Google's 'modular' phone suddenly appears

Project Ara's idea is considered unfeasible in the modern smartphone era because it goes against the product development philosophy of current technology companies.

Three prototypes of Project Ara - the ambitious "modular" phone project that was abandoned by Google - have suddenly reappeared on social networks, arousing curiosity in the technology community. Photo: Racoondetectionsquad.

A TikTok account called “Racoondetectionsquad” recently attracted attention when it posted a series of videos and pictures of three Project Ara phone prototypes that it owns. Surprisingly, despite the project being “killed” in 2016, these devices can still turn on and function completely normally. Photo: Racoondetectionsquad.

The videos have detailed the unique design of Project Ara , including a main frame with slots to attach different functional modules such as cameras, speakers or auxiliary batteries. Photo: Racoondetectionsquad.

The highlight is the mechanism for removing and installing the component modules. Users can remove the blocks by using a SIM ejector pin to impact a mechanical lever, or directly command “eject” (eject) from a manager in the device’s software, similar to the safe removal of a USB on a computer. Photo: Racoondetectionsquad.

These devices can still successfully boot the operating system, display the full home screen interface and access the Android app drawer. Photo: Racoondetectionsquad.

Project Ara is one of Google’s most ambitious hardware projects, first announced in 2013. The core idea is to create a “modular” phone that allows users to freely customize and upgrade by removing and installing modules. Google demonstrated the first prototype at the Google I/O 2014 event, creating a lot of interest in the technology enthusiast community. Photo: Racoondetectionsquad.

However, in 2016, Google suddenly announced that it was ending the project in order to streamline the company's hardware initiatives. The end of Project Ara caused much regret in the technology community. The sudden return of these prototypes once again piqued curiosity about one of the most unique but "ill-fated" ideas in smartphone history. Photo: Racoondetectionsquad.

The resurgence of Project Ara is a reminder of a series of other groundbreaking but ill-fated Google hardware projects. Notably, Google Glass (left), a smart glasses model that failed due to privacy barriers and price. Next was the Google Daydream platform (center), which was killed in 2019 because the mobile VR (virtual reality) market did not develop as expected. Finally, the Nexus Q (right), a home entertainment device with a strange spherical design but was too expensive and lacked features. The fact that prototypes like Ara are still working makes the tech world question the need to persevere with revolutionary ideas and whether the modular phone model has a chance to "revive". Photo: Wired/Google.

Source: https://znews.vn/dien-thoai-lap-ghep-cua-google-bat-ngo-xuat-hien-post1599286.html