Apple Watch Series 6 Teardown

Step 1 Apple Watch Series 6 Teardown

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  • An exterior comparison of the Series 6 (right) versus its one-year-old sister (left) shows only minor differences, but that's what teardowns are for. We already know these details:

  • LTPO OLED Retina display optimized for always-on functionality—no Force Touch this time

  • 64-bit dual-core Apple S6 SiP (System-in-Package)

  • Updated sensor array to measure heart rate, ECG and now blood oxygen levels

  • Compass and real-time altimeter

  • Waterproof to a depth of 50 meters

  • Today's teardown is the 44mm GPS+LTE model available at retail stores in Germany - but if there's any interesting comparison, we also have the 40mm model to show off to guests.

   Step 2

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  • Underneath the new retractable band is confirmation that this is indeed a new Apple Watch (model A2376) and not just some blue-like band.

  • The other strap slot doesn't have any functionality, so our picture editor indulged in tech fantasy and added a combination lock to make it as easy as opening the box. We wish we did the same opening steps every year.

  • Well, almost the same: surprisingly, the Series 6 follows the newer iPhones (after the 6s) in opening to the side like a book!

  • The process is also slightly simplified due to the absence of the Force Touch spacer - as of watchOS 7, this feature is no longer available.

  • We're happy to see that the fragile, damage-prone part has been retired, but sad to see a nail in the coffin of Apple's beautiful pressure-sensitive display technology. This reduces serviceability and we're sad, but we call it a win.

• Step 3

  

  

  

  

  

  

  • Safety first! Let's disconnect the battery. The connector is still hidden beneath the battery, but a quick flip with an opening pick takes care of that.

  • Minus a tiny three dots and a small bracket, this little battery is free.

  • The 44mm watch battery is rated at 1.17 Wh, which is a slight increase compared to the Series 5, but not quite as high as the 1.3 Wh Galaxy Watch 3.

  • The smaller 40 mm Series 6 retains the basic metal bag design introduced in the Series 5 and now has a capacity of 1.024 Wh.

  • We're surprised that the larger model still doesn't get a new battery design this year - we thought the Watch might follow the pattern set by the iPhone, where the Max model got a new battery design the following year.

  • Summary: The 44mm battery is 3.5% larger than the 3.5 series battery, while the 40mm battery is 8.5% larger.

  • After the big drop from Series 3 to Series 4, the Apple Watch appears to be slowly regaining capacity.

• Step 4

  

  

  

  

  

  

  • The Series 6 has a new, brighter display than the Series 5. It's brighter on the inside too!

  • Not only does this year's model avoid the pesky Force Touch spacer, but it also has fewer display connectors to wrestle with. Now, the NFC cable goes through the jumper on the display side and there is only one ground cable. We love simplified designs, especially when they simplify repairs!

  • Aside from the changes mentioned above, these monitors (Series 5 on the left, 6 on the right) look almost identical to the naked eye.

  • That said, we did bend one of the newly placed spring contacts during the opening process, so maybe wait for our repair guide before you crack these bad boys.

  • Teardown update: Here's a detailed look at the monitor's X-ray styling. This shows the screen of the smaller 40mm model,

• Step 5

  

  

  

  

  

  

  • At first glance, the three-point Taptic Engine appears to be old hat, but it turns out to be larger than the one in the Model 5. Maybe the slim Series 4 shaker isn't easy to use?

  • It's also made from 100% recycled rare earth metals and tungsten this time, which is awesome. (But don’t forget, Reuse > Recycle.)

  • Update: Now that we've gotten X-rays of the Creative Electron, here's a nice picture of the inside of the Taptic Engine. Shake and bake!

  • More battery and more Taptic Engine — Apple didn't mention either of these in the announcement, but it looks like they've quietly dropped them off all sites this year.

  • By all means, it's time to solve that operational dilemma: the S6 SiP. Even with our trusty tools, this intricate maze of cables and hidden screws is no picnic.

  • But as usual, time + tools + technology prevail! Eventually, the watch had its remaining contents repurposed.

• Step 6

  

  

  

  

  

  

  • Like most human brains, the gray matter in Series 6 is extremely difficult to understand: conventionally, it is encased in hardened resin, making further exploration extremely difficult.

  • Update: Unless you own an X-ray machine, that is! This is an internal view of the S6 package. If you're wondering what all the tiny shapes are, check out this original Apple Watch X-ray teardown to get it explained.

  • There are more conventional ICs on the kit, and we can at least find a Skyworks chip marked 239-7. Other chips are more mysterious, and none quite match the U1 chip we found in last year's iPhone.

  • It may be too much to ask for labelled U1 packaging, but in the past this printing method was more visible.

  • Without thinking, we can see a slight change in the footprint of the Series 6 frame, while the sticky gasket has a narrower lip that now allows for careful routing around the strap mechanism.

  • The revised casing and lack of a Force Touch gasket may be due to the fact that this year's model is slimmer, with an overall thickness of 10.4mm (last year's 10.74mm).

  • Apple somehow packed more battery and more Taptic Engine into an (almost) smaller design. impressive!

• Step 7

  

  • We paused the teardown to bring you some X-ray peeks inside:

  • Processor and Memory (SDRAM/NAND Flash) Packages

  • Power management IC

  • WiFi/Bluetooth SoC

  • microcontroller

• Step 8

  

  

  

  

  

  

  • Above the top is the fused display and below is the fused sensor array - if we took it apart we would just find debris, so we turned on the Creative Electron's X-ray again to get a better look.

  • The black rectangle in the middle is the dense magnet used to center the charger (which also helps draw heat away from the S6). It's surrounded by a control board for downward-firing LEDs and sensors, and a coil of copper cable for the inductive charger.

  • This is a (reassembled) pulse oximeter that communicates with aliens that light up during Christmas!

  • By shining red, green, and infrared light into your skin and then sensing how it bounces back via a photodiode, the watch can tell you how much oxygen is in your blood (red means more oxygen).

  • Low blood oxygen levels (hypoxemia) may indicate COVID-19 or other serious medical problems.

  • The Apple Watch can't track body temperature like the Oura Ring 2 can. However, while both methods are informative, neither provides hospital-level certainty.

• Step 9

  

  

  • With all the tiny three-point screws left out of the picture for clarity, we were taken aback by the latest version of Apple's mobile health diagnostic timepiece.

  • On the repair side, we're happy to see that the fiddly Force Touch gasket is gone, with just two fragile cables tying down the display.

  • The thicker, rubbery adhesive on the display and back panel also protects the watch from accidental liquid ingress (in our particular case, it did).

  • Although the design is almost imperceptibly thinner, Apple has also implemented an all-new sensor in addition to a larger battery and a more powerful Taptic Engine.

  • They just keep polishing this stuff to a higher and higher shine with little to no secret that there's so much going on, and all the attention is focused on the otherworldly health features.