Mobility

Cracking Open the Samsung Galaxy S4

By // May 6, 2013, 5:55 AM PST // billdetwiler

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  • Samsung Galaxy S4 teardown

    With its 1080p screen, 13-megapixel camera, and quad-core processor, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is packed with impressive hardware. And as I'll show you in this Cracking Open gallery, it has a redesigned interior and is easier to disassemble than its predecessors.

    For a detailed analysis of the teardown, check out my article and video, Samsung Galaxy S4 teardown reveals redesigned interior, easier-to-fix phone.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Pricing

    As of publication, pricing for the U.S. version of the Galaxy S4 starts at $199 (with a two-year contract).

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Box contents

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Hardware specifications, dimensions, and weight

    Our AT&T test unit had a 1.9GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of onboard storage (expandable via the microSD slot), a 5" HD Super AMOLED display (1920 x 1080p resolution), a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, and a 2.0-megapixel front-facing camera. It measures 5.38" (H) x 2.74" (W) x 0.31" (D) and weighs 4.59 ounces.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Back

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Bottom

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Left side

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Right side

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Top

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Removing the battery cover

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Battery, SIM and microSD card slots

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Removing the battery

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Samsung 3.8V, 2600mAh Li-ion battery (B600BU)

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Battery removed

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Removing the circuit board cover screws

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Popping loose the circuit board cover

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Removing the circuit board cover

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Circuit board cover

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Circuit board cover with external speaker assembly

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Removing the external speaker assembly

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: External speaker assembly - Front

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: External speaker assembly - Back

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Internal hardware

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Detaching the motherboard connectors

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Removing the motherboard screw

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Removing the motherboard

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Motherboard removed

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Front panel assembly with components - Top

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Daughter board attached to front panel assembly

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Motherboard with rear-facing camera and SIM/microSD card readers

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Disconnecting the rear-facing camera

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Rear-facing camera removed

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: 13-megapixel rear-facing camera - Front

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: 13-megapixel rear-facing camera - Back

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Removing the SIM/microSD car readers

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: SIM/microSD car readers

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Detaching the daughter board connectors

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Removing the micr USB connector bracket

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Removing daughter board

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Daughter board

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: micro USB connector

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Daughter board microphone

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Front panel assembly with daughter board removed

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Synaptics S5000B touch controller

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Front panel assembly - Vibration motor, front-facing camera, earpiece speaker, IR blaster, IR sensor, and front-facing sensors

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: 3.5mm headphone jack assembly

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: 3.5mm headphone jack, LED indicator, and IR sensor

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Motherboard - Top

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Motherboard - Bottom

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Samsung K3QF2F200E-XGCB 2GB LPDDR3 RAM

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Qualcomm MDM9215M 4G GSM/UMTS/LTE modem

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Unidentified TAIWAN MBG965H 1311 BKU ARM E1

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Qualcomm PM8917 power management IC

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Toshiba THGBM5G7A4JBA4W 16GB eMMC (storage chip)

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: 3757G2 D214C5

    According to iFixit and Chipworks, this chip is a Broadcom BCM4335 Single-Chip 5G WiFi 802.11ac MAC/Baseband/Radio, which also houses a Skyworks SKY85303-11 2.4 GHz, 256 QAM WLAN/Bluetooth Front-End Module.

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Atmel UC128L5-U

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Skyworks 77619 multiband multimode power amplifier module for quad-band GSM/EDGE

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: RF Micro Devices RF7307 linear power amplifier for LTE/UMTS/CDMA

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Unidentified SWC GNF09

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Skyworks 77737 Power Amplifier Module for LTE Bands 12/17 (698-716 MHz)

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Unidentified R5C0B W3406

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Qualcomm WTR1605L 7-band 4G LTE chip

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Silicon Image SiI8240 MHL 2.0 transmitter with HDMI input

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Qualcomm PM8821 power management IC

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Broadcom BCM20794 NFC controller

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Maxim Integrated MAX77803

  • Cracking Open Galaxy S4: Disassembled

Samsung Galaxy S4 teardown

With its 1080p screen, 13-megapixel camera, and quad-core processor, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is packed with impressive hardware. And as I'll show you in this Cracking Open gallery, it has a redesigned interior and is easier to disassemble than its predecessors.

For a detailed analysis of the teardown, check out my article and video, Samsung Galaxy S4 teardown reveals redesigned interior, easier-to-fix phone.

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler

Related Topics:

Mobility Security Hardware Software Apple Android Google

About Bill Detwiler

Bill Detwiler is Managing Editor of TechRepublic and Tech Pro Research and the host of Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Prior to joining TechRepublic in 2000, Bill was an IT manager, database administrator, and desktop supp...