Google wants to reinvent the Internet router, and it has released the OnHub, which is a cylinder-like router that looks very similar to the Amazon Echo.

As strange as it looks on the outside, however, on the inside, it's even stranger. A teardown of the router was recently done by iFixit, revealing that there are a number of components that are not expected from an Internet router.

The teardown revealed a number of antennas, along with a pretty large heatsink. For the most part, the internals are held together by a series of clips.

Perhaps the biggest surprise, however, is the fact that the OnHub features a pretty big speaker, which is found at the top of the device. The speaker emits a ringtone-like noise when it pairs with a smartphone, however, the speaker itself is quite a bit bigger than would be expected.

In total, there are 12 antennas in the router, six of them offering a 2.4 GHz connection and the other six offering a 5 GHz connection.

In the OnHub, there is a small "plug." Previously, it was not known what this was for, however, iFixit was able to confirm that the plug is an ambient light sensor. The ambient light sensor doesn't work just yet, but it will likely be used in the future after a software update.

Although it's unlikely a user will ever want or need to "open" their router to try and fix it, iFixit gave the device a repair score of 4/10, saying that it was hard to open and complex inside.

The Google OnHub is expected to be far more than simply an Internet router. The device will also be the hub for Google's "On" smart home platform, however, Google hasn't revealed too many details about it just yet. Once the company does reveal more information about the system, it's likely that more people will consider On as their router.

Via: Ars Technica