Project Ara: The Rise and Fall of Google’s Modular Revolution
Remember a future where phones weren’t just a sleek farrago of metal and glass, but customizable contraptions, Lego-like blocks snapping together to create your perfect tech companion? If your nostalgia hasn’t kicked in already, allow me to elaborate!
That was the audacious dream of Phonebloks (or Google’s Project Ara), a project that ignited global excitement in 2013, only to fade into obscurity a few years later.
On the 10th of September 2013, a Dutch industrial designer, Dave Hekkens released a video on YouTube driving the internet crazy with his new concept — modular customizable smartphones.
Dave had conceptualized the project keeping sustainability in mind and his innovative spirit was driven by the aim to reduce electronic waste. He highlighted the alarming levels of e-waste that are generated when a consumer replaces the entire device when one component breaks down or becomes outdated, even if other crucial parts are brand-new or in excellent condition.
Imagine swapping out a cracked screen in seconds, upgrading your camera without ditching your beloved device, or building a phone as unique as you are. No more mountains of e-waste, no more planned obsolescence — just sustainable, repairable gadgets tailor-made for your needs.
The hype was electric. Media outlets buzzed, tech giants watched nervously, and crowdfunding went berserk. Phonebloks, the brainchild of Dutch designer - Dave Hakkens, wasn’t just a phone; it was a symbol of rebellion against the tech monopolies, a middle finger to the throwaway culture.
Eventually, Google started working with Phonebloks under the name of ‘Project Ara’ headed by Google’s experimental ATAP group under former chief Regina Dugan.
But Alas! The concept of modular phones, bootstrapped by such a massive tech supergiant like Google, still failed.
So why did it all end abruptly?
The road to commercialization of Project Ara was filled with way too many economic and technological hurdles such as,
1. High Manufacturing Costs:
Connecting modules seamlessly and reliably required intricate designs, precision engineering, and sophisticated testing procedures, driving up production costs. The potential for countless module combinations led to a wide range of components needing development and production, further fragmenting the manufacturing process and hindering cost optimizations. Google spent millions developing individual modules with high-precision connectors and intricate internal mechanisms.
Industry estimates suggested individual Ara modules could be 50–100% more expensive than traditional phone components (source: The Verge, Gartner Report)
2. Lack of App Ecosystem:
The dream of app freedom on modular phones like Phonebloks and Project Ara was hampered by a chicken-and-egg dilemma. Without a vibrant app ecosystem, users wouldn’t adopt, but developers wouldn’t invest without users. Google initially expressed interest but ultimately backed out, creating a significant hurdle for attracting developers and building a competitive app store.
3. Reluctant and threatened Giants:
The big boys — the Samsungs and Apples — ruled the smartphone market with an iron fist, controlling over 80%. Their app stores were locked fortresses, keeping new players like Phonebloks out in the cold. Developers, wary of the uncertain market, hesitated to join the modular party. Users, confused and bombarded by the giants’ marketing blitz, wondered if this newfangled dream was worth the risk. Phonebloks and Ara fought valiantly, but ultimately, they couldn’t crack the fortress. Their story is a cautionary tale: the path to tech innovation, for all its dazzling possibilities, often runs right through the gauntlet of the industry’s biggest players.
And finally,
4. Shifting Priorities:
As internal priorities shifted towards more immediate wins like Pixel phones and VR, anxieties about Ara’s high costs and uncertain market crept in. Google planned to streamline its haywire product lineup with only profitability in mind. The dream of modularity clashed with the stark numbers on spreadsheets, and without a clear path to profitability, Ara’s fate was sealed. The eventual decision to axe Ara was reportedly made by the then Google hardware chief Rick Osterloh.
Was there any Hope though?
Well, even with all these major challenges Google did manage to release two prototypes (Spiral 1 & 2) in 2014 and 2015. And the market was oozing with hope when Google finally managed to release a developer edition in May 2016, at Google I/O with a promise of year-end shipments. They had even indicated a consumer launch somewhere in 2017.
But with a major and some might say foreseen twist in the story, Google decided to end or rather ‘suspend’ Project Ara indefinitely in September 2016. And with it went all of the hopes, dreams, and ecstasy.
It baffles me to this day thinking about Project Ara, how such a revolutionary project (not even a niche market) backed by one of the biggest companies on the planet sunk into absolute oblivion. This also shows the fact that how consumers move on so fast (unlike a lot of people out there haha!).
References:
- https://www.wired.com/story/get-ready-for-weird-phones/
- https://www.theverge.com/2016/9/2/12775922/google-project-ara-modular-phone-suspended-confirm
- https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jul/10/modular-smartphones-future
- https://techcrunch.com/2014/02/26/google-project-ara-developer-conference/
- https://www.gizmochina.com/2019/10/10/tech-throwback-thursday-how-googles-modular-smartphone-dream-was-killed/
- https://www.onearmy.earth/project/phonebloks
- https://www.patentlyapple.com/2020/06/googles-one-time-modular-smartphone-project-is-refusing-to-die-as-a-newly-granted-patent-is-keeping-it-on-life-support.html
- https://www.leaflabs.com/project-ara
- https://www.engadget.com/2014-04-15-project-ara-modular-smartphone.html?_fsig=qH0cZPhGUbKjlp_5FYwNPw--%7EA
- K. Schischke, M. Proske, N. F. Nissen, and K.-D. Lang, “Modular products: Smartphone design from a circular economy perspective,” in 2016 Electronics Goes Green 2016+(EGG), pp. 1–8, IEEE, 2016.
- Chen, Ziwei (2021) Future feasibility analysis on modular smartphones.
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