Fitbit Flex Teardown

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Visit iﬁxit.com for thousands of repair manuals.
Wednesday, October 30, 13

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Where are we going?
‣ iFixit: Who we are, what we do, and the
importance of repair.

‣ Fitbit Flex Teardown: A look, inside and out, at
Fitbit’s newest life assistant wristband.


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Booth # 1537

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Online Platform for
Creating & Distributing
Visual Instructions
& Capturing Data

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WHO’S THIS GUY?
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Marketing / BD / Hats Upon
Hats!

‣

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Twitter
@EricDoster
email
doster@ifixit.com

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I spend most of my time
encouraging people to take
things apart & convincing
companies to make it easier
for them to do so.

I like building & rebuilding
things: ask me how to ﬁx your
sink or remodel your kitchen.


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Our Motley Crew... Most of the iFixit Family

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We’re From here

“Happiest town in
america”
-Oprah
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VISIT IFIXIT.COM FOR THOUSANDS OF REPAIR MANUALS

We Wrote...

six laptop repair manuals.


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Gorgeous, Glossy
photo manuals...
just 15 dollars each.

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...
(Silence)

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Back-up plan:
put the content online for free


Today, iﬁxit.com hosts repair
manuals numbering in the

thousands

Our web traﬃc

exploded


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‣

We are building an online community of
people sharing repair know-how.

‣ We will make it :
EASY for anyone to share repair
knowledge
SIMPLE for people to ﬁx their devices

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Repair 1.0
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1990:

How to be
a mechanic
‣ Figure it out
‣ Repair manuals
‣ Trade school

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2013:

How to be
a mechanic

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Repair 2.0

Learn from the world


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Mechanic
of people use iﬁxit to ﬁx
their own things


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Umbrellas!
Umbrella repair in India.
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Earl kaplan
Fixing PCs for kids.
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Repair Anywhere


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Now people can follow along

in the field

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Electronics go

everywhere
Repair manuals should, too.


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Our manuals are

open source
and free

Fix the world.

We can ﬁx anything.


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Does it make sense to fix a VCR?

‣ It depends on who you are : Does it make
environmental sense to throw it away?

‣ Manufacturing an iPod Nano emits 68 pounds
of CO2

‣ Catch 22 : It’s expensive to ﬁx a VCR because
the expertise isn’t common, and there is little
demand for parts.

Industrial Design Consultancy: http://www.idc.uk.com/news-view.asp?id=39

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Electronics Trashed in 2005
21
17

17

16
14

Cell Phone

Monitor

TV

Peripheral

Desktop

(% of respondents in past 12 months)

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Consumer Reports 2006 e-waste study

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in 2005, the u.s. buried
electronics containing:
‣
‣ 183 thousand pounds of mercury
1.3 million pounds of arsenic
‣
77 million pounds of lead

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Reduce, Reuse, repair.
Then recycle.


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So, we like devices...
a lot.
a lot, a lot.

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iPhone 5
disassembled

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Luke FTW!


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Tools of the trade
‣

Pro Tech Kit

‣
‣
‣
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Dental tools
Spudgers!!!

Magnetic Mat

‣
‣
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Lots of bits (just in case)

Keeps track of screws
Screws stay put

Heavy Hitters

‣
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Hobby knife
Rotary tool


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Initial Thoughts: Repairability
‣ Ease of access?
‣ Non-existent...
‣ Modularity?
‣ Probably not...
‣ Is that okay?
‣ It might be.
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But iFixit, you like repairable devices;
how might that be okay?

It is true—we do really love repairable devices. The
Flex does seem quite impenetrable, but such design
choices may make the device last longer. More time
on your wrist means less time in a landﬁll.

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So far, so good!
The Flex is easily removed from and installed into
the included wristbands, so we can rest assured that a
damaged band will not ruin our Flex experience.
And those waterproof contacts will assuredly extend
life expectancy.

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Model number easy
to identify
Insertion arrow has
to count for
something...

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on to the device carnage!

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Repairability Check: Removable
Components?

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LED light guides

‣
‣

Bluetooth Antenna

‣
‣

serve as the display for the device

communicates with other devices and the Flex dongle

A small bit of the motherboard

‣

obviously not built for repair, a bit of the motherboard comes oﬀ
stuck to the antenna

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This device isn’t going back
together...let’s get in deeper!

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motherboard

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battery
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vibrator motor
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…and that’s it!

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The challenge of building a compact
device?
You need to make it awesome
with a motherboard and battery
and a circular vibration motor
and make it ultra-durable
water-proof too, please
and 5-day battery life
in the next 12 months
for $100.

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but wait

there’s more!

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Tech specs: NFC
‣ Near Field Communication
‣ Establish radio connection between small devices
in close proximity

‣ Enables a tap to launch the Flex mobile app
Nexus S

Galaxy S4

Fitbit Flex

‣

First Android with
NFC capabilities

‣

Compatible with select
NFC devices and dongle

‣

4.8” x 2.48” x 0.43”

‣

0.6” x 0.4” x 1.8”

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‣

Best-selling Android
device wish NFC

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5.38” x 2.75” x 0.31”


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STMicroelectronics 32L151C6
Ultra Low Power ARM Cortex M3
Microcontroller
Nordic Semiconductor nRF8001
Bluetooth Low Energy
Connectivity IC
Most likely the accelerometer IC

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Nothing on the back??
‣ No chips on the back means
room for:

‣ Vibrator motor
‣ Battery
‣ Antenna
‣ LED light guides
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What makes it a
2 out of 10?
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Inaccessible (non-replaceable) battery limits the life of the
device.

‣

Impossible to open without destroying the device or
compromising waterprooﬁng.

‣
‣

Internal repairs are infeasible.

‣

The wrist strap is waterproof, durable, and easy to install.

Solid waterprooﬁng, no moving parts. and lightweight
construction mean a durable, longer lasting device.


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¿QUESTIONS?

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Fitbit Flex Teardown

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