Google's range of Pixel smartphones are among the best-known and best-specced available but, had it continued with its Project Ara, it would have been known for having the most unique smartphones. In fact, every Ara phone could have been unique, because they were modular and customizable. Users could have quite literally built their perfect smartphone, or at least that was the plan.
Google didn't invent the idea of modular phones — it actually bought some patents relating to modular phones prior to launching Project Ara in 2013 — but would undoubtedly have brought the concept into the mainstream. While there are modular smartphones available today, with the Fairphone being perhaps the best known, none have achieved mass-market break-through. Google's name alone would have surely have done that for Ara devices.
The basis of Project Ara was twofold: users would be able to shape smartphones around their lifestyles, while also potentially reducing the amount of electronic waste being produced by the manufacture of smartphones. The thinking behind this was that, instead of people replacing entire devices when they became outdated or were damaged, they would simply upgrade their permanent device with new or different modules. In this way, the performance or functionality of a smartphone could be continuously changed and evolved.
What Were Google's Project Ara Phones Like?
Google described Ara devices as being able to be customized for both style and function, with users able to add modules like a high-res camera, a louder speaker, or a better battery. With this in mind, a photographer's phone might have been very different to a musician's phone, each choosing the modules that would suit them best. What's more, Google's plan was for an open platform that would allow other developers and companies to create their own modules, meaning there would have been the potential for device customization far beyond what Google alone could have offered. Imagine an app store, for example, but with modules for a smartphone.
Sadly, Project Ara was axed in 2016, despite plans for its launch the following year having been well advanced. Reports cited a desire within Google to unify its various hardware operations and also a recognition that modular phones do bring with them certain challenges. The very structure required for the interchangeability of modules comes at the expense of space for bigger and better non-modular components. While Project Ara is no more, though, a 2019 Google patent for pared-back modular devices suggests that the idea may yet see the light of day.
"Smartphone" - Google News
November 23, 2020
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How Google's Project Ara Would Have Let You Build Your Perfect Smartphone - Screen Rant
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