A look at technical analysis of IoT (wearable) technologies through a teardown microscope and market trends.

2. Teardown: Wearable Fitness Device
• Wearable Fitness is the largest IoT market.
• OEMs to Kick Starters.
• Ideas, technologies and innovators are all active!
• Many players in the space.

3. Why Teardown?
• Know your competitors & their products.
• Learn from competitors (pitfalls & successes).
• Understand supply chain dynamics & design wins.
• Plan both technically and fiscally.
• Because knowledge is power.
• Because it’s just plain interesting.

4. What we do at
• 15 years total experience; teardown 300+ consumer electronic products
per year, with over 2,000 completed teardowns to date.
• Over 50,000 man-hours each year are focused on hands-on data gathering
& documenting.
• This report highlights interesting internal & external design choices.
• Compile data into in-depth reports, including both a Bill of Materials and
cost estimates.
• Used by manufacturers & suppliers who want to learn more about their
competitors’ products, especially how they’re constructed, the
components used, and the estimated cost.

5. One of Our First Wearable Teardowns
Fossil FX-3002
(Dick Tracy Watch)
Circa 2004 and still
available online!
Inductive Charging
Already in Play
*FM Sub-Carrier
Frequency

6. Our Wearable Market Coverage
• Fitness Watches/Trackers
• Medical Monitors/Trackers
• Cameras (GoPro)
• Eyewear (Google Glasses)
• Sport Equipment

7. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Texas Instrum
ents
STM
icroelectronics
Ricoh
M
axim
Qualcom
m
Analog Devices
Sam
sung
SeikoInstrum
ents
AM
S
Invensense
Top 10 IC Manufacturers by Count
2014−Present

8. 0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Qualcom
m
TexasInstrum
ents
Sam
sung
STM
icroelectronics
M
icron
Invensense
M
axim
M
urata
Him
ax
SanDisk
Top 10 IC Manufacturers by Percent Cost
2014−Present

9. Average Cost per Device Function
2014−Present
$0.00
$0.50
$1.00
$1.50
$2.00
$2.50
$3.00
$3.50
ApplicationsProcessors
Connectivity
Sensors
PowerM
anagem
ent+
Audio
M
ixed
Signal
Non-Volatile
M
em
ory
Display/Touch
Other
M
ixed
M
em
ory
Baseband
Volatile
M
em
ory
RF
Cam
era

10. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Die Photomask Year
NumberofICs
IC Package Age by Die Mark
One part is
26 years old!
111 parts are at
least 10 years old
278 of the parts
are 0-5 years old Sample Size = 551 IC parts
4 parts are at
least 20 years old
20 parts are at
least 15 years old

11. Teardown of the Atlas Wristband
What is the Atlas Wristband?
• A purpose-build training device
• Accurately identifies exercises & counts reps
• Calculates total calories burned & evaluates
exercise form
• Measurement tool tailored to exercises that
the user chooses
• Software-based system to provide actionable
& measurable information to the user

12. Why Are We Interested?
• A focused device
• New technology and software integration
• A ground-up project with momentum
• Another component of the wearable ecosystem

13. Teardown of the Atlas Wristband
Keyed Band with
Magnetic Attachment

14. Teardown of the Atlas Wristband
Power/Mode Button
Rubber Wristband
with Metal Buckle

15. Teardown of the Atlas Wristband
Heart Rate MonitorThere are two green LEDs and one amber
LED. The amber LED is included to
strengthen the detectable signal with
various skin tones.
Micro USB
USB Connector

16. Vibrator
Battery
Main Board
USB Connector
Power / Mode
Switch
Sensor Board
Top X-Ray
Bluetooth Antenna
Teardown of the Atlas Wristband

17. Faceplate / Top Enclosure
Teardown of the Atlas Wristband

18. Battery
Main Board
Teardown of the Atlas Wristband
OLED Display &
Touchscreen
OLED Display &
Touchscreen
OLED Display &
Touchscreen

19. *The battery and vibrator were both
soldered directly to the main board.
Teardown of the Atlas Wristband
Battery
Vibrator
Sensor Board & Flex

20. Sensor Board
Back Enclosure
Teardown of the Atlas Wristband
Sensor
Board
The Sensor Board was heat-staked
to the back enclosure.
Back Enclosure
Waterproof Rubber
Power / Mode Button
Flex Cable Routed
to Main Board

21. Main Board Side 1
Bluetooth
Antenna with
Bluetooth
Module
removed
Nordic Semiconductor
#NRF51822
Bluetooth Low Energy
Transceiver & 2.4 GHz SoC
Teardown of the Atlas Wristband
Bluetooth
Board
Antenna
Board
Bluetooth Module

22. Main Board (Side 1)
42.9 mm
25.9mm
Touchscreen
Battery
Vibrator
Power On/Off
microUSB

23. Main Board Side 1 (IC Identification)
1 - STMicroelectronics
#STM32F401CCU6
ARM Cortex-M4 32-Bit Microcontroller
2 - STMicroelectronics
#STNS01
Battery Charger w/ LDO
3 - Texas Instruments
#TPS61041 ?
DC/DC Boost Converter
5 - STMicroelectronics
#STM6522 ?
Smart Reset Dual Push-Button
11 - Fairchild Semiconductor
#FPF1204
Slew-Rate-Controlled Load Switch
Component Function:
Power Management / Audio
Other
Mixed Signal

24. Main Board Side 2
42.9 mm
25.9mm
Sensor Board Display

25. Main Board Side 2 (IC Identification)
6 - Macronix
#MX25L25635F
Serial Flash Memory - 32 MB
7 - Azoteq
#IQS213A
3-Channel Capacitive Touch/Swipe
Function Controller
10 - Analog Devices
#ADP162ACBZ-2.8-R7
150 mA / 2.8 V LDO Regulator
Component Function:
Other
Memory: Non-Volatile
Display / Touchscreen

26. Main Board Side 2 (IC Identification - Sensors)
9 - STMicroelectronics
#LSM6DS0
6-Axis MEMS Accelerometer
& Gyroscope (2-Die Pkg.)
Component Function:
Sensor

27. Sensor Board Side 1
20.0 mm
10.2mm
ZIF Connector to
Main Board

28. Sensor Board Side 1 (IC Identification)
14 - STMicroelectronics
#STM32F401CCY6
ARM Cortex-M4 32-Bit Microcontroller
Component Function:
Mixed Signal

29. Sensor Board Side 1 (IC Identification - Sensors)
13 - Freescale
#MMA8452Q
3-Axis Digital MEMS Accelerometer
Component Function:
Sensor

30. Silicon Labs
#Si 1143-A11-GMR
Ambient Light/Proximity Sensor
Sensor Board Side 2 (IC Identification)
Component Function:
Sensor

31. Key Observations
• Device included 2 ARM microcontrollers, with each tied to an
accelerometer: a 6-axis and a 3-axis.
• Using many off-the-shelf (older but proven) electronic components.
• Bluetooth in module form seated on top of another board, which contains
the board-integrated antenna.
• More cabling with wires and flex alleviates design restraints.
• Ambient light sensor versus photo diode for bio sensor.
• Seeing different variations for providing water resistance (for example,
over-molding, grease, and gaskets).
• More fitness trackers being released with displays, in line with trends.