NioPhone2 Teardown: Peeking Inside the Secrets of a Smart Phone

NioPhone2 Teardown: Peeking Inside the Secrets of a Smart PhoneAt the 2024 Innovation Day, Nio not only launched its second smartphone, the NioPhone2, but also unveiled a new car operating system and the industry's first 5nm intelligent driving chip. Being a car manufacturer, how does Nio make smartphones? It turns out, the process isn't that different from smartphone manufacturers

NioPhone2 Teardown: Peeking Inside the Secrets of a Smart Phone

At the 2024 Innovation Day, Nio not only launched its second smartphone, the NioPhone2, but also unveiled a new car operating system and the industry's first 5nm intelligent driving chip. Being a car manufacturer, how does Nio make smartphones? It turns out, the process isn't that different from smartphone manufacturers. WekiHome has provided a detailed teardown video, giving us a glimpse into the inner workings of the NioPhone2.

Building on the original design, the NioPhone2 gets a boost with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor. The disassembly process follows the usual steps, starting with removing the SIM card tray. At the bottom of the phone, a rubber ring provides waterproofing (NioPhone2 has an IP68 rating and is claimed to be able to withstand 30 minutes underwater at 2 meters). The back panel is made of glass, but the ring around the camera has metal inserts, which also serve as waterproof seals. Beneath the back panel, we can see a shield housing the NFC antenna and wireless charging coil.

The NioPhone2 also adds UWB functionality, which, like NFC, is not unfamiliar in ordinary smartphones. But more importantly, both UWB and NFC allow the phone to act as a key compatible with vehicles, and Nio cars are naturally compatible, as the company was among the first to adopt UWB technology late last year.

Besides the UWB feature, the teardown video reveals other interesting details inside the NioPhone2: for instance, SKhynix memory (LPDDR5X) and Samsung storage (UFS4.0), as well as a brand new heat pipe for keeping the Snapdragon processor running stable and fast.

However, WekiHome also found some shortcomings. For example, the NioPhone2 only has two microphones, while most flagships typically have three (or even four). Additionally, the fingerprint sensor is an optical device that shines through the OLED display, and the proximity sensor and front ambient light sensor are also located below the display, all on a small sub-board.

Overall, the NioPhone2 teardown video gives us a deeper understanding of the internal structure of this smartphone. It not only showcases Nio's attention to detail in hardware configuration but also reveals their pursuit of smartphone functionality and user experience. Although some details may be lacking, we believe the NioPhone2 will continue to improve in the future, providing users with a more complete experience.