What the hell happened to modular phones? 

Just imagine a smartphone where you could swap the camera for a better one, upgrade the battery when it gets weak, attach a mini-projector just for the vibe. Now, before you say…dude that’s pure sci-fi!

Let me take you back to 2013, and to your surprise a visionary project like this was announced by none other than Google.

This super-hyped project was called: ‘Project Ara.’

The mission was simple, but totally epic: create a modular smartphone. Forget queuing up every year for a new device; Ara was supposed to be the ultimate anti-e-waste warrior.

It was built around a basic metal frame (known as the endoskeleton) where you could snap on modules like Legos. The initial dream? A starter kit with a processor, display, and battery for a nominal $50. Basically, a premium phone experience without hurting your pocket. Google, you had our attention honestly!

The project, initially headed by Motorola’s ATAP team, created serious buzz. We saw prototypes like the Spiral 1 and Spiral 2 pop up, promising a revolution. But, desi style mein bolein toh, the scene changed quickly.

The ultimate flip came in 2016. After years of public demos, the team unveiled a developer's edition that had silently ditched the core philosophy. They basically decided, "Processor, screen, antenna toh hum chipkayenge!", meaning the crucial parts were integrated into the frame. But that wasn’t modular anymore.

This single decision, gluing down the most important components, was the beginning of the end.

Reasons of failure

This visionary project failed and got shelved in September 2016. Well, the reasons to this were as follows:

• Technology Was Playing Catch-Up: The idea was too ambitious for its time. Making all those high-speed modules talk to each other seamlessly and cost-effectively was a massive challenge. The tech simply wasn't ready to handle the full modular complexity, making the final product unreliable.
• Not so user-friendly: For the average GenZ user, a phone must be plug-and-play. Ara required you to be a part-time tech geek, constantly figuring out which processor or RAM module you needed. Most people just want to scroll Instagram and watch YouTube. They barely have any interest in managing their phone like a PC. Google forgot that the masses look for user-friendly, not user-customizable.
• The Upgrade Paradox: Even if you bought the phone, you’d constantly have to replace individual parts (CPU, GPU, etc.) as technology advanced, eventually leading to a full replacement anyway. The e-waste problem was simply postponed, not solved. Project Ara was a spectacular vision, a perfect example of a concept being way ahead of its time. It tried to bring the ultimate customization to our pockets but ended up being a modular dream that never got a stable launch.