Google Project Ara Release Date Looming? Price, Specs & Features You Need to Know

Avid smartphone fans should think again if they believe that their devices would not become outdated anytime soon as Google is currently brewing an all-new gadget that would make their phones look antique.

Project Ara, the Internet giant's latest innovative smartphone is reportedly going to be tested later this year in Puerto Rico before its yet-to-be-announced mass market release, Forbes revealed Thursday.

This highly customizable phone, dubbed as a modular smartphone, would provide smartphone users a way to modify their devices according to their specific needs which proves to require great effort with what mobile phone manufacturers currently provide.

According to Forbes, Project Ara would allow users to swap-out some of its key components like the battery, camera, or processor which would be manufactured in the form of "modules." For example, if the user prefers longer battery life over bigger memory, he can swap the microSD card slot with another battery.

Aside from the built-in modules, users of this smartphone can also procure ones that have additional function like dual-sim slot which is way better than buying an entirely new phone.

IT Pro UK revealed in a report that the modules would be connected together by a metal frame called the "Endo" for "endoskeleton," which is estimated to cost around $15.

Endos would be available in two sizes including the "mini" which is described to be the size of Nokia's classic bar phone 3310, while the "medium" would have almost the same dimension as an LG Nexus 5.

The large-sized Endo is expected to be released in the future and would be about the size of Samsung's Galaxy Note 3.

Modules are set to be sold by third party merchants and Google itself. Project Ara phones are only officially compatible with Google's authentic modules but same as Android, its software settings can be customized using unofficial ones.

According to Computer World, some modules expected to be released include an extra SIM card slot, special cameras, memory, special sensors, more powerful antennas and photo printers.

These modular phones would also come with three Ara-specific apps namely, the Ara Manager, which allows users to manage their modules; the Ara Configurer, which gives a walkthrough in building the phone, and the Ara Marketplace, which is similar to the Android Playstore.

The development of this new device is spearheaded by Google's Advanced Technologies and Products (ATAP) team which had been part of Motorola before the Internet giant acquired it, The Verge revealed in April.

To learn more about this innovative product and its components, visit this link.