Teardown of Apple's 7th-gen iPod nano discovers Toshiba NAND flash, Broadcom Bluetooth
Apple's latest iPod nano has been pulled apart to reveal a number of anonymous, Apple-branded chips, though NAND flash from Toshiba and a Bluetooth chip with FM radio from Broadcom could be identified.
In its official teardown, iFixit noted that its look at the integrated circuits on the new iPod nano's logic board was "hindered" because of the fact that many of the chips are unnamed. Of the nine chips on the logic board, only four could be properly identified.
Leading the way is the Toshiba THGBX2G7D2JLA01, which includes 16 gigabytes of NAND flash. The Broadcom BCM2078KUBG also includes both the Bluetooth and FM radios.
Joining them is a touchscreen controller from Texas Instruments identified as 343S0538, as well as a chip from NXP Semiconductors labeled 1609A1. The remaining mystery chips follow:
iFixit also found that the battery in the new iPod nano is soldered directly to the logic board and adhered to the back of the display. They did find a plastic pull tab presumed to be in place for removing the battery, however they found the adhesive holding the battery in place was too strong.
The new 3.7V, 0.8Wh, 220 mAh battery is more than twice that of the 0.39 Wh rating of the sixth-generation iPod nano. The solutions provider also found that the LCD and digitizer glass are not fused together, which means each component could be replaced separately.
The same could not be said for the battery, Lightning connector, or volume controls, all of which are soldered to the logic board. Pulling out the logic board also removes the battery, button cable, Lightning connector, and headphone jack.
For more on the iPod nano, see AppleInsider's full review of Apple's seventh-generation diminutive touchscreen media player.
In its official teardown, iFixit noted that its look at the integrated circuits on the new iPod nano's logic board was "hindered" because of the fact that many of the chips are unnamed. Of the nine chips on the logic board, only four could be properly identified.
Leading the way is the Toshiba THGBX2G7D2JLA01, which includes 16 gigabytes of NAND flash. The Broadcom BCM2078KUBG also includes both the Bluetooth and FM radios.
Joining them is a touchscreen controller from Texas Instruments identified as 343S0538, as well as a chip from NXP Semiconductors labeled 1609A1. The remaining mystery chips follow:
- 75203 23017
- 75292 98820
- 339S0193
- Apple 338S1099
- Apple 338S1146
iFixit also found that the battery in the new iPod nano is soldered directly to the logic board and adhered to the back of the display. They did find a plastic pull tab presumed to be in place for removing the battery, however they found the adhesive holding the battery in place was too strong.
The new 3.7V, 0.8Wh, 220 mAh battery is more than twice that of the 0.39 Wh rating of the sixth-generation iPod nano. The solutions provider also found that the LCD and digitizer glass are not fused together, which means each component could be replaced separately.
The same could not be said for the battery, Lightning connector, or volume controls, all of which are soldered to the logic board. Pulling out the logic board also removes the battery, button cable, Lightning connector, and headphone jack.
For more on the iPod nano, see AppleInsider's full review of Apple's seventh-generation diminutive touchscreen media player.
Comments
sorry, I don't get it...
first of all, a touch screen for what exactly? listening to music, FM radio and watching movies, video podcasts on the "really small big screen" on-the-go.
No apps, no airplay, no internet browsing (wouldn't make sense on that small screen anyways), no camera. Ok, I understand, it's for music mainly, but for this purpose I'd prefer a Shuffle with more storage and more battery life.
And the Home button is totally unnecessary. They could have used a gesture for returning to the home screen, making use of the touch screen.
Originally Posted by mac-user
sorry, I don't get it...
first of all, a touch screen for what exactly? listening to music, FM radio and watching movies, video podcasts on the "really small big screen" on-the-go.
No apps, no airplay, no internet browsing (wouldn't make sense on that small screen anyways), no camera. Ok, I understand, it's for music mainly, but for this purpose I'd prefer a Shuffle with more storage and more battery life.
So did you miss the last iPod nano?
And the Home button is totally unnecessary. They could have used a gesture for returning to the home screen, making use of the touch screen.
No, it's VERY necessary. The only thing I dislike about the use of my newest (last-gen) iPod nano is the gesture used to get out of pseudo-apps.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
So did you miss the last iPod nano?
No, it's VERY necessary. The only thing I dislike about the use of my newest (last-gen) iPod nano is the gesture used to get out of pseudo-apps.
Actually I wanted to buy the 5th-gen, that seemed better for many reasons. But my 2nd-gen Nano was still working perfectly that time and when started having issues, it was too late.
The last (6th-gen) I also disliked, exactly because of the gestures on a tiny screen and with that UI. I agree with you on that, I just thought this new one has a bigger screen...
well, I wouldn't choose it anyway, it doesn't offer much more than the Shuffle (except* the ability of pausing the radio which would have been a great feature 10 years ago, not now)... I'd buy either a Shuffle (if there were with min. 4GB) or an iPod Touch.
Edit: *of course, the screen and touch control, too, that I don't need for listening to music with playlist... and the storage is more, that's what I want with no screen.
Originally Posted by mac-user
…I just thought this new one has a bigger screen…
It does! Or do you mean "bigger than you thought it was before you saw it"?
…the ability of pausing the radio which would have been a great feature 10 years ago, not now)...
Are there any other devices that even let you do that? Or rewind? Or save song names to purchase them later? Sound like some great features to me.
Radio won't ever die. Television didn't kill it, and neither will the Internet. We're seeing radio boom via the Internet, even.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
It does! Or do you mean "bigger than you thought it was before you saw it"?
I haven't seen it yet in real, only in pictures, but it's funny that the device seemed bigger in the first picts during the announcement (and that's why less interesting with hardly any of the features of the Touch). Then I saw it on a photo with a hand holding it, what shows the real size (I didn't look up the dimensions in the specs first).
so, I meant the new one has a bigger screen than the last one, less awkward for gestures.
Are there any other devices that even let you do that? Or rewind? Or save song names to purchase them later? Sound like some great features to me.
Radio won't ever die. Television didn't kill it, and neither will the Internet. We're seeing radio boom via the Internet, even.
I don't say radio will die, it's just that you can find the programs recorded, on the site of the radio station if you missed it or part of it.
I'm not saying it's not a good feature, I'm just saying it's a little bit late IMO. And for teenagers (this nano is targeted mostly to them), the programs they listen to, won't matter too much.
oh wait, does it let you record a radio program? I guess it doesn't.