Custom Android Hardware: Not for Everyone

While the three sexiest words in the English language are Custom, Android, and Hardware, do not allow their seduction to fool you into thinking the combination of the three is right for you.  In fact, more often than not, Custom Android Hardware is lipstick on a pig.  Let’s get into some of the different shades of lipstick.

Better Specs

Creating custom Android hardware to come out with the newest and best specs is a horrible mistake.  You do not have an advantage over global established brands.  Why would you get access to the newest specs before the big tier 1 retail brands that have money, experience, distribution, and relationships with core tech providers?  They could destroy you with a fart.  You will never be able to compete with the big brands on specs.  Choose another endeavor and we’ll re-evaluate; Hatch will not support narcissistic lunacy.

Cash Money

You need money before you get into making any custom product, especially a custom Android product.  Making custom Android hardware isn’t like funding a lemonade stand back in elementary school.  In most cases it takes a bare minimum of $250k before there’s any physical hardware to show.  There are several reasons for this.  Check Hatch’s business model outline to get a better understanding.  Until funding is in place, don’t stress yourself out with anything custom.  Use commodity Android products to test your software and attract investment.  If your idea and selling skills are so good that you can get investment without any tangible demos, at some point you’ll need to make a demo and should still use a commodity device for that.

Price Misconception

Cost plays an important role in business, so, undeniably, cost or goods matters, but don’t expect the same price for a custom Android product as for a commodity product advertised on Alibaba.  All of Hatch’s clients use dedicated apps on their custom hardware.  Most of the apps provide an ongoing service which generates recurring revenue for Hatch’s clients.  Unlike mass market low-end commodity products, custom Android products have less volume, require unique skills to develop properly, take 8-12 months to develop, and require ongoing expertise and attention for continuous improvement.  A trailer park home and a custom mansion sell at different prices.

Low Volume

Due to the fixed costs of developing a product, the economics generally work best when the initial order is at least 5k pcs, although 10k pcs helps development move faster.  If the customer accepts a relatively high unit price or the product has minimal customization requirements then a lower quantity might be a valid option.  The development cost is built into the unit price.  This business model is common for manufacturers in China since sustainable, long-term, profits come from repeat volume production rather than one-off engineering services.  In other words, the engineering services are a means to the end, rather than the profit center.  Companies looking to get 200 pcs of a custom product made are generally not viable custom Android hardware customers.

And, briefly, here are some examples of when it would make sense to develop a custom Android device.

Organic Evolution

Your company has already been distributing apps on normal brand name devices or letting the customer use their own devices.  With a proven business model, the demand for your service is either growing or at least stable.  Over time, the problems of building a business around a mass market brand name device become increasingly evident.  Finding the same hardware gets more difficult and expensive.  The models change every year, meaning the apps need regular modification and testing to work smoothly with the updated hardware and Android build.  These devices lack security, privacy, and control.  Devices go out of warranty and become impossible to repair.  The list goes on, as do the headaches.  If this describes your situation, go ahead with the custom Android device, it makes sense for you.

Funded and Focused

Your properly funded start up or established company has hired people with custom hardware project experience.  Going from nothing to a custom device is a giant leap, but since you’ve done the due diligence and brought on in-house resources, you’re doing the right things to have a successful project.  Before engaging an ODM, like Hatch, you’ve gone through the project details and have a solid understanding of what you want to have done and how you want it done.  In this case, you have the money, expertise, and a management team in place to support the effort.

Internal Use

Your company is the end user of the products.  In this case there’s a clear business case and reliable volume prediction.  If your company knows that it needs a custom product to better perform a service or function, then we start with defining the use case and build a product to perfectly address it.  Since your company uses the products directly, you don’t need to worry about finding customers.  The task is to make the best product to help your company cut costs and/or add value.  Hatch will work on acquiring a deep understanding of the use case for the product and provide ideas for product design, hardware architecture, and other details related to the development and production of your custom Android product.

These lists of reasons, for and against making custom Android hardware, focus on the most popular examples we see, but these lists are not exhaustive.  If you’re curious about whether it makes sense to get a custom Android product made, feel free to send an email.  It’s a simple and quick way to get started.

Quality Checklist for Custom Android Tablets (Functional Checks)

This month’s article lists out a few of the standard functionality tests Hatch performs on custom Android tablets.  These tests are part of a longer list which includes many kinds of inspections Hatch does to ensure the product meets Hatch’s basic quality standard.  Beyond the fundamental tests, when checking the functionality of a custom Android tablet, Hatch will add custom quality checks based on the product’s specific functionality requirements.  For example, if the product uses a wide angle camera lens, Hatch will check that the viewing angle meets the special requirements.  If an unforeseen problem gets found during the development process, Hatch will introduce a test into the quality control process to cover that specific issue.

The name of each check is followed by details of the inspection process.

Functional Defects

Functional tests ensure correct performance of the custom Android tablet. The proper functionality of a tablet starts with using good components. This is why there are different functionality tests for all the key components of the tablet.

  1. Plug Insertion Force

This test ensures that the ports of a custom Android properly fit with the plugs that go in them. Generally this applies to a USB, earphone, and charging port. Plug insertion force is the force required to insert the plug into a slot. The port shouldn’t be too loose, so the plug falls out unintentionally, and it shouldn’t be too tight, making it difficult to insert or withdraw the plug.

We measure this force using gram-force. Gram-force (gf) is a metric unit of force that is equal to the force of gravity on a one-gram mass.

The tolerance range for this test is Min 250gf and Max 1500gf.

  1. Button Activation Force 

This test makes sure that the buttons are working properly, and more specifically, that they respond to the right amount of force. It applies to physical buttons which ‘click’, rather than touch buttons which use other sensing methods.

