Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Wearables have a battery problem. Wireless earbuds, smartwatches, smart rings, and smart glasses are often built around glued-in lithium batteries that inevitably wear out—turning otherwise functional devices into e-waste.
Although new EU battery rules are expected to require user-replaceable batteries across many product categories beginning in 2027, wearables have received a major exemption. Manufacturers argue that replaceable batteries simply aren’t practical in devices this small.
In this double teardown, we examine the Quark AI Glasses S1 and a competing pair of Chinese AR glasses to test that claim. Both use external battery packs, but their internal construction reveals two very different approaches to repairability. One is difficult and destructive to service. The other comes closer to a genuinely replaceable, technician-friendly design than almost any smart glasses we’ve opened.
We also examine their Snapdragon-powered hardware, micro-OLED projection systems, cameras, circuit boards, and battery architecture.
Repairable wearables may not be easy to build—but that doesn’t make them impossible.
Learn more about the campaign for repairable products in Europe: https://repair.eu/
Chapters
00:00 Wearables have a battery problem
00:43 Why batteries must be replaceable
01:37 The EU’s wearable exemption
02:15 Can smart glasses be repairable?
03:02 Comparing the two battery designs
03:25 Quark AI Glasses S1 teardown
04:39 Quark chips and displays
06:14 Inside the Quark external battery
06:26 Second smart glasses teardown
07:01 A surprisingly serviceable design
07:32 Chips inside the second pair
08:04 Cameras and micro-OLED projector
08:50 Inside the magnetic battery pack
09:04 Do wearables deserve an exemption?
09:36 Why repairability laws matter
Subscribe to our channel for all our latest teardown and repair videos!
youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=ifixityourself
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ifixit
Check us out on Facebook: facebook.com/iFixit
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Wearables have a battery problem. Wireless earbuds, smartwatches, smart rings, and smart glasses are often built around glued-in lithium batteries that inevitably wear out—turning otherwise functional devices into e-waste.
Although new EU battery rules are expected to require user-replaceable batteries across many product categories beginning in 2027, wearables have received a major exemption. Manufacturers argue that replaceable batteries simply aren’t practical in devices this small.
In this double teardown, we examine the Quark AI Glasses S1 and a competing pair of Chinese AR glasses to test that claim. Both use external battery packs, but their internal construction reveals two very different approaches to repairability. One is difficult and destructive to service. The other comes closer to a genuinely replaceable, technician-friendly design than almost any smart glasses we’ve opened.
We also examine their Snapdragon-powered hardware, micro-OLED projection systems, cameras, circuit boards, and battery architecture.
Repairable wearables may not be easy to build—but that doesn’t make them impossible.
Learn more about the campaign for repairable products in Europe: https://repair.eu/
Chapters
00:00 Wearables have a battery problem
00:43 Why batteries must be replaceable
01:37 The EU’s wearable exemption
02:15 Can smart glasses be repairable?
03:02 Comparing the two battery designs
03:25 Quark AI Glasses S1 teardown
04:39 Quark chips and displays
06:14 Inside the Quark external battery
06:26 Second smart glasses teardown
07:01 A surprisingly serviceable design
07:32 Chips inside the second pair
08:04 Cameras and micro-OLED projector
08:50 Inside the magnetic battery pack
09:04 Do wearables deserve an exemption?
09:36 Why repairability laws matter
Subscribe to our channel for all our latest teardown and repair videos!
youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=ifixityourself
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ifixit
Check us out on Facebook: facebook.com/iFixit
Sign up for our Newsletter ifixit.com/Newsletter
