Google "Suspends" Project Ara

[captainespinoza]

http://www.recode.net/2016/9/1/12762774/google-shelves-project-ara-smartphone

http://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/9/1/12762236/google-project-ara-suspended-modular-phone-report

 

With the internal structure of Google recently changing, so has Google's hardware division. As the article mentions, Google has begun to merge its different hardware projects into one division, under the helm former Motorola President Rick Osterloh. He has decided to cut loose ends, seeing Ara as one of them. 

 

I see this as yet another great idea, or at least an opportunity for innovation in a increasingly stale handset market that has gone to waste. Ara has now seen the "suspension" fate that projects like Glass or Pixel saw. Glass to its own end was a fantastic idea, but was barred by public adoption resistance, mainly because of the negativity that the camera received. I'll also note that Glass was something that I see many people asking  from VR now; a tetherless, AR experience. These are quite frankly stupid reasons,  and I assume that Google thinks Ara would've hit the same snags. Hopefully all of these projects are brought to life once again someday, or at least licensed out to other manufactures. 

Edited September 2, 2016 by captainespinoza
Grammar

[Forfanatic]

This is really sad...was looking forward for Ara as my second phone

[zMeul]

google Pixel lives: http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/09/01/exclusive-googles-new-phones-will-be-called-the-pixel-and-pixel-xl/

well .. sort of 

[captainespinoza]

Also I accidentally submitted the same topic twice. My apologies. 

[BarisERY]

İts sad i was looking forward for this the first prototype seemed to work really well as well

[Mr_Flynn]

I'm fairly certain they haven't completely shelved glass. I think they're doing it again from the ground up and focusing its albeit very limited development on certain industries (like medical and manufacturing).

[RedRound2]

Anyway IMO, this would've failed in the real world.

•  There would be driver problems on phones which would be horrible
•  Some people buy phones based on brand and none of those kind of people (especially businessmen) would buy an Ara phone for it
•  Phones these days are really good to the point where they're rated bad because they lack some 'nice to have' features. But display, cameras, chipsets, etc are at it's best now
•  The only way you're going to extend battery is by sacrificing some other modules or by making battery module thicker (which would make the phone thickness uneven). So the point of battery gains can be dismissed
• Even though thinness doesn't seem to be a factor, it is for most people unknowingly. People generally dont like thick phones (9mm+) as it doesn't represent the modern age of technology (Just look at iPhone 4 & 4S)
• Lastly Modules are generally going to suck, whether its speakers, cameras, etc unless people buy an insanely overpriced one which wouldn't be the case 90% of the time

[qwertywarrior]

ara's designes change dramatically - it should have been that every part was removable - now its just stupid 

 

they should just cancel the whole thing

[DocSwag]

Nooooooooooo..............!!!!!

 

I was sooooo looking forward to this! I wanted this to be my next phone! Sure, it wasn't fully modular anymore, but it was still pretty cool and had a lot of neat features... We've never seen a phone with this much modularity before... Being able to replace the camera, add battery and tons of extra functionality like NFC, an extra e-ink display, and much more. I'm really hoping this rumor is fake...

[Doobeedoo]

It was cool idea, oh well.

[Mihle]