Google today announced that its hardware packaging is now 100% plastic-free, achieving a long-standing sustainability goal.
However, the company has also confirmed that for the third time in a row, the Pixel Watch 3 will need to be completely replaced if the display has even a crack. A Google spokesperson confirmed the news to Android Authority, saying that display repairs are not available for Pixel Watch users.
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The company said (via The Verge) that users should “contact the Google Pixel Watch customer support team to review their replacement options.”
This seems like a terrible waste considering the rest of the watch’s components may be fine. Even though Google may recycle the other parts of the watch, do they really need to send users a brand new watch every time they have a mishap?
Given that there have been complaints about the durability of the Pixel Watch display over the past few years and that the new generation model has not been upgraded from Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5, there’s a good chance that there will be plenty more replacement parts available to Pixel Watch 3 buyers.
Google’s Preferred Care policy provides users with affordable replacement devices in these cases. Still, this seems unnecessary, especially given Google’s major efforts to remove plastic from its packaging.
In a blog post today, the company triumphantly announced: “Back in October 2020, we committed to making our hardware packaging plastic-free by 2025. At that point, our packaging was already 94% plastic-free, but those final plastic pieces were the hardest to replace. From shrink wrap and plastic tape to labels and more, we researched, prototyped, and developed fiber-based alternatives to replace those final plastic components.
“Today, our new packaging for all Pixel, Fitbit and Nest devices is 100% plastic-free. Not only have we reached our goal early, but we’ve also set a new design standard along the way: beautiful packaging that’s easy to recycle.”
