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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

The dream of upgrading the CPU/RAM/sensors in your smartphone using Lego-like components is dead [arstechnica.com]:

It sounds like Project Ara, the ambitious modular smartphone concept [arstechnica.com] birthed in Google's ATAP division, is finally dead. A report from Reuters [reuters.com] says that Google has "suspended" Project Ara in an effort to "streamline the company's hardware efforts."

Project Ara never seemed like a particularly viable product, and after the announcement in 2013, progress came slowly [arstechnica.com]. The device was delayed past [wsj.com] its 2015 commercialization deadline when plans for a Puerto Rican "food truck [arstechnica.com]" pilot launch fell through. Earlier this year, the device was delayed again [arstechnica.com] to 2017, and the Ara team announced that Ara would pivot from fully modular to having a fixed CPU, GPU, antennas, sensors, battery, and display. After that announcement, Ara was watered down so much it barely had a reason to exist.

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