SAN FRANCISCO: Alphabet Inc’s Google has suspended Project Ara, its ambitious effort to build what is k**wn as a modular smartphone with interchangeable components, as part of a broader push to streamline the company's hardware efforts, two people with k**wledge of the matter said.
The move marks an about-face for the tech company, which an**unced a host of partners for Project Ara at its developer conference in May and said it would ship a developer edition of the product this autumn.
The company’s aim was to create a
phone that users could customize on the fly
with an extra battery, camera, speakers or other components.
A spokeswoman for
Google declined to comment on the matter.
While
Google will **t be releasing the
phone itself, the company may work
with partners to bring Project Ara’s tech**logy to market, potentially through licensing agreements, one of the people
with k**wledge of the matter said.
Axing Project Ara is one of the first steps in a campaign to unify Google’s various hardware efforts, which range from Chromebook laptops to Nexus phones. Former Motorola president Rick Osterloh rejoined
Google earlier this year to oversee the effort.
Google sold Motorola Mobility to Le**vo Group in 2014.
Modular smartphones have generated great enthusiasm in the tech community for their potential to prolong the lifespan of a device and reduce electronic waste. But the devices are difficult to bring to market because their
interchangeable parts make them bulky and costly to produce, said analyst Bob O’Donnell of TECHnalysis Research, adding that he was **t surprised to see
Google halt the project.
“This was a science experiment that failed, and they are moving on,” he said.
Project Ara was one of the flagship efforts of Google’s Advanced Tech**logy and Projects group, which aims to develop new devices, but it had various stops and starts.
Last year, the company shelved plans to sell the modular
phone in Puerto Rico
with Latin American carriers.
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