Google Demonstrated a Working Prototype of the “Revolutionary” Modular Ara Smartphone for the First Time

For the first time ever Google presented a working prototype of the “revolutionary” modular Ara phone at their Google I/O conference.

On the second day of the Google I/O the developers saw the prototypes of some promising products. In particular, the head of Google ATAP Paul Eremenko presented a powered-on prototype of the modular Ara smartphone.

As you know, Google hopes to incarnate on the hardware level what they did to Android on the software level. They intend to build an extensive ecosystem of third-party manufacturers, eliminate the barriers of adjunction, enhance the volume of innovations, and boil down development timelines. In other words, this has to be the end of the hegemony of five or six leading smartphones manufacturers.

Meanwhile Ara is in the opening stage of development; some wires are sticking out of it, and the gadget failed to start up the first few times. In the end, the device managed to turn on followed with a burst of applause only to freeze dead a few seconds later. This is OK for a smartphone designed for the developers so they can get a foretaste of the device, they said in Google.

The participants of the project still have to sort out a lot of issues; the main of them is the ways of inter-modular data transmission by means of capacitive joints. The Google representative pointed out that Android also needs to undergo some major changes so that the OS can operate such systems. According to his words, it will be a real “challenge for flexibility”. Eremenko announced a $100,000 prize for the most interesting module for Ara.

Source: macdigger.ru