But the company may not abandon the idea completely

Sep 2, 2016 07:04 GMT  ·  By

Google's Project Ara has been one of the most ambitious smartphone plans lately, but the excitement around this modular handset has decreased gradually with every delay that the project suffered. Back in May, Google announced that Project Ara could be coming to the market this fall. A new report claims that the project has been axed.

Project Ara has been impatiently expected to hit the market this fall, as everyone has been truly curious to see how Google would take the concept of a modular phone and actually bring it to reality. Project Ara was meant to deliver a modular device under the name of Spiral 2, one that would have interchangeable components, as to bring phone customization to another level.

Google I/O brought the announcement from the ATAP division, stating that the first Project Ara phone would be revealed to developers this fall, and a consumer version would arrive next year. But there were also reports saying that Google faced issues integrating the processor and RAM so that the six modular slots would have enough room in the standard frame.

Whether this is the reason behind Google's latest decision is unknown, but Reuters reports that Google has apparently canceled Project Ara. This means that the company won't be releasing its modular phone, although previous rumors stated that 30 Google employees were already using Project Ara phones as their main device. Thus, the smartphone exists, but it just won't be shared with the market.

Project Ara technology might still be released to the market

Google's motivation behind the decision seems to be related to its intention to streamline hardware efforts. Still, the company did announce a host of partners for Project Ara back in May, and it seems that it might still bring Project Ara's technology to the market, even though the chances are slim.

Modular phones are indeed an exciting concept to bring to the market, consumers are certainly interested in the prospect of prolonged battery life and upgradable camera performance, but it might not be a smart business move. Reportedly, modular phones are bulkier than regular ones, and production costs make them a risky business move.