The Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 both score 4 out of 10 in iFixit's teardowns, published October 6, 2026. For the Series 12 that's a one-point gain over the last base model. The Ultra 4 lands exactly where the Ultra 3 did, and the iFixit write-up sums up the pair bluntly: "There's no big repairability news here."
The gain is in the battery. Apple added stretch-release adhesive and a pull tab under the Series 12's 1.461 Wh cell (the 46mm Series 11 carried 1.403 Wh), so it comes out with a tug where it used to need levering. The display also swaps its ZIF connector and tape for a simpler press connector. That one cuts both ways: a screen repair now means pulling the battery too.
None of it helps until the screen is off. Both watches still glue the display down, and iFixit found the Series 12's tolerances even tighter than the Ultra's, tight enough that prying it open put the screen at risk.
The Ultra 4 grew its battery to 2.444 Wh, up from 2.313 Wh in the Ultra 3, and picked up a new LED sensor layout with a wider surface. On the repair bench it's the same watch: more than ten minutes of heat to soften the adhesive, then a careful pry past display flex cables that slice easily.
Google's Pixel Watch 5 is the uncomfortable comparison. iFixit scored it 9 out of 10, since two Torx screws and a gasket hold the display and the battery comes out without adhesive. It also runs ECG-based atrial fibrillation detection. That matters because Apple has argued, according to iFixit, that the Watch belongs outside right-to-repair rules as a medical device, while Apple's own safety guidance and FDA documentation describe it as a general purpose computing platform.
Ten US states now have electronics right-to-repair laws, California, New York, Texas, and Minnesota among them. Apple's Self Service Repair program reaches iPhone, iPad, and MacBook, and skips the Watch entirely, so there are no retail parts, tools, or manuals for it. "A repair option that ends at Apple's door is exactly the problem Right to Repair is meant to solve," iFixit writes.
Honestly, the pull tab is real progress in the wrong spot. A worn battery is the repair I'd expect almost any Apple Watch to need, and on both new models it still starts with prying off a glued screen. iPhoners who bought in for the Series 12 and Ultra 4 health sensing should plan on Apple's own battery service when the cell fades, because the official chain stops there.
