Project Ara is the codename for an initiative that aims to develop an open hardware platform for creating highly modular smartphones.
The platform will include a structural frame or endoskeleton that holds
smartphone modules of the owner's choice, such as a display, camera or
an extra battery. It would allow users to swap out malfunctioning
modules or upgrade individual modules as innovations emerge, providing
longer lifetime cycles for the handset, and potentially reducing electronic waste.
The project was originally headed by the Advanced Technology and Projects team within Motorola Mobility while it was a subsidiary of Google.
Although Google has since divested Motorola to Lenovo, it retained the Advanced Technology and Projects group—which has since worked under the direction of the Android division.
PhoneBloks
Phonebloks is an open-source modular smartphone concept created and designed by the Dutch designer Dave Hakkens, primarily to reduce electronic waste. While Phonebloks is not the first attempt at modular design in a phone, it is notable due to the extent of its modularity and the attention and support it has garnered.
By attaching individual third-party components (called "bloks") to a main board, a user would create a personalized smartphone. These bloks can be replaced at will to replace a broken blok, to upgrade an existing blok, or to expand the functionality of the phone into a specific direction. Bloks would be available in Blokstore, "an app store for hardware", where users could buy new and used bloks as well as sell back their old ones.
In 2013, Phonebloks and Google/Motorola announced their similar aim for a modular smartphone, and that the Phonebloks website would become a forum for enthusiasts to talk about and improve the "Project Ara" concept designed by Google's ATAP team. The modular phone was initially scheduled for release in January 2015, but has since been pushed back to some point later in the year.
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