Google's "Project Ara" modular smartphone delayed until 2016
Google’s „Project Ara” was announced over a year ago. Its aim is to create a highly customizable smartphone built from modules (e.g.: display, CPU, RAM, battery, camera, etc.) that users will be able to exchange and upgrade freely. Unfortunately, Google has just announced on Twitter that the amount of testing needed to finalize the project has been unexpectedly large and thus it has to be delayed until some time in 2016.
Initially, the first Project Ara smartphone, codenamed Spiral 2, was supposed to be launched at the end of this year. The device was going to be tested „in the wild” during a pilot program in Puerto Rico.
Apart from Google, several other companies are involved in the project, including Toshiba, Marvell, Innolux, Sennheiser and Nvidia. The exchangeable modules are supposed to cost between $50 and $500 each.