iFixit

Using a T6 Torx bit from our 54 bit driver kit, we remove another daughterboard from the inner dome.

Located on the board are a few notable ICs:

• Atmel ATMEGA328P (manufactured in Colorado Springs, CO or Nantes, France)
• NXP Semiconductors 44501 Near-Field Communications Controller (manufactured in Germany, China, UK, Netherlands, or Singapore)
• TXC 8.00 MHz Crystal Quartz Oscillator (manufactured in Taoyuan, Taiwan or Zhejiang, China)
• YF04E
• Status LED

Inside the dome also rests the NFC antenna assembly. Perhaps this allows us to contact the Q Continuum?

The antenna comes out easily, leaving the metal part permanently attached to the inner dome.

The inner dome, a key component of the Q's spherical design, is one of the parts that we believe to have been manufactured in the USA. Word on the street is that when design changes arose, the Google engineers could quickly implement these changes by meeting with local manufacturers, as opposed to flying to foreign countries.

Another few twists from our screwdriver frees the ball bearing ring from the Q.

Surrounding this ring are the couple of dozen steel balls that make up the ball bearing. The clips on the volume control dome snap into the ring to allow it to spin…for-ev-ver.

We imagine that cleaning dirt and dust from the Q bearings would only require a few tools and a Q-Tip.

Holy Capacitor, Batman! As we delve further into the Q, we encounter a wide array of capacitors. The largest of them being a 400 V, 82 microfarad capacitor.

Physics time! If the capacitance is 82 microfarads, and the voltage is 400 V, that means that this capacitor can hold a charge of 0.033 coulombs.

• So in this case, Q = 0.033 coulombs

It is safe to say that we have never before torn down a device with more circular parts than this. Out comes another one.

What at first looks like no more than a plastic bezel turns out to be the diffuser for the Q's perimeter LEDs.

Cue the lights! With the diffuser out, we gain access to the LED board. The perimeter of the Q is lined with 32 RGB LEDs, enabling it to put on one heck of a light show.

• The board also houses two Texas Instruments TLC5947 24-channel, 12-bit PWM LED drivers with internal oscillators, which could've been made in one of several locations in the world.

And the rings continue to appear. Could this be the last of them? Only time will tell…

Click. Creek. Phwiiip! With a couple typical teardown noises, the rest of the Q's internals are evac-Q-ated.

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