Google unveiled a new prototype of its Project Ara modular smartphone dubbed ‘the Spiral 2’ at the Developers Conference in Mountain View last week.
Google’s Project Ara is aimed at developing a phone with interchangeable components, allowing people to mix, match and snap on the handset’s hardware parts, including cameras, processors, screens and more.
Built by the American manufacturer NK Labs, the Spiral 2 packs a 720p display module with integrated power and volume controls, a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth module, a primary camera module, 3G modem, a USB charger, a speaker, a Tegra K1 SoC and the battery module. Smartphone users can easily remove and replace any of the modules in case of a technical failure, breakage or desire to upgrade the device. That way, if the processor becomes outdated, it can be replaced with a new one or if a 720p display is not beefy, it can anytime be swapped it with a better one.
Google also announced that it will apparently be launching the next prototype, Spiral 3, as a “market pilot” in Puerto Rico in the second half of 2015. The search giant said it chose Puerto Rico as a test market because of its diverse user base. For the pilot, the company is partnering with local carriers Open Mobile and Claro.
While initially, Google will make 11 working modules available to buyers, it aims to reach as many as 30 options by the end of the year.
There’s no word yet on how much Project Ara phones will cost, but Google has said the cost will depend on the prices of the modules.
