As part of its Teardown research service, ABI Research has dismantled, analysed, and tested the device down to the component level. The conclusion? The second fastest application processor tested to date, a custom LTE chip designed by Motorola, the CDMA portion of the phone from Qualcomm, and some new RF components alongside a filter technology from a decade ago.
According to ABI Research vice president of engineering James Mielke, “Motorola has mixed some of the latest technology with quite a few components now considered the norm and a few that have not been seen in phones for years.” One of the newer components, the OMAP4430, scored well in performance testing but not quite high enough to top the leaderboard.
Major changes include: LTE modem designed by Motorola; A new LTE transceiver from Intel (Infineon); An interesting RF configuration supporting more than the advertised CDMA/LTE support; Transition from Nvidia Tegra II to OMAP4430 application processor.
Mielke sums up: “Motorola took a smart approach to introducing new technology by integrating their new components with previously tested technology. It is pretty easy to surmise what caused the launch delays”.
ABI Research’s report provides detailed photos, process evaluation, and part descriptions for all of the major components such as power amplifier, power management, baseband processor, RF, Bluetooth, GPS, WiLAN, and many discretes. Tying all this information together are unique circuit board photos, performance measurements, cost information, and board area data.