GoKawiilGoogle’s Project Ara boldly tried to bring the customization and interoperability of PC assembling to our smartphones. The idea of upgrading only the parts of your smartphone that were outdated felt like a tech utopia. You’d never need to switch your entire phone, but instead turn it into a ship of Theseus of sorts with each upgrade.
However, if you look at the smartphone market now, some ten years since Project Ara was conceived, you’ll see that we’ve gone in the opposite direction. Smartphone makers are doing all they can to make even repairability difficult, let alone giving you modular upgrade options.
Each time I’m forced to upgrade my phone, I’m pulled back to the idea of Project Ara. My brain knows it will remain a dream, but my heart still wants it to become a reality — even 10 years later.
What Ara could’ve been
If Project Ara had sustained its early vision and made it to 2026, I’m sure it would’ve looked very different from what it did back then. For starters, we’d know every single year who’s going to win MKBHD’s most repairable phone of the year award. But it would’ve had a much more sweeping effect on the industry.
The tech industry is scrambling to hit environmental and sustainability goals with recycled materials. Project Ara could’ve been the product other brands followed, simply because upgrades would’ve been more meaningful, intentional, and hyper-localized — saving tons in unnecessary tech upgrades and spending.
With modularity at its core, Project Ara could’ve set the industry standard, not just hit a high score.
Moreover, it would’ve been the poster child of the right-to-repair movement. A smartphone with a good repair score today usually means how easy it is to replace a damaged part and whether it requires replacing a parent component too. With modularity at its core, Project Ara could’ve set the industry standard, not just hit a high score.
Beyond this wider impact, I know I would’ve been relieved of the constant pressure to upgrade my phone every few years. After a couple of years, my phone’s camera starts to feel outdated while everything else is still perfectly fine — so why do I have to replace the entire phone instead of just the camera module? Project Ara could’ve flipped the entire economy of smartphones, where brands couldn’t constantly push me to switch phones, and I could simply improve the part I cared about.
It could’ve championed the things smartphone makers today only wish for. It could’ve brought back the joy of tinkering with tech — something mostly limited to PCs and home servers — with the idea that your phone could evolve with you. And more importantly, it could’ve given you a sense of ownership over your device, instead of forcing you into an upgrade cycle.
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