If your Google Pixel Watch breaks, whether it’s the first-generation smartwatch from 2022 or the latest model released earlier this month, there’s no way to get it repaired through official channels. Instead, if you successfully file a warranty claim, Google will send you a replacement unit Instead of repairing your model, this lack of repair capability highlights the company’s inexperience in the smartwatch space. You can take a broken Apple Watch to Apple To repair broken glass or replace the battery, and the same is true for Samsung Galaxy Watches.
There is good news, however. At a Climate Week New York panel focused on repairable technology, hosted by Back market and moderated by One 5c—Nicole Azores, Google’s manager of government affairs and public policy, said Tuesday that the company is rethinking the design of the Pixel Watch to make it more repairable.
“Watches and wearables are still pretty nascent, and we’re thinking about how to make them repairable,” Azores said on the panel. “We’re thinking about repairability on a broader scale, not just phones and tablets, and we want to make sure that all of our products are eventually repairable. I think watches are such a new category, and there are some design elements that need to be considered when making them repairable.”
When can you fix it?
Azores didn’t provide any additional information, not even a timeline. Consumer tech products typically have a two- to three-year development time. But it’s unclear whether this more repairable frame will appear on the Pixel Watch 4 next year or even later. Google has kept the same design for its Pixel Watch for the past three generations, though the Pixel Watch 3 launched in two sizes for the first time.
This is the first time the company has publicly commented on the irreparability of its smartwatch. Until now, Google representatives have typically said the company has no say in repair issues.
The Pixel Watch is a relative newcomer to the smartwatch world, but the software it runs, Wear OS, has been around for a decade (previously called Android Wear). Google managed the operating system, while manufacturers like Fossil and LG made the smartwatches themselves. That changed in 2022, when Google launched its own smartwatch, following its effort to boost the flagging platform alongside Samsung and Fitbit.
Google was reportedly caught 8 percent of the market share of wearable bracelets in Q4 2022, the time period when the first Pixel Watch was launched. Research Group Channels It says the company shipped 880,000 Pixel Watches in that period (the rest are Fitbit devices).
Just the starting point
The lack of repair capabilities will condemn many of these watches to become e-waste and end up in landfills, which a recent UN climate report says have already reached a critical point. In 2022, there were around 62 billion kilograms of e-waste, and less than a quarter of it was recycled. By 2030, e-waste is expected to grow by 33%, outstripping the recycling rate.
There are efforts underway to enforce repairability in technology. Last year, the European Union passed regulations requiring smartphones and tablets to have longer-lasting batteries or easier methods for users to replace batteries using common tools starting in June 2025. While it doesn’t have to comply with this legislation, Apple’s new iPhone 16 debuted a new adhesive that makes the battery inside easier to remove.
Whether it’s the Pixel Watch 4 or Pixel Watch 5, this design change is a win for consumers. Now Google must focus on improving the repairability of Fitbit’s wearables. Despite the prevalence of its trackers, the company has no any repair center to send your device for repair.