What does a truly repairable connected watch look like?
In the small world of high-tech, compactness and repairability rarely go hand in hand. This is particularly observed in the smartwatch segment which often must pack a plethora of technologies into a tiny chassis. Result, our modern smartwatches are often glued and solderedmaking their dismantling particularly hazardous. However, a recent product attempts to go against this trend: the Pocuter Spectra.
Launched on Kickstarter on October 15the project is intriguing. The watch looks like an Apple Watch with a bit of bulk and promises to be fully repairable with nothing more than a Phillips screwdriver. Faced with watches like the Apple Watch Or the Pixel WatchThe Pixel Watch illustrates the problem with the repairability of smartwatches which often require specialized tools to even hope to change the screen, the promise of the Spectra is therefore surprising.
The “Fairphone” of connected watches
Having got our hands on a prototype, However, the repairability specialists at iFixit swear that the bet is met. The screen is only held in place with 4 small screws embedded in the back of the watch. Once the display is removed, the motherboard is only held in place with 2 screws which, once removed, also release the battery from the device. The charging connector can be removed with a final screw, and… that’s all iFixit promises. In 7 blows of a screwdriver, the watch is completely removed. To avoid spoiling anything, the bracelets delivered with the accessory are standard (22 mm with pumps) and Pocuter promises to provide spare parts for each of the components.
On the technical side, the watch has a 368 x 448 px screen, a micro-SD port to increase storage space up to 512 GB, a microphone, a rotating crown to navigate the interface, as well as a microphone, a gyroscope, an accelerometer and everything that is usually found on accessories of this type. As for the software, on the other hand, the Spectra should run under an in-house OS, which will undoubtedly limit the availability of certain applications.
But in the face of competition which often inherits 3 or 4/10 on the iFixit repairability scalethe German watch has at least one serious argument to make to those who dream of more repairable, more durable and more environmentally friendly gadgets. To put it another way, the Spectra is more or less the “Fairphone” of connected watches. The manufacturer is not mistaken, selling its device as “the most hackable watch», in order to try to convince trendy DIY enthusiasts
Enough to set an example
Just like the Fairphone, that said, the Pocuter Spectra is probably not intended to compete with the Apple Watch or your Galaxy Watch Ultra. With a launch on Kickstarter, a less refined design than the competition and atypical technical choices, it is clear that Pocuter is not seeking absolute hegemony in the world of connected watches.
On the other hand, it has the undeniable advantage of proving that with a little good will, it is indeed possible to build a durable and repairable connected watch. After smartphones, computers And wireless headphonesfew product categories can still find excuses in terms of repairability. Let's hope the rest of the industry takes note.
