A developer version of the modular phone will start shipping this fall
Ever wished for a customized phone that is made just according to your needs? Well, you might be able to get your hands on one by 2017. Google’s first-ever modular phone, dubbed as “Project Ara” is finally ready and will see the sun very soon. At its I/O Developer conference, the company announced that Project Ara is now finally out of the AT&P research lab and is operating as a proper unit under new hardware chief Rick Osterloh.
The developer edition of the phone will start shipping this year while a thinner consumer phone will be available next year. The modular phone allows you to swap your hardware modules including camera, microphones, and speakers. The prototype phone contains six hardware module slots. You can put any hardware module in any slot as they are all generic.
All six slots are linked together via UniPro, which has the capability to push 11.9 GB data per second in both directions. The device will be powered by Android software, while the base of the phone will either made by Google or one of its partners, just like Nexus phones. Last year, Google said that the base of the phone will cost about $50. However, no details have been provided about the cost of modules yet. Hence, it is too early to estimate the total price of the phone.
While Google will make some modules of the phones itself, it will outsource some hardware components. Last year, the tech giant said that more than 50 developers have agreed to work on its phone. It has already listed a number of development partners such as Samsung, Toshiba, Panasonic, and Sony to work on the modules.
Swapping and customizing modules will be as easy as customizing apps in a smartphone. You can remove modules according to your convenience. A Google engineer demonstrated the customization process at the conference. He attached a camera module to the phone and then clicked a picture with the audience. He then said: “OK, Google, eject the camera,” and the camera module was out of the phone.
The modular phone was supposed to launch two years back, however, the project got delayed due to some setbacks. Project Ara started back in 2013 under Motorola’s supervision, which was a part of Google at that time. It was then moved to Advanced Technology and Project (AT&P) Groups after Motorola was sold to Lenovo for $3 billion in 2014.
At present, the AT&P group is working to bring technologies to the real world in two years. It was announced in January 2015 that the modular phone will be launched in Puerto Rico later this year. The launch was, however, cancelled and the project deadline was extended by another two years. This was because the Ara team wanted to integrate more technology and create more space for the modules.
The phone would be able to compete with the iPhone and Galaxy series as users can easily plug in new modules for their phone without changing its hardware, and this will be cost effective as well. LG introduced a similar phone, LG G5 in March this year. You can remove the bottom part of the phone, take out the battery, and insert a camera or an audio player in it. If everything goes according to Google’s plan, we might see a new trend in smartphones.
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