Today’s smartphones, it can be argued, are rigid and wasteful. With preassembly, there’s no real way to personalize them. And if your camera breaks or battery dies, you’ve got a useless brick.
Google is reimagining that concept with Project Ara, a totally customizable phone made of individual pieces.
Need a new feature? Just add it. Something broke? Swap it out.
The phone starts as a basic frame, called an Endo. Then you pick out the microprocessor, camera, battery and extra hardware that’s best for you. They snap together like Legos, except with magnets.
The world of possibilities really opens up when you consider that 3D printers could be used to make special add-ons that are totally unique to your phone.
The flexibility it gives phone owners is unprecedented. You can start at $50 and add on hardware as you can afford it. You can bulk up features for everyday use – or slim down for travel. And swapping out specific parts makes repairs cheaper and overall phone life longer.
But will it actually work?
If the magnets don’t hold up, the phone will fall apart. Awkward combinations could make your phone buggy. And overall, it’ll be more expensive. Big phone makers buy parts in bulk, so they can build entire devices more cheaply than you can.
Project Ara might turn out to be like custom PCs – a niche reserved for a crowd that doesn’t mind higher prices and technical headaches. Maybe the unrivaled level of individuality will be worth it, though.
Google expects an early version of the phone will be available in early 2015. For now, it’s calling on computer developers everywhere for input. And it’s asking for everyday people around the globe to become “Ara Scouts” to help guide the engineers.
The whole project is open source, so independent 3D printing shops can get in on the action too.
What’s not to love about freedom and choice?
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