A $200 router is not unheard of, but most devices in that category are jam packed with features and bristling with high-power antennas. Google’s OnHub is a more modest device that looks nice and comes with a limited, user-friendly feature set. OnHub will change over time via software updates, meaning there’s probably some cool stuff hiding inside. As usual, iFixit has ripped one apart to see what makes it tick.
Getting into the OnHub requires peeling off the rubbery cover on the base, then removing a few standard screws. The OnHub’s speaker can be removed easily by popping the top cover off. This component is currently only used to pair with mobile devices via an ultrasonic tone. Under the speaker is where things get interesting.
At the top of the OnHub is its array of 13 WiFi antennas. Six of them are for 5GHz, six are for 2.4GHz, and one is dedicated to monitoring for congestion and switching the router to different channels as needed. The antennas are all connected to the top of the motherboard via short cables, which are easy to remove. There are two diamond-shaped directional antennas on one of the plastic side panels, and right under that is a heat sink mounted to the motherboard.
In a clever bit of engineering, the heatsink has a reflector dish built-in to push the wireless signal out to the diamond antennas.
On the motherboard, iFixit identified a dual-core Qualcomm SoC clocked at 1.4GHz (IPQ8064), 4GB of storage, and 512MB (4Gb) of RAM. There’s also a ZigBee 802.15.4 co-processor and a special front-end module for connecting it to the antenna array up top. None of this has been enabled by Google yet. There’s also a dormant Bluetooth radio on the board.
The OnHub gets a 4 out of 10 for repairability from iFixit. That’s not bad for a router. It’s easy to take apart, but many of the components are custom and there’s no repair documentation available. So, don’t disassemble your $200 OnHub.
No comments:
Post a Comment