I f you’ve been keeping tabs on what’s going on with smartphones lately, the topics being discussed most are disappearing headphone jacks and exploding batteries. In an industry that’s become relatively stagnant on the innovation front because devices already do pretty much everything we need them to, there isn’t much to talk about. Case in point, the new iPhone isn’t much different from the old one, bar one major decision and updates that are not new to phones in general. But there is one other thing manufacturers are working on that has been lurking on the horizon for a while, and given the release of Moto’s Z series devices in India on October 4, now is a good time to talk about it.
The dream of a smartphone that allows us to swap individual components has been with us for a while. It is a proven method, with PCs being able extend their lifespan and work with specialised hardware, just because they allow users to choose what components to use and later be upgraded with new ones. The mobile phone, on the other hand, is often tossed aside because of one component failing or becoming outdated.
This was a problem addressed in a video back in 2013. Presenting a concept called Phonebloks, the video envisioned a device that let users choose individual components – processors, memory, camera modules, and switch or upgrade them. When Google, with its propensity for backing outlandish ideas, picked up this concept with Motorola, and decided to try producing the device, it raised the hopes of performance enthusiasts worldwide. The idea of being able to upgrade cameras, and processors, or sacrifice less-used components for say, a bigger battery, seemed like the future of smartphones.
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Fast forward to 2016, and the landscape is a little different. Here’s a brief overview of what happened: Motorola did build prototype devices of this future phone, under the name project Ara. Despite admitting that making such a device with easily removable and upgradable modules was a challenge, they persisted, though progress was slow. Even at Google I/O in May, the company released a video implying that the phone was approaching launch date (despite Motorola having been sold to Lenovo). Then, out of the blue at the beginning of September, word broke out that the project had been shelved, as Google tried to focus its many efforts across different sectors.
So, where does that leave modular smartphones? LG took a stab at it earlier this year with the G5, which offered an advanced camera grip, hifi audio converters and some more camera-related peripherals, but the fiddly implementation was far from what a concept like Ara promised. The same applies for the Fairphone 2, an ethically-made, easily repairable device that can be taken apart and put back together, but not between sips of coffee.
The closest we’ve gotten to the dream Phonebloks put forward is the Moto Z series. Featuring accessories that can be added on to the phone through simple cases that attach to the back magnetically, this is the easiest way to add functionality to a smartphone today. Currently, accessories include a projector, a massive speaker from JBL, battery cases and now a camera module for enhanced optical zoom, made by Hasselblad.
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Where does this leave us? In theory, one step closer to a truly modular smartphone yes, but we’re not there yet. While Moto’s effort is commendable, the phones offer enhanced accessories and not much beyond that. If enough manufacturers make ‘mods’ that work with the phone, which Moto claims will be kept as a universal standard and function with future Z phones as well, it may spin-off a market for fancy new accessories. However, if your processor fails, or you need a better camera, you’re still stuck just like with any other phone. And a solution to that is what we’ve been looking for since 2013.
Maybe, one day, we will have phones we can repair and upgrade on the fly, and keep using for five years, or even a decade. Today is not that day.