
Project Ara Lives: Google's Modular Phone - anigbrowl
http://www.wired.com/2016/05/project-ara-lives-googles-modular-phone-is-ready/
======
cryptoz
Link to Project Ara Developer Edition page:
[https://atap.google.com/ara/](https://atap.google.com/ara/)

r/android seems unimpressed because many of the initially removable components
are no longer removable (at least, as indicated by marketing videos) [1].
However, it seems silly to me to get upset about this because this is a
Developer Edition and Google clearly had to limit the scope of the project in
order to ship. Though, one wonders if there are physical limits causing the
CPU, GPU, battery, and display to be non-removable. We'll see.

[1]
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/4k9bwr/project_ara...](https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/4k9bwr/project_ara_developer_edition_coming_fall_2016/)

~~~
squeaky-clean
> because many of the initially removable components are no longer removable

It's not that "many" of the components aren't available, it's all the
components anyone cared about. It seems like you won't be able to swap out the
CPU, GPU, RAM, battery or screen. So if you want a phone with a faster CPU,
you need to buy an entirely new phone, which goes against all the hype for
these modular phone plans.

From the venturebeat article linked below: "The idea of Ara is to ensure that
your devices are future-proofed, meaning that the whole “upgrade every two
years” mentality is no longer a thing. ". This certainly isn't true. Though I
guess it could be slightly cheaper, since you would be just buying a frame,
and could pop in your old camera module.

There also aren't any modules being shown that can clue you into what the
potential is. The only thing recognizable is a camera module, and what I'm
guessing is a small e-ink display., every other module is just an unlabeled
colored/textured rectangle. In every article about it the only example ever
used is a camera.

The module idea actually seems really cool, a standard way for anyone to
create hardware for your phone. But I think the "modular phone. Upgrade one
bit a time. Never obsolete." marketing angle is a blatant lie.

Edit: I agree with one of the jokes in that Reddit thread about this

    
    
        Here's what I want for my six modules:
          1. Camera
          2. Battery
          3. Battery
          4. Battery
          5. Battery
          6. Battery
    

Because really, what else is there?

~~~
malandrew
Different types of cameras such as night vision or infrared heat camera. Also
laser range finder modules or something capable of stereoscopic vision.
Altimeters. Barometric pressure sensors. Communicator modules for other
peripherals when Bluetooth isn't appropriate. Temperature sensor. Wind speed
device (would have to protrude beyond the phone's edge so wind can pass
through). Light sensor for automatic white balance measurements. Chording
keypads to enable more interesting input for power users.

Anyways that's just a stream of conscious I came up with in 5 minutes of
noodling. There is potential. Maybe not as much for day to day, but definitely
options for professionals that make their living outdoors.

~~~
beambot
Medical sensors -- eg. portable blood analyzer.

~~~
jonknee
Theranos can pivot!

------
LeoPanthera
Non-wired link: [http://venturebeat.com/2016/05/20/google-working-on-
consumer...](http://venturebeat.com/2016/05/20/google-working-on-consumer-
version-of-project-ara-smartphone-module-platform/)

Not going to disable my adblocker just to read a story. I consider it to be an
anti-malware tool at this point.

~~~
mediocrejoker
What adblocker do you use? I use google-chrome on linux with uBlock Origin
addon and the site renders perfectly for me.

The addon says it blocked 32 elements.

~~~
gervase
I believe that uBlock Origin includes an Anti-Anti-Adblock filter by default
in the filter list.

~~~
milkey_mouse
Not by default, but I have it enabled and it does block the Wired one. Just
wait until we need anti-anti-anti-anti-adblock!

~~~
vonklaus
due to the proliferation of nodeJS and how horrible malvertising has become,
our children will only know Javascript as a backend programming language.

------
MichaelGG
>They’re also building “style” modules, which don’t do anything except look
nice.

This is underrated, at least in the article. People love customizing. They'll
spend money on that. Wood, gold, ceramic, organic-whatever, glass-with-bits-
of-Holy-Land, and on and on. Even for basic parts, like the camera, people
will pay just to have different colored rings around the lens.

Phone cases are one obvious example of all this, but being able to replace the
materials of different parts of the phone seems like the next step.

I'm not convinced this project has much use otherwise, though. Would love to
be wrong. But even their demo video shows nothing useful at all.

~~~
jsharf
Small companies can now develop phone modules and release products with more
advanced technology in a specific area (battery tech, camera, etc) without
designing the rest of the phone. It would ideally be compatible with any
unipro phone. This is important because a lot of technologies that would
normally make it into phones doesn't because of how difficult designing and
launching a phone is. You definitely don't need to do all that work if all you
want to do is make a phone with a smaller/better camera.

Another benefit is being able to repair your phone by swapping out a broken
module rather than replacing the whole thing. This should reduce waste. Also,
you don't need to get new phones every two years, you can just replace modules
as they get outdated.

If done well enough, this could shift phones out of excessive consumerism,
where buying a new phone is often cheaper than replacing an old one (or where
repairing a phone is impossible).

~~~
jeromegv
Since the CPU, RAM and screen can't be updated, your phone will definitely get
outdated after 2 years.

~~~
Retric
I am not convinced people are still on 2 year phone upgrade cycles. Worse,
Intel already dropped the Tick-Tock cycle and phones are not that far behind.

I have a 4s, skipped 5s, thought about 6 or 6s, now I am going to wait for the
7. I just got the new 9.7 inch apple pro tablet and I don't notice it being
all that much faster browsing the web.

------
dflock
I think this project would get a lot more love if it was presented as a
modular "tricorder", rather than a modular phone.

I imagine that there's a pretty interesting collection of niche markets for a
capable, connected mobile device with interchangeable sensors.

