Whether it’s the first-generation smartwatch from 2022 or the latest model released earlier this month, if you break your Google Pixel Watch, 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 instead of repairing your model. This inability to repair shows the company’s lack of experience in the smartwatch space. You can take a broken Apple Watch to Apple to get the glass fixed or the battery replaced, and the same goes for Samsung’s Galaxy Watch.
But there’s good news. Speaking at a Climate Week NYC panel focused on repairable tech hosted by Back Market and presented by One5c, Google’s government affairs and public policy manager Nicole Azores said Tuesday that the company is thinking about making the Pixel Watch’s design more repairable.
“Watches and wearables are still pretty nascent, and 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, and we want all of our products to eventually be repairable. Watches are a very new product category, so I think there are a few design elements that we have to consider in terms of how to make them repairable.”
When can I fix it?
Azores didn’t provide any additional information, including a timeline. Consumer tech products typically have a two- to three-year development cycle. But it’s unclear whether this more repairable framework will appear in the Pixel Watch 4 next year or later. Google has stuck with the same design for the last three generations of the Pixel Watch, but the Pixel Watch 3 comes in two sizes for the first time.
This is the first time the company has publicly commented on the non-repairability of its smartwatches. Previously, Google representatives had generally said that the company had nothing to share when concerns about repairability were 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 (it was previously called Android Wear). Google controlled the operating system, as manufacturers like Fossil and LG made their own smartwatches. That changed in 2022, when Google joined Samsung and Fitbit in an effort to revitalize a declining platform.
Google reportedly had 8% of the wearable band market share in Q4 2022, which is when the first Pixel Watch was released. The company shipped 880,000 Pixel Watches during that period, according to research group Canalys (the rest were Fitbit devices).
It’s just a starting point
Many of these watches are destined for landfills as e-waste due to their inability to be repaired, and according to a recent UN climate report, this has already reached a crisis point. In 2022, there will be an estimated 137 billion pounds of e-waste, and less than a quarter of that is being recycled. By 2030, e-waste is expected to grow by 33%, outpacing recycling rates.
There are ongoing efforts to improve repairability in the tech sector. Last year, the European Union passed a regulation requiring smartphones and tablets to have longer-lasting batteries or an easier way for users to replace them using common tools, starting in June 2025. Apple’s new iPhone 16, which doesn’t have to comply with the law, has introduced a new adhesive that makes it easier to remove the internal battery.
Whether it’s the Pixel Watch 4 or the Pixel Watch 5, this design change is a win-win for consumers. Now, Google should focus on improving the repairability of Fitbit wearables. Despite the trackers being so ubiquitous, the company doesn’t have any repair centers to send its devices to for repairs.
