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Modular Phones: A New Future
Modular Smartphones have been making news for quite a while now. The concept has gained popularity exponentially and it's speculated to be the game-changer in the smartphone world.
Modular smartphones, at their simplest, would contain a basic frame: a skeleton. And everything else, from Camera to RAM, and from battery to display would be an add-on module.
This means, the smartphone can have any of its component changed without replacing the entire phone. It gives us the power to design a phone we prefer. A basic camera or a high power camera, a battery that lasts a day or one that lasts a week, HD screen or 4K screen, the choice... is ours. It does not necessarily have to be a smartphone either. It could be a feature phone if you want it to be. The greatest advantage here is if any of the components goes out of order, we'll only have to replace that particular module. And we can upgrade any module we wish to.
Simply put, modular smartphones are like building a Lego house.
Phonebloks
The innovative idea that could change everything about our smartphones, was a brain child of Dutch designer Dave Hakkins. It all started with a YouTube video named, 'Phonebloks' that gained a lot of popularity and went viral on the internet in 2013.
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The motive of the project was to decrease electronic waste. Modularity makes sure people won't replace the entire phones to experience the next big thing. The number of smartphones discarded each year would come down and we would be doing a favour to the environment and ourselves.
But Phonebloks did not have any working prototype and they did not plan to make one. Their purpose was only to make the idea popular, expecting a big company to come forward and make it real.
Project Ara
Google/Motorola took forward the idea of Phonebloks, naming its initiative, Project Ara. Project Ara has successfully made the first working prototype of modular phone. Google also hopes to commercially release it sometime in 2015. It has three sized phone endoskeletons, called Endos: mini, medium and large. Google has partnered with third-party developers to make the modules to add on to the Endos. But any individual, or any small company can design a module.
These modules will be hot-swapped, which means you can replace them without switching the phone off. It obviously provides basic modules like camera and speaker, but it also provides specialised modules like a heart rate sensor, night vision, laser pointer, and even a micro printer!
Project Ara aims to do to hardware, what apps did to software. The modules will be available on an online store, like the Play Store. It will get a trial run in Puerto Rico.
The Competitors
In the race of modular phones, Google has two competitors : Vsenn, is a Finnish startup, and The Puzzlephone.
Vsenn will only have four upgradeabale modules: battery, camera, processor and RAM. The phone will support Qi wireless charging, have customizable looks and a choice of multiple operating systems. Vsenn targets the high-end market and expects to release it in the market in March 2015
The Downside
The driving force of this project has been the expected release in electronic waste. But critics ague that, the concept could actually increase e-waste output. Due to the constant production of better components, the consumer would be easily attracted to replace several modules every few months. The frequent replacement rather than buying a new phone every two years, could possibly lead to increase in waste.
We also see a compromise on volumetric efficiency. This means the phone will be heavier and bulkier.
Despite the few shortcomings, modular phones hold a new future for us. And the idea of buying a whole new phone just to experience a new feature could seem ridiculous in the coming years.
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