Project Ara
I’m taking a bit of a liberty here, considering Project Ara was never released to the public. However, its disappearance was as disappointing as seeing a gorgeous concept supercar at an auto show only for it to be released as a station wagon. Ara, a prototype smartphone, was all about modularity, or the ability to swap out parts for others. Much like the very real Framework Laptop, the vision for Project Ara was for modules and components to be sold on the marketplace so users could upgrade their phones without buying a new one.
It was essentially a smartphone built from Lego-like bricks that could be easily swapped out. You could have theoretically removed a camera module for a newer one or kept an extra swappable battery on hand. Even more niche add-ons were proposed, like medical monitors or gaming accessories. The benefits of Ara were clear, but despite promising to send out developer units in the fall of 2016, Google decided instead to shut down its development.
