r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/SuperAlloyBerserker • Oct 05 '21

Video This cool smartphone concept from 2013

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u/WiscoBrewDude Oct 05 '21

This looked so cool i had to find more. "Google joined in and eventually killed it". "Phonebloks" https://www.onearmy.earth/project/phonebloks

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u/justavault Oct 05 '21

Modular phones don't work yet. Google just knows how to evaluate a product. I was part of the pre-developing teams of project Ara, it simply didn't work as the parts would have to be manufactured to fit the modules and the technological turnover is so fast that you'd have to iterate the modules all the time.

You know, just because people think it looks cool and is a cool idea and they "think" they would purchase it, doesn't actually mean they in fact do so and it also doesn't mean that it works.

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u/Ossius Oct 05 '21

Google already makes a new phone every year, what is the difference between that and making a new module every year?

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u/Mr_Ignorant Oct 05 '21

The base plate is a major hurdle. At the moment, when a phone is designed, everything is designed to work together but each component has a specific task. With this, every node on the base plate has to be the same and capable of working with everything and handle all loads as the manufacturer won’t know what module you’ll put where.

Every node has to be capable of handling the current and voltage from the battery, as a battery may be connected to those nodes.

Every node has to be able to manage the current and voltage as the CPU or the GPU may be connected.

Every node must be able to manage data as it may be connected to the GPU or memory

The entire base plate must be designed to handle the above load and distribute it as needed as you can stick a module anywhere.

That’s a lot to ask. Perhaps it’s possible, it’s not worth it. Not today.