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Smartphones haven’t had a great track record with repairability, but following legal pressure in regions like the EU and states like Oregon, that’s been steadily improving in recent years. Smaller devices, like smartwatches and earbuds, have had more trouble on this front, but now Google’s looking to change that.
In the past, if your earbuds case or smartwatch suddenly stopped charging, you simply had no choice but to either buy a new one or send it in to be repaired in-house. There simply wasn’t an easy way for companies to make the batteries on these devices user-replaceable and also keep them as thin and light as consumers expect.
With the Pixel Buds 2a and Pixel Watch 4, however, Google’s bucking that trend. Thanks to some clever design, the batteries on both of these devices are replaceable, and you can even replace the screen on the Pixel Watch.
Let’s start with the Pixel Buds 2a. If your case suddenly stops charging your earbuds, you have a few options. Like before, if you’re under warranty, you can simply send it in to Google or take it to a Google Store to have them fix it for free (and if you’re out of warranty, you can still do that, but you’ll have to pay). But now, you can also buy replacement parts directly from Google. They’re not quite available yet, as the buds are still on pre-order, and Google hasn’t yet said how much a replacement battery will cost (I’ll check, but don’t expect an answer). But it’ll certainly be cheaper than getting a whole new case, and Google says it promises to keep selling replacement batteries until five years after end of life (whenever Google decides the device is obsolete, likely several years from now) for the Pixel Buds 2a.
The company’s also done its best to ensure replacement is easy. There are small screws at the bottom of the earbud wells, and you’ll simply need to remove them and slide out the interior of the case to find the battery compartment and swap out your dead battery for a new one. The only complaint I have is that the screws aren’t Phillips-head or flat, but instead require a Torx screwdriver, which is a bit less common. Presumably, Google will sell the required screwdriver alongside its battery repair parts, but I’ve reached out to double check and will update this post when I hear back.
Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt
At any rate, it’s certainly an improvement on years past. Check the green sticker on the above photo to see where the battery compartment actually is—you’ll just need to slide it out to finish your repair.
Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt
The same rules apply for the Pixel Watch 4, except you’ll be able to swap out that device’s screen, too. You’ll also need a Torx screwdriver here, but Google confirmed to me that there’s no adhesive or heat involved, and a spokesperson estimated that it would take about 30 to 40 minutes to replace both the battery and screen, if you’re doing all your repairs at once.
The catch? On the Pixel Buds 2a, the earbuds themselves do not have replaceable batteries, but this is still a far cry from anything we’ve gotten from other major manufacturers like Apple. Google threw a lot of shade at Apple during its Made by Google event today, mostly over the competition’s slow adoption of AI. But if you ask me, this is what the Android maker should be most proud of today.