~~~
yk
I was thinking pretty much the same, a oscilloscope module or an android
module could be pretty handy at times.

~~~
Pxtl
Scientists aren't as frugal as consumers either, so you could add a zero onto
the sticker.

~~~
salgernon
Scientists also like their devices calibrated, so add several more zeros, a
yearly contract and a pelican box to keep it from sinking when you're taking
lava samples on your alien moon.

------
zakalwe2000
Ugh, this has always been a terrible idea - apparently a vanity project by
people who know nothing about how manufacturing works.

Every piece they make modular adds cost - cost of connectors, weight of the
frame to support them, cost of support when the connectors fail.

You can go on about "waste" all you want, but the lowest cost, lowest material
devices are rated for single-insertion connections along with components both
stacked and heavily integrated.

The reason they could not do displays, RAM, etc is that these components are
tightly integrated to the SOC selected, and change regularly. This was true
when they announced, even more true now.

Truly Google is the new Microsoft if they devote such time to obvious
executive vanity projects, untouched by the taint of reality.

~~~
cromwellian
Right, because we all know the most important feature of smart phones is their
cost savings, which is why Apple phones sell close to their marginal cost and
don't have 30% margins.

And this kind of device, while it may not be interesting for many consumers,
will be very interested for industrial, enterprise, or medical users.

~~~
zakalwe2000
There's a graveyard of phones that thought there was a market for a wider
variety of form factors. This is a variation on that theme.

To put it another way, if you were running a medical devices company with
limited resources, would you bet on this or bluetooth?

~~~
7952
There are lots of mobile devices specifically designed for industrial and
commercial use. Usually they are much more expensive, but add few additional
components. It would be useful to be able to build up your own devices from
standalone components. But I doubt it is really in the interest of the
manufacturers who want to be able to offer a complete "solution".

~~~
baobabaobab
>But I doubt it is really in the interest of the manufacturers who want to be
able to offer a complete "solution".

Then they'll be leaving room for a newcomer to do it.

------
qq66
I think that if this project succeeds, it will be as a standard phone you plug
into a lot of different devices. Ara could be generic
compute/storage/networking, and cheap enough for you to click one into your
sprinkler system, your refrigerator, your car, and perhaps commercial
equipment like your alarm system, security camera system, etc... All talking
to each other and sharing a common uplink.

~~~
genericone
Now THIS here is the interesting idea, the ARA becomes the local compute
component in a larger system, rather than having smaller components attaching
to the ARA!

~~~
qq66
Yes, I'm thinking in particular of my wife's digital piano, which has some
horrific obsolete Yamaha software to transfer files, and my 2006 Acura, which
has a completely crummy in-dash navigation system. Both would have been much
better served by a plug-in compute module that had its own networking and
could be upgraded independently.

------
grizzles
It's not very nice looking. For aesthetics, they will need to ship it with a
case or skin that's thin & strong.

I don't often wish for mandatory bundling, but I hope that's what this is
about: [http://techcrunch.com/2016/04/14/google-now-lets-you-
design-...](http://techcrunch.com/2016/04/14/google-now-lets-you-design-
custom-cases-for-your-nexus-phones/)

------
linuxkerneldev
I'd settle for a phone that just lets me have source to everything that can be
reflashed and allows me to practically modify and reflash as desired. I feel
USB host would be good enough so that I can add peripherals as needed, I don't
need fancy magnetic connectors.

------
dilemma
I think the main thing this structure brings is the unbundling of camera
module from the handset, so that larger sensor/lens modules can be offered. As
it is, manufacturers are afraid that protrusions will hurt sales and are
therefore hesitant to go with large sensors.

edit: On second thought, this may end up just being the foundation of Android-
based camera backs. Should be a bit of help for camera makers, so that they
can focus on the camera module.

~~~
usrusr
> Should be a bit of help for camera makers, so that they can focus on the
> camera module.

Why would camera makers want to give up on the pattern of tying a new firmware
feature to a minor case facelift to celebrate it as a new camera generation?
Cameras are a market where a few compulsive update-buyers seem to greatly
outweigh the masses of thrice-in-a-lifetime buyers in terms of number of
devices sold.

------
pessimizer
Open hardware, or closed hardware? Can I run what I want on it, and will I be
able to buy modules from unlicensed third party developers?

------
Animats
Apparently, Google controls the frame and the core components. The "base unit"
is not, apparently, separate from the frame, so you can't build frames in
different sizes. You can't build a tablet size frame, or use the form factor
as a packaging standard for embedded control or lab instruments.

As a mobile device, it should be heavier, bigger, and less rugged than an
integrated unit, so that may not be a win.

------
hackaflocka
This is the game-changer the last 3 billion need.

I really hope it works out. (I expect that if it does, then over time
everything will be swappable.)

~~~
Brakenshire
The phone's going to be priced at the mid to high range. Including all the
important components pre-built means that it can't be sold at a low price. 'A
single phone for everyone' was the original idea, but it seems they've given
up on it.

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snsr
I love it. The fact that this idea isn't necessarily constrained to a phone
form factor is also pretty inspirational.

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kenz0r
As expected, the stuff that you really want to be able to replace (Screen,
SoC, and RAM) are the ones you can't.

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vonklaus
physical apps store will be a cool idea, especially with a macguiver-esque iot
swiss army knife of add ons for health, security, communication & interacting
with physical environment.

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ommunist
'Ara' is racist for 'Armenian' in Russia. Its a pity 'Modo' is trademark of
Swedish pulp and paper giant.

------
pier25
The idea is great for many reasons (value, environment, etc) but god, that
phone is ugly.

~~~
sxates
I actually think it looks kinda of cool.

~~~
pessimizer
Nothing wrong with a little Mondrian.