Button activation force defines the amount of pressure required to apply to a button for it to function. It’s also measured using gf.

The tolerance range for this test is Min 200gf and Max 400gf.

  1. Speaker Audio Quality

This test ensures that the audio output from the Android tablet or smartphone is clear at the highest volume.

Speaker Audio Quality is evaluated using sound pressure level (SPL) and total harmonic distortion + noise (THD+N) at peak speaker loudness on 1kHz sine wave.

The tolerances are SPL as dBa and THD+N as a percentage. These are checked at a distance of 10cm from the speaker. An acceptable SPL, dBa is ≥72 and THD+N, % is ≤15. To put things into everyday terms 40dB is the volume of a quiet library. 60dB: ordinary spoken conversation. 85dB: a food blender. 88dB: heavy traffic. (source: rnid.org.uk)

  1. Display Quality

This test applies to the image shown on an Android tablet or smartphone screen. It ensures that the screen’s colors, brightness, and pixels appear correctly.

Display defects are defects which cause total or partial image loss, image distortion, or reduces display usability under bright ambient light.

The tolerances for this test include average brightness (in nits), brightness uniformity (as a percentage), color representation (CIE1931), bright dead sub-pixels (based on size and density), and dark dead sub-pixels (based on size and density).

Additional tests include:

Age testing, where the device runs a demanding workload, usually playing a video at high volume. This test lasts for between several hours to several weeks, depending on the product. The point is to ensure that the system functions properly over a longer period of time while under a high stress level.

Drop testing, where the device is dropped at a specified height onto a hard surface multiple times at different angles. The goal is to ensure the device can sustain violent impact and continue to function properly.

And there are tests for all the other major components such as camera, microphone, battery, and memory.

The list of functional testing covers all elements of the custom Android tablet or smartphone that could affect its performance. All custom devices also undergo tests which are specific to their unique requirements as well. These tests are initially based on the devices custom requirements and new tests are added during the development process as new issues are found.

Custom Tablet for Photographers – Case Study

Project Scope

Design a tablet for photographers to quickly review their shots and copy photos from the camera’s memory card to a spare card.

Use Cases

Photographers want to quickly review photos on a clear and large screen then move images off their camera’s memory card so they can get back to taking photos again.  Hatch’s client identified this unique market and turned to Hatch to manufacture a custom Android tablet tailored to serve it.

Hardware and Mechanical Requirements

  • 9” Screen
  • No Wireless Connectivity (mobile data, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc)
  • Two Full Size SD Card Slots
  • Large 4000mAh Battery
  • Custom Protective Case

Hatch’s Responsibilities (Learn more about Android Development Service)

  • Custom Android firmware programming
  • Custom PCBA design
  • Reference design modification to add extra SD card slot
  • Assistance with Industrial Design
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Creating prototypes
  • Tooling for device case
  • Manufacturing process optimization
  • Create finished product testing procedure
  • Trial and Mass Productions

Time Frame

This project moved fairly quickly from Hatch’s end.  Two months passed from kickoff to initial prototype.  The customer took a few months to thoroughly test the initial prototype, which is time well spent.  Another month was used to refine aspects of the firmware in parallel with producing the tooling for the tablet’s casing.  Trial production took a month and then the customer needed extra time to refine and debug their app.  The whole process took about 8 months, but most of this time was used for app related development and optimizations.

How it Happened 

The client initially approached Hatch about working together when they first started conceptualizing the project around 2017.  At that time, as a new company and concept, they couldn’t commit to Hatch’s minimum order quantity.  We wished them good luck and ended the discussion.  They came across another tablet supplier who said all the right things, won the business and then forced the client to place a large order (which they weren’t ready for) or lose their deposit.  If everything went well that’s where the story would have ended, but after deceptive business practices the other supplier also shipped bad products and were difficult to work with.  At that point the customer contacted Hatch again and asked for help with getting out of their dilemma.  Typically we don’t get involved with this kind of situation, but the client seemed like good people in a bad position.  We agreed to help them fix the problems and manage production for the rest of their order from the first supplier before redeveloping the product ourselves.

As the first order was coming to an end Hatch started to redevelop and improve the product.  Hatch had the benefit of learning from the mistakes of the first development, which helped our development go smoothly and make the customer experience even better.

The device had several custom hardware requirements that deviated from the standard reference design, the electronics design which ‘off the shelf’ Android tablets are based on.  For example, remove Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cameras, headphone jack, unnecessary apps, and increase battery size.  Also Hatch needed to add a second memory card slot and make both memory cards full size SD, while the reference design calls for one MicroSD size memory card.  Most of these hardware customizations also required related firmware modifications.

Second SD memory card slot for copying photos.

Result

The results were great.  A large part of the success came from the lessons learned from the first generation of the product.  Our client was able to earn a reputation for higher customer satisfaction than the competition (in their niche) thanks to the great job they did with redesigning their app and the improvements Hatch made to the hardware and firmware.  This allowed them to raise the retail price, helpful in offsetting the high costs of fixing problems with their first generation product.

It’s hard to predict how things go in business, but some situations create good stories when told in retrospect.  Sometimes, for whatever reason, people don’t connect with potential friends/customers/whatever on the first interaction, but a relationship develops in the future.  This client has turned out to be a great company to work with and Hatch provided key value to them.  Often companies contact us who aren’t ready to work with Hatch when they first reach out.  I try to guide them in the best direction for them rather than sell them services they’re not ready for.  Hopefully my guidance or something else they did brought success.  It’s always a pleasure to see companies flourish and become able to help them.