Solder paste is printed on a circuit board, and machines place the processor, RAM, flash storage, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth module, power chips and audio amplifier before a reflow oven melts the joints.

A second board carries a ring of tiny microphones, the converters that digitize them, and the LED drivers for the light ring. Spacing several microphones apart lets software work out where a voice comes from and ignore the rest.

Plastic is injection molded into the body, the top cap and the rotating volume ring. Many models are then wrapped in a stretched fabric cover that lets sound through.

A speaker driver is glued onto a steel weight that anchors the base. Spring contacts connect it to the main board without loose wires.

The main board, the driver assembly and the top board are stacked in the shell and joined by one ribbon cable. Long screws run through the stack from bottom to top.

A lower cap and a grippy rubber foot are glued over the bottom. The unit is powered up to load its software and test the microphones, speaker and wireless link.