Project Ara and the future of smartphones
Project Ara is an ambitious initiative launched by Google, which aims to create a modular smartphone based on the PhoneBloks project:
“Phonebloks is an independent organisation with the purpose of encouraging the development and production of products that produce less electronic waste.”
With that in mind, Project Ara has launched “Ara Scouts”, a support initiative which invites volunteers to become “Scouts” and complete missions designed to provide feedback and data which will be used to shape the direction of Project Ara.
The project’s focus is to reduce electronic waste, starting from re-thinking smartphones as modular, Lego-like devices with interchangeable components, down to the most basic feature.
The current state of tech devices:
The current landscape of modern smartphones is a constellation of powerful, feature-packed devices built as single units. This universally accepted format is what we have always known about consumer products, something that we use every day, knowing full well that recycling many of these devices can be done only to a certain point, when factoring in processing costs.
Another more obvious problem with all current devices is associated with warranty coverage, as most users know, it is extremely rare for a manufacturer to cover repairs that involve buttons, switches, sockets or plugs, whether it is smartphones or smart TVs.
According to project Ara, modular devices are an opportunity to extend the life of devices, reduce the cost of repairing faulty components, and eliminate the need for sending devices out for repairs, as manufacturers could simply send a replacement component to be slid into place by the user.
It’s not easy to start a tech revolution:
Of course this poses the question of which devices Project Ara plans to revolutionize in such direction.
Domestic appliances, such as refrigerators, washing machines, dryers and ovens could turn problematic, as they use technology that could be hazardous when left to the users to tamper with.
These might very well be aspects for Ara Scouts to take into consideration as they do their part to turn this ambitious project into reality.
Ara is still in its infancy, but one could speculate how tech giants might react to a possible growth of modular technology, and how they might even adopt the trend.
Will we live to see a future of modular “Apple iBlock” devices? Is there a chance for Windows 8 tile desktop to feature what “Microsoft Snap-In” devices are plugged in and available in the next “Build-A-Surface”? How about a “Google ChromeBlock”?
It’s fun to speculate, and it’s the whole point of revolutionary technologies, they start from dreams, speculations and questions about what the future might look like.