What you need to know
- iFixit has posted its step-by-step teardown of the Apple Watch Series 6.
- The teardown shows off a bigger battery and Taptic Engine than the Apple Watch Series 5.
- It also shows off some of the recycled materials Apple is now using in the Apple Watch.
iFixit has posted a step-by-step teardown of the Apple Watch Series 6. In its teardown, the team has discovered that the new watch boasts a bigger battery and a bigger Taptic Engine than its predecessor.
Concerning the battery, iFixit has discovered that Apple's newest 44mm watch features a 3.5% bigger battery than its predecessor, while the 40mm battery gets an even bigger boost at an 8.5% increase.
Summing up: that's a 3.5% increase for the 44 mm battery, and an even bigger 8.5% increase for the 40 mm from their Series 5 counterparts. Slowly but surely, Apple Watches seem to be clawing back capacity after the big drop from Series 3 to Series 4.
The teardown notes that they no longer have to deal with the Force Touch gasket, as Apple has removed Force Touch from both the iPhone and Apple Watch.
This year's model not only eschews that pesky Force Touch gasket, but it also has fewer display connectors to wrestle. The NFC cable is now routed through a display-side jumper—and there's only one grounding cable. We love streamlined design, especially when it simplifies repairs!
They also found that the Taptic Engine has gotten bigger in the Series 6. While it is not clear why the size increased, it hopefully will result in even better response when receiving notifications and such.
At first glance, the tri-point-trapped Taptic Engine seems old hat—but it turns out to be bigger than the one in the 5. Maybe the slimmed-down Series 4 shaker wasn't up to snuff? It's also made using 100% recycled rare earth metals and tungsten this time, which is awesome. (But let's not forget, reuse > recycling.)
One of the things not gone over in the teardown is the fact that Apple Watch Series 6 will be the first to feature Apple's U1 chip. The chip is currently only in the iPhone 11 series and should be expected in the iPhone 12 models as well.
