iFixIt Teardown Reveals What’s New Inside Apple Watch Series 7
The biggest internal change to the Apple Watch Series 7 is the display, according to iFixit. Otherwise, it’s mostly the same smartwatch.
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iFixit has torn down the new Apple Watch Series 7 and found a few changes with the new model. The new Series 7 is a great upgrade for those still on a Series 3 or older, or for those that are brand new to Apple Watch in general. The Apple Watch has seen incremental year-on-year hardware upgrades ever since the Apple Watch Series 4.
The Watch Series 5 added an Always On display, and the Series 6 added a blood oxygen sensor. Of course, the Series 7 added a larger display and faster charging. Apple also released a ‘Watch SE’ in 2020, which is simply an Apple Watch Series 4 but without the ECG, blood oxygen sensor, and Always On display. The question now is, did Apple make any significant internal changes between the Series 6 and Series 7?
Naturally, iFixit has found that Apple did make some internal changes to how the display on the Series 7 works. Similar to the iPhone 13, Apple fused the OLED flex cable and the touch signals into one cable. The new models also feature an ever so slightly larger battery. Essentially, the 41mm Watch Series 7 received a 6.8-percent increase in battery capacity, while the 45mm version only saw a 1.6-percent increase. As was the case with the previous two Apple Watch generations, the smaller 41mm Series 7 also features a metal battery pouch. iFixit believes that the metal pouch enables Apple to pack a greater battery capacity in a smaller case, but it is significantly more expensive. Therefore, Apple only includes it in the smaller casing.
Other Minor Watch Improvements
There are a few smaller changes that Apple has made to the new model. While the Apple Watch Series 7 is dust-resistant, that’s not to say older models aren’t dust resistant. It is just Apple never tested for dust resistance before, with iFixit, pointing out that water resistance is “orders of magnitude more difficult to pull off than dust sealing.” In addition, it looks like Apple eliminated an “additional cosmetic mesh layer” on the Series 7 compared to the Series 6, and something that will have zero effect on regular users is Apple’s removal of the diagnostic port underneath one of the band grooves. Does it help with dust and water resistance? Likely. However, Apple used that port to diagnose issues and load software during production.
Overall, iFixit gave the Apple Watch Series 7 a 6 out of 10 on its repairability scale, noting the Watch’s “modular construction and straightforward access to the screen and battery” contributed to the score. iFixit also hopes that Apple publishes “a free public service manual,” and that the company provides, “OEM replacement parts at a fair price, and maybe a screen that doesn’t have to be unglued and re-glued during every repair attempt.” In spite of the lack of major changes, at least Apple Watch bands dating all the way back to the first generation still work.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/apple-watch-series-7-ifixit-teardown-changes-explained/