Google postpones launch date for Project Ara
Unfortunately, I have some bad news for those who were looking forward to modular smartphones. Google's officials have recently posted a series of tweets announcing that the launch date for its Project Ara has been pushed back. The reason of this delay was: "lots of iterations" (not very specific, I know). According to the IT giant's statement, we will have to wait until an unspecified date in 2016 for the modular phones to become available to the general public. Furthermore, it also seems that the company no longer wants to launch its project in Puerto Rico (as it was initially announced) but is instead looking for a new location within the United States.
For those of you unfamiliar with the topic, Project Ara is one of Google's most interesting initiatives which aims creating smartphones with interchangeable parts (aka modular smartphones). In simpler terms, with a few exceptions, the customers will be able to very easily replace any of the device's parts (camera, processor, etc.) with another one even while the phone is powered on. Besides the ability to change a part when it breaks (instead of having to buy a completely new phone), another great advantage is that you can constantly upgrade your device (just like some do with their computers).
Up until recently, Google kept Project Ara under its lid and the first time we saw a prototype turned on was this winter at the Project Ara Module Developers Conference. Furthermore, during the company's I/O event which took place this May, there was another presentation in which the modular phone's camera was swapped with another one, which got everyone excited. Hopefully there won't be any more delays and we will be able to purchase modular smartphones as soon as possible. I certainly want one.
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