If you break your Google Pixel Watch, whether it’s the first-gen 2022 smartwatch or the latest model that launched earlier this month, there’s no way to get it repaired through official channels. Instead, if you’re successful in your warranty claim, Google will send you a replacement rather than repairing your model. This lack of repairability highlights the company’s lack of experience in the smartwatch space. While you can take a broken Apple Watch to Apple to have the shattered glass repaired or the battery replaced, the same is true for Samsung’s Galaxy Watch.
But there’s some good news: During a Climate Week NYC panel focused on repairable tech, hosted by Back Market and moderated by One5c, Nicole Azores, government affairs and public policy manager at Google, said the company is looking into designing the Pixel Watch to make it more repairable.
“It’s still early days for watches and wearables, so we’re thinking about how to make them repairable,” Azores said during the panel. “We’re thinking about repairability more broadly than just phones and tablets. We want all of our products to be repairable eventually. Watches are so new as a category that I think there are some design elements to consider when it comes to how to make them repairable.”
When can it be fixed?
Azores didn’t offer any additional information, such as a timeline — consumer tech products typically take two to three years to develop — but it’s unclear whether the repair-friendly framework will arrive on next year’s Pixel Watch 4 or later. Google has stuck to the same design for the Pixel Watch for the past three generations, but the Pixel Watch 3 was the first to be released in two sizes.
This is the first time the company has publicly commented on the unrepairability of its smartwatches, and Google representatives have previously said the company has no say when concerns about unrepairability are raised.
The Pixel Watch is a latecomer to the smartwatch world, but the software it runs on, Wear OS, has been around for a decade (previously known as Android Wear). Google controlled the OS, and manufacturers like Fossil and LG built the smartwatches. In 2022, Google, along with Samsung and Fitbit, released its own smartwatch in an effort to revitalize the fading platform.
Google reportedly captured 8% of the wearable band market in the fourth quarter of 2022, when the first Pixel Watch was released. The company shipped 880,000 Pixel Watches in that period (the rest were Fitbit devices), according to research group Canalys.
Just the Starting Point
Unrepairable, many of these watches are destined for landfills as e-waste, which is already reaching crisis point, according to a recent UN climate report: there will be approximately 137 billion pounds of e-waste in 2022, of which less than a quarter will be recycled. By 2030, e-waste is expected to grow by 33%, outpacing recycling rates.
The effort to enhance the repairability of technology continues. Last year, the European Union passed regulations that will require smartphones and tablets to have long battery life or make it easy for users to replace the battery with common tools from June 2025. Although it is not required to comply with this law, Apple’s new iPhone 16 is the first to feature a new adhesive that makes it easier to remove the internal battery.
The redesign is a win-win for consumers, whether they’re buying the Pixel Watch 4 or Pixel Watch 5. Google now needs to focus on improving the repairability of Fitbit’s wearables: While its trackers are popular, the company doesn’t have repair centers to send devices to for repairs.
