Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could upgrade every single part of your cell phone? In 2012, Phonebloks started a new initiative with the goal to reduce electronic waste drastically. The idea was to create a modular phone where every single part of your cell phone could be replaced seperately. Google picked up on the project and started a pilot called “Project Ara”. Four years after the initiative however, Google pulled the plug and cancelled the whole project. How did the idea develop and why did Google drop out?
Since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, the market for cell phones has grown rapidly over time. However, innovation in conventional mobile hardware has been slowing down recently. The nature of the hardware innovations are solely of an incremental nature and have not changed drastically over the past years. The stagnation in hardware innovation, lower costs of hardware components and shrinking sizes of these components paved the way for modular smartphones.
The idea was that processors, batteries, cameras, displays and frames could be upgraded without purchasing a complete new phone. However, in 2016 Google announced that Project Ara was revoked and development would not continue. The reason of the cancellation is vague and Google has not commented on the issue. The most probable reason is that the original concept has not been thought through well enough. It turns out that the communication between the individual components is very slow and requires a lot of extra battery life. This makes the phone more expensive and less functional. Furthermore, Google estimated that the profit margins are very low and it is therefore not worth it to lay out the product.
When it can overcome these setbacks, do you think it has the potential to succeed in a later stage?
Sources:
http://fortune.com/2016/09/03/why-google-canceled-project-ara/
https://phonebloks.com/journey
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/429117/the-new-smartphone-incrementalism/
First of all, thanks for sharing your article with us, Tim! “Where are the modular phones that everyone was talking about 3-4 years ago?” was actually one of the things I asked myself a few weeks back. I also looked for some information on it and I believe that adding to the reasons you rightfully pointed out, the market may still not be ready for such technology.
Although the technology still has to evolve in regards to energy efficiency, I think it also still lacks credibility among consumers. One aspect to take into consideration is the lack of standardization in this new segment, which means that buying the block will restrict you to buy the modules that are compatible with the block you just bought. Since as of today a considerable investment is required to buy this sort of products that are inserted in a still unproven market, customers may not feel their modular phone will fulfil the initial premise of flexibility and durability. For example, new modules for the LG G5 are hard to come by and will not keep your phone as updated as a brand-new Samsung or iPhone.
Furthermore, a significant percentage of the market are still not “tech-savies” and mainly look for simplicity in a phone, not caring about swapping components or having to worry if these will be compatible or not. They want to buy the full package and have the full experience since day one, having the satisfaction of exploring a brand new piece of technology and design. You simply do not get the same experience when buying a new module.
Saying this, I do believe the technology may become mainstream in the near future but maybe in a different way than the one we imagined, under advancements such as the wearability of these devices. Although I see the potential in modular phones, the fact that these were not sufficiently profitable lead the mainstream brands, like Samsung, Apple or Huawei to not back this technology, and I think this hurt its credibility and its chances of being a disruptive technology since 2016.