A teardown of the Apple Watch Series 12 reveals two repair-friendly changes, but the same can't be said for the Apple Watch Ultra 4 and its internals.
With the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra, Apple introduced a revamped health sensing system, better battery life, and a more powerful S11 chip. Design-wise, however, the two models are effectively the same as their predecessors, inside and out.
It's safe to say that Apple used tried-and-true designs, at the expense of potential repairability improvements.
According to an iFixit teardown, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 "didn't receive a single meaningful repairability upgrade." While sensor-related components can be accessed by removing screws on the back of the device, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 still needs to be opened screen-first for a battery replacement.
The same is true for the Apple Watch Series 12, though Apple did include two minor enhancements with this model. The Apple Watch Series 12 battery is held in place with stretch adhesive, while the battery in the preceding Apple Watch Series 11 needed to be removed with a pry tool.
Additionally, the Apple Watch Series 12 features a new display connector. Instead of the usual ZIF connector found on prior models, the Apple Watch Series 12 features a press connector underneath a bracket.
While the repair-friendly enhancements in the Apple Watch Series 12 are a welcome upgrade, they're not exactly groundbreaking. Apple arguably could have done more, especially with the Apple Watch Ultra 4, but it's possible we won't see design changes for years.
