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Pocuter specializes in making tiny computers, like the Pocuter One—and now they’re bringing this small-scale expertise to smartwatches. If you liked the Pebble, you’ll love the Spectra, a hackable and repairable smartwatch with only twelve parts and seven screws. 

Right out of the gate, their commitment to repairability is obvious—they sent us an almost-ready-for-the-limelight Spectra fully disassembled with simple instructions: 

Everything you need to build a complete Pocuter Spectra is neatly packed in this box, with parts roughly arranged in the order of assembly, including all 7 screws. The only tools you’ll need are a single Phillips screwdriver and maybe a pair of tweezers.

Challenge accepted—challenge completed. We easily assembled the Spectra from scratch, then broke it back down again.

Ground-up Repairable Design

We love it when manufacturers use common, standard parts, and Pocuter doesn’t disappoint. The Spectra’s strap is a standard 22 mm watch band with a tool-free spring bar connector. If the strap somehow breaks, or if you just want a different style, you can choose from any (properly sized) standard watch band. But this is just the tip of the repair iceberg.

Four Phillips screws hold the display snugly in place from the back, and that’s all—no adhesives or clips to struggle with. And once the screws are out, all you have to do is pry up the display and pop off the press connector—exactly the kind of repairable design we advocate for but rarely see. Pocuter says that the production version will include a gasket to make the Spectra splashproof.

Under the display sits the mainboard, with the microSD card slot that they somehow managed to squeeze into this tiny device. If you’ve ever wanted a watch with a half-terabyte of storage, you’re in luck—Spectra supports microSD cards up to 512 GB in capacity, which you can swap out without disassembly.

The mainboard is held down with two screws. Even though it’s still attached to the charging circuitry further down, it conveniently swings out of the way to give easy access to the battery.

Since the mainboard hugs the battery tight, there’s no need for adhesives, glue, or messy epoxy—and at this stage, it’s already free. Even better, it interfaces with the mainboard through spring contacts, so there’s not even a cable to deal with. Just lift it up and swap it out.

With the battery out, the mainboard disconnects from the charging module, which is held in place with the final screw. After that’s out of the way, you can access the charging pins and the PPG sensor, both of which just slot into the aluminum enclosure.

And yes, that’s really all there is to it. Teardown complete! The three user-programmable buttons and the digital crown slot easily through the enclosure, as does the microSD cover. No heat, no solvents, no adhesives to reapply. 

Here’s Hoping for Guides and Parts

We focus on three main components to rate the repairability of a smartwatch: the strap, display, and battery. In the Spectra, each of these components easily achieves top marks. The only things left to consider for a complete repairability score are documentation and spare parts availability, both of which we plan to check back in on.

According to Pocuter, their team plans to provide replacement options for every single part, including an upgrade to a stainless steel case. They also expect to support those parts with video tutorials and technical drawings. If the public documentation for their Pocuter One micro computer is any indication, the Spectra will have thorough electrical schematics, pinout diagrams, and troubleshooting—about as full-featured as support can get.

Better yet, Pocuter’s overarching vision for the Spectra is something tinkerer- and maker-friendly—they expect customers to make custom components and software, and plan to support them along the way. Their stamp of approval here makes the watch better for everyone, and is a good indicator that replacement parts, in some form, will be available for a long time.

Smartwatches, Compared

How is this watch so good when others aren’t? The short answer is that making tiny, repairable wearables isn’t exactly easy.

One important point to note when comparing the Spectra to mainstream devices is that a lot of smartwatches are designed for robust water and dust intrusion protection—something the Spectra lacks. Pocuter plans splashproof-ness to withstand everyday hazards like rain and handwashing, but you shouldn’t wear it during your next triathlon or scuba diving excursion.

However, the design choices that earn high ingress protection ratings often hamper repair, especially in a device this small. It’s a tradeoff that’s badly in need of better and more innovative engineering solutions. On Apple and Pixel watches, for example, only bespoke adhesive holds the screen on—so every repair requires specialty tools, lots of heat, and comes with an inherent risk of breaking the display or scratching the metal case. And if you do manage to take it apart, it can’t be reassembled without more of that fussy custom adhesive due to the lack of clips or screws. Perhaps not surprisingly, those products don’t have any official DIY repair support from their manufacturers—so even if you’re intrepid enough to try, you’ll have to find help elsewhere.

But… It’s Still Early Days

We’ve only seen the prototype so far. Pocuter has big ambitions, so we’re excited to watch their progress as they make it through crowdfunding, finish prototyping, start production, publish manuals and support, and work out spare part supply chain logistics. We’re hopeful—if they’re successful, this might very well be the first smartwatch to land a 10/10 on our repairability scale. We’re crossing our fingers and our toes.