Google’s Project Ara Won’t Have Swappable CPU, RAM, or Display Modules

We talked about Google’s Project Ara last week are were pretty excited that we could see a consumer version in 2017. The modular phone is a great concept, but it looks like it is not going to be as “modular” as many people think. Google has confirmed that Project Ara will not have swappable CPU, RAM, or display modules.

Google apparently came to the conclusion that having that level of functionality isn’t “what consumers want”. So instead of having every part of the phone be modular, the key parts (CPU, RAM, and Display) will be built into the skeleton. This means that as time goes a long and your phone gets a little sluggish or as new display technology comes out you will not be able to upgrade those parts. You will be able to upgrade and swap out less essential parts like the camera, speakers, or a secondary display.

It is sort of a let down that Ara won’t be fully modular, but there will be six modular slots supporting a multitude of different parts. It is an interesting project and maybe version 2.0 might have a fully modular design.

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