I don't know whether the Display unit does all the calculations or whether some of it is done within the controller's firmware.
I'm not sure how the display would know the difference between Smart Pies and Magic Pies if it simply used a high/low Hall sensor output pulse for speed reference, as the Smart Pie would produce 20 pulses per revolution and the Magic Pie would produce 28 pulses.
As the same display is used for both motors, there must be something in the controller's firmware that produces approximately the same signal output in relation to the wheel rpm for each motor.
I would logically expect any variation between distance and speed to be solely due to the display unit calculations, but logical programming cannot be guaranteed, therefore it is also possible that a mistake in the calculations within the controller's firmware could also be causing it.
To be honest, I have never checked my distance readings against any other source, and as I only use that bike for short
(mainly off road) trips, it's possible that my distance figures could be wrong too.
Alan