Apple Watch Series 7 gets the teardown treatment, reveals changes to display and more

While Apple didn’t appear to go out of its way to brand the Apple Watch Series 7 as the biggest update to the smartwatch to date, there are quite a few updates. That includes the slightly larger case sizes in comparison to the previous model. And we can’t forget the larger display, thanks to those slightly smaller bezels. The whole thing still looks like an Apple Watch, but it’s got some important alterations. And now we’ve got a look under the hood, too.

The fine folks over at iFixit have put together a teardown video of the newest smartwatch with an Apple logo on it. This time around they have some help, too, as a trio of former Apple Watch engineers joined the fray. There’s an added bonus in that iFixit also tore apart not just the 41mm variant, but also the 45mm option as well. So we get a nice look at both of the models in one teardown. Inside, the similarities are numerous. However, Apple reworked some elements to remove a bracket that was associated with the diagnostic port that’s present in previous generation models.

Meanwhile, that slightly larger screen. The teardown crew says Apple’s transition to a new display technology probably led to some headaches with manufacturing. Especially at scale, and the sort of scale needed for an Apple Watch. Based on the parts, the Apple Watch Series 7 appears to be using a touch-integrated OLED panel. This is also referred to as an “on-cell touch” panel. It’s a similar display technology that’s present in the iPhone 13 lineup. iFixit says Apple switched to a single flex cable inside the case, rather than two.

As for the batteries, both are wider than previous batteries. The 41mm Apple Watch Series 7 battery 1.094Wh battery, which is an almost 7 percent increase over the 40mm Apple Watch Series 6. Meanwhile, the 45mm Apple Watch Series 7 has a 1.189Wh battery, a nearly 2 percent increase in battery size compared to the 44mm battery. iFixit says the increase in battery size probably has more to do with the brighter displays in the new Series 7, rather than any significant boost to battery life.

The teardown also reveals that Apple’s addition of IP6X water and dust resistance also includes some additional hardware changes to help make the smartwatch even more resistant to the elements. New ingress protection measures include a new mesh set in place over the speaker grille.

You can check out the teardown video above.

Did you pick up a new Apple Watch Series 7? If so, how are you liking the smartwatch so far?