According to Google, all project Ara modules are now controlled with just software and a button on the side of the smartphone launches an overview of what modules are currently installed. (Don’t worry: future modules will be compatible with earlier Ara devices.) Most importantly, it seems much, much easier to install modules and start using them.
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It’s been a while since there’s been any big news regarding Project Ara, Google’s modular smartphone project, but that’s changing today.
Although Project Ara has been on Google’s mind for years now, it’s been hampered by hardware delays. They can be removed by saying “Ok, Google”. The first “wow” moment was Google showing off magnetic hot-swappable modules, meaning there was no need to reboot the device in order to switch out one module for another.
And we’re not talking about customizing the way it looks, like you can with Motorola’s Moto X phone, which you can design with the company’s Moto Maker website. Consumers should be able to buy the devices sometime in 2017, Google said.
Google showed off high-res camera modules and storage in addition to more “personalized” modules. While that it a little vague and effectively spans more than the next eighteen months, the fact that the developer version is getting very close to shipping out does bode well for the consumer version.
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Google showed off a working prototype version of Ara today, which lets you live-swap hardware modules like cameras and speakers onto a base frame which contains the core phone components – you can even say “Okay, Google, eject the camera” to release modules, which is pretty cool. Not only will it be disabled in your phone’s software so you can safely remove the module… it’ll actually pop out.
