out last Friday. iFixit didn't forget, though, and has done one of its traditional teardowns on Apple's newest wrist-worn device.
Today's teardown features both the 41 and 45mm versions of the watch, and it unveils some secrets we weren't previously aware of. The 45mm Apple Watch Series 7 has a 1.189Wh battery inside (309 mAh), which is a 1.6 percent increase over the 1.17Wh battery in the 44mm Series 6.
The 41mm Apple Watch Series 7 features a 1.094Wh battery, a 6.8 percent increase over the 1.024Wh battery in the prior-generation 40mm model. Both batteries have slightly wider dimensions, but iFixit says the increase likely goes to the new, brighter displays rather than adding battery life.
The internals of the Series 7 are similar to the Series 6, but there are small differences, such as the removal of a bracket where the diagnostic port was once located.
Apple has touted IP6X dust resistance for the Series 7, which older models may have had too, but Apple just didn't do the specific test for the certification. There are, however, some new ingress-protection measures such as a mesh covering the speaker grille. The removal of the diagnostic port may also contribute to the dust resistance, and removing this port saves some internal space.
iFixit teamed up with former Apple engineers who work at Instrumental for the teardown, giving us some additional context into why the Apple Watch may have seen delays prior to its October launch.
According to iFixit, the Apple Watch Series 7 has new display technology that was likely a "huge pain to manufacture at scale." The new Apple Watch appears to be equipped with a touch-integrated OLED panel, or an "on-cell touch," which is also used in the iPhone 13. Apple is also using just one flex cable for the display instead of two, which iFixit says is "not a trivial change."
Every teardown comes with a repair score, and the Series 7 earned a 6 out of 10. iFixit says that display and Taptic Engine swaps "worked great" in its testing, as did changing out the battery.
Top Rated Comments
I much prefer this color over space grey now that I see it in person. The website makes it look blueish but I really can’t even see the blue hue at all. It just looks black.
And the watch is a big improvement over series 4. I felt every upgrade since series 4 has been very incremental (very S-like) — especially the series 5 and 6. The only reason I would not call series 7 an S upgrade is because Apple has never increased the display size in an iPhone S upgrade. But when you upgrade 3 versions in one shot those S-like upgrades add up:
- 20% bigger display
- virtually bezel-less display
- always-on display
- O2 sensor
- always-on altimeter
- compass for maps
- better heart rate sensor
- faster charging (S6 and S7 again)
- better battery life
- faster processor
- more durable
The new design with the bigger bezel-less display was the biggest upgrade to me, but the O2 sensor is nice to have though I own a more accurate SpO2 sensor that goes on my fingertip. It’s nice to always have it on my watch (like how we have better cameras than iPhone but having the camera always with you is the best). I almost got the Series 5 just for the always on display but I’m glad to have it now especially since they fixed the power draw issue by adding battery life in the series 6.
All-in-all I would call this a big upgrade for anybody wearing a series 4 or even a series 5. I would hold out for a few more incremental upgrades in the series 8 if you have a series 6 since that is only a year old. The display is better in series 7, but that’s a lot of money to spend for a more enjoyable display on your wrist.