Apple Watch breaks apart with haste, surprising precise structure revealed

Finally on 24th April 2015Apple Watch releasedIt was done. Famous for breaking apart in the blink of an eye as new products appearIFixitHowever, as you might expect, I've posted reports that broke Apple Watch apart.

Apple Watch Teardown - iFixit
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Apple+Watch+Teardown/40655

So I took out the Apple Watch Sport just arrived from the box."The opening ceremony" performed by the editorial departmentAs you can see, the Apple Watch Sport is in a long plastic box.


This time, it is the 38mm model of Apple Watch Sport which makes it fall apart. On the screen you can see a display like a glowing sphere to use during setup.


First of all, removing the band.Plastic Opening ToolsUse the button on the back to release the lock locking the band.


By pressing the spring-loaded pin built in the band part, you will be able to slide sideways.


It is engraved with "Assembled in China" (China assembly) and small letters on the fine part of the end of the band.


The model name "A1553" is engraved on the part where the band was removed, and a mysterious cover is set next to it. Apparently there seems to be a hidden diagnostic connector behind this, but at this point I did not know how to remove it.


In order to open the main body,IOpenerWarm up the periphery of the display with the softening adhesive. Because I could not find anything like screws when I looked at where on the main body. Moreover, from this point, I am reinstalling the band considering ease of work.


next,Tech KnifeSeparate display and main unit using. In short, it means that the cutter knife was plugged in and the grinding was done.


When there is a gap,Opening PicksAnd insert it further widely.


And, tweezersTweezersSeparate the display using. Careful work is necessary so as not to cut off the cable connecting the main unit and the display.


Ribbon cable connecting body and display is like this. Because it is a very fine design, little margin is left.


Remove the cable connector with Tweezers.


This successfully separated the display from the body.


Inside the main body, "Taptic Engine" which produces vibration of the vibration function ... ...


Parts of the operation dial "Digital Crown" are visible.


By the way, looking at the mechanics of the mechanical watch, it looks like this. As you can see, it is still very compact.


Tools used for disassembly are quite different on Apple Watch and mechanical watches.


Remove the battery using Plastic Opening Tools. Although it was fixed with double-sided tape, it was able to be easily peeled off.


It is 3.8V, 0.78Wh lithium ion battery being used. The battery capacity of this 38 mm model is 205 mAh, it is the same smart watch"Samsung Gear Live" and "LG G Watch"The capacity is less than 300 mAh of.


Problem occurred when removing the battery. Although a screw was found inside, it turned out that this screw is a very small special one, it turned out that it can not be turned by the existing driver.


Since it can not be helped, by cutting out the existing smallest driver bit further with a file, it corresponds to a small size.


Finally I successfully removed the screw.


The cable connecting the microphone beside the main unit is also separated.


Remove the screw and cable and remove the Taptic Engine. It is a size occupying a considerable proportion within the main body


The mechanism of Taptic Engine is like this. Rotary small motors are often used for the vibration function of smartphones, but Apple Watch uses a linear motor without rotating mechanism.


Speaker unit is very small size. How small is that ... ...


Size about twists with tweezers. A rubber packing is attached to the opening, but it is small enough to be surprised as "It is commonly attached to this small place".


Remove the antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves. It is arranged to push into the gap of the main body.


Antenna is also very small. You are now connecting Wi - Fi to Bluetooth.


Remove the side button from the inside. It is no longer workable with bare hands.


Rubber packing is also attached to the button, waterproofness has been enhanced.


Disassembled cover part of the mystery found first from the back side.


Then, a 6 pin connector came out. It is supposed to be used for system diagnosis by setting a dedicated device for this.


After all, do not know how to remove the cover to the end. It seems that there was no choice but to push it from the inside and remove it.


Remove the cover that covered Digital Crown.


And finally it is the removal of "S1" which is the brain part of Apple Watch. S1 is SiP (System in Package) which integrates all required components into one chip, and it looks pretty refreshing as well.


However, the back side seems to be unexpectedly irritated.


The cable for connecting to the peripheral equipment is extending in all directions.


S1 is SiP with processor, memory and storage built in package. You can not see the state of chips etc from the appearance. Samsung is in charge of manufacturing S1.


Removing connectors on the back side looks like this. You can see the terminals, but the main parts are completely invisible.


After removing S1, next time I will look at the back side of the display. To control the touch screenAD 7166Chips are mounted on top of each other.


When we carefully peeled the lining, a light quantity sensor to sense ambient brightness came out. This sensor is a type of sensor that can sense external brightness even from the back of the display.


To the main body again. Take out the connector cables around the Digital Crown.


It has a structure that necessary parts are packaged.


Finally, disassembling heart rate sensor part on the back side of the body which is one of features of Apple Watch. Sensors using infrared LEDs and visible light LEDs and photodiodes are embedded and antennas for wireless power supply are visible around them.


In the center part, a magnet was installed for setting in the charger.


It is like this when disassembling Apple Watch into pieces and arranging all the parts. It was a surprising structure that the finer parts were built in the main body as big as the fingertip.


The ease of disassembling / repairing with iFixit is "5" in 10 steps, and it seems that it is becoming average difficulty level. Especially removal of the display part and special ultra-small screw seems to have been high, but it seems that it could easily be disassembled after clearing it.


IFixit also disassembles the wireless charger that comes with Apple Watch apart. When opening the cover of the main body part ... ...


A magnet fixing the Apple Watch and a coil for sending power came out.


The substrate was arranged around the coil, and fine parts were lined up.