iFixit took apart the Apple Watch Series 7 to show that it has some major upgrades beneath. We mentioned in our review that the Series 6 has a slightly larger display. Now, iFixit's disassembly shows that the Series 7 uses an OLED panel with touch-integrated OLED panels, or "on-cell contact," which was introduced with the iPhone 13.
According to the website, the unusual move by Apple is because Apple typically introduces new display technology such as OLED, always on and variable refresh rate to the lower-volume Apple Watch first, rather than the other way around. The former Apple engineers iFixit worked alongside for this teardown claim that this new display could have caused delays in production and delayed the release of the device.
The Series 7 was not due for release when Apple first announced it in September. Former Apple engineers stated that delays are usually caused by manufacturing problems. The website stated that "[S]creens have the most complicated supply chains and assembly processes in industry." Apple used new technology to increase the size of the display and give it a refractive edge so that the sides appear slightly curled.
iFixit also discovered that the battery in this model is bigger than its predecessors. However, this doesn't mean that the battery will last longer as the larger screen on the model likely consumes more power. The Watch has some minor improvements over previous models. The complete teardown can be viewed on iFixit's site, as well as more photos of the Series 7.
