While many of us can’t live without their smartphone these days, we also tend to have a laundry list of complaints about them. One of them is the fact that we have to upgrade a phone simply because the touchscreen doesn’t work. Or the Home button’s dead. But Google seems to have the solution to all this: modular phones.
Google will officially be foraying into the smartphone arena with Project Ara – a phone that lets you customize modules – like camera, speaker, etc – as easy as rearranging Lego blocks.
Unveiled 2 years ago, Google now says the product could reach consumers as early as next year (a developer version will be shipped later this year though).
The original plan was to modularise everything that makes the phone into a Swiss Army knife of sorts – from the speakers to the microphone, and even the screen (yes!) and processor. However, the team behind Ara has made some changes.
Some parts will be off-limits for swapping — the screen (damn), some basic speakers, and the processor. While many of us may be disappointed, the team maintains that they did some research that revealed most users couldn’t care less about what their processors did.
Well, it’s still more modular than any phone out there, right?
The Modular System
The phone will come with several modules – like swappable covers or speakers – which you lock down onto the phone. Don’t worry if you lose your phone – you can set a passcode that locks the modules in place. Plus, all modules have to be approved by Google, otherwise they can’t connect to Ara.
So what kind of modules can we expect to see? Google is working with a long list of respectable developers, including Panasonic, TDK, Toshiba, Samsung, Sony, as well as a host of high-end designer brands that will give the phone that “fashionable” look, using materials like plastic, wood, and concrete. Yes, concrete.
There’s no doubt that the phone will set a new standard for smartphones in the future, but it remains to be seen if the project will be a huge success for Google.
