Jeez, it's been five years? way to make me feel old lol

I would have bought that phone and loved to upgrade it every year.

I was so hyped for this phone and then Google killed it an instant. Truly sad.

Google strung this idea along just enough to diminish its initial momentum so they could safely bury it.

wait? google had the physical thing and then? they just hid it forever?

Phonebloks was the reason that I have subscribed your channel, 5 years back then.

Still hope we get to see the Phonebloks someday in the future. It was and still is a very cool concept. And I also really liked the simplicity in your design in terms of appearance.

Youd need a notch module now

I wonder what reason they had why google pulled the plug? Maybe not water resistant? I wonder if he still got paid.

Damn, I didn't know that ARA had any connection to phonebloks. I was following it and was very hopeful, and then they killed it. :( Seems like the hardware manufacturers are just too powerful. I also didn't know that Precious Plastic and phonebloks were both you until just now. Amazing work dude. You are trying to save the world.

At least Motorola now sells you repair kits their phones Thats at least something

NICE that you mentioned that Kite project. Hope they can start another crowdfunding campaign.

I’ve been waiting for someone to look into this for so long now, I’ve followed the project on Facebook from the very start I’d say and it just evaporated overtime. Thanks for the video, earned a sub for sure

I always wondered about this. Good on you for following up. I hope your idea can fully come to fruition.

I have not changed my phone since Phonebloks. I'm still waiting for my modular phone.

If you want a modular phone, it won't come from a for-profit company, but from a *non-profit company* Solution: ✅ Set a non-profit organization to standardize specs and tech ✅ Use open source software and hardware as base ✅ Have several for profit company's sell modules for the phone for competition ✅ Have educational institutions utilitise the hardware in teaching curriculum

I feel like 2018 is one of the final years of "yearly upgrades" in phones, at least from a technical standpoint. Phones are so powerful nowadays that they don't really feel slow even after a couple years (OnePlus, for example). So there is no need to upgrade for a long time. And each time you do, the time between upgrading gets longer and longer as technology advances.

It needs to come to fruition. It was such an amazing concept.

This concept will be revisited in 10 years once engineering and technology catches up.

I'm in Dave. I've wanted to contribute since I saw your idea years ago. to this date, it seems much needed and perhaps even more desirable

Hey Dave, I still believe that this approach is the future. Keep at it! Only a matter of time. I just bought the Insta360 modular camera and thought of the phoneblocks thunderclap from back in the day. All the best! Super Ivi, The Hashtag HERO

I'm really glad you were honest about Google. I was following you in the early days and I even made it into one of your promo videos after I submitted a picture holding the phonebloks sign, and I remember the Facebook post saying you teamed up with Google for Ara and then when they scrapped it I took a mental note to keep you in the back of my mind. It's too bad your idea didnt make it out earlier, but I'm looking forward to when it does release. You're fighting the good fight.

can't believe this guy himself pivoted the entire phone industry into modularity with his idea, amazing. I remember back when I was in high school reading about phone blocks. I didn't know project Ara was the same thing. I was so hyped for these devices to become a thing. I think the only ones who succeed in adding modularity to their phones was Motorola with their back attachments, nothing like the original idea.but it was something.

I've wondered about Phonebloks from time to time. Thanks for sharing! Would've supported the project as a consumer for sure.

i don't watch dave's video on internet.. always directly download & keep it in my laptop like a treasure :D

I only have to imagine my grandma with an ARA phone to put this into perspective. The market for modularity is almost only with the poor or environmentally-conscious geeks like me. I remember some of the last ARA builds, which included at least two different sizes, a giant module on the front next to the screen module, etc. They were bulky and when it came time to test selling it in a small region they found most people weren't interested. They already had a phone, a brand loyalty, a want for their phone to be as easy to understand as the next. So fragmentation and complication were its downfalls, sadly. I still wish they at least put it out to see what would happen. I would've loved to mess around with such a gadget.

No wonder why I was getting recommendation from PhoneBloks upload 5 years earlier a few days back. It predicted you'd be uploading now 🙌🙌

dude, you are a legend! thanks for pushing forward thinking!!

Tbh, i laughed just watching this video but I felt the pain too. I think the lack of an standardized port is the reason modular phones failed to be economically viable. If we look at how USB, SATA, PCI-E became the industry's standard, we should be taking note from it if we want modular phones to be an reality. Additionally, what I also think that modular phone failed is that manufacturers jump straight into designing a fully modular, hot-swappable phone and that just adds complexity and cost. What should've been done is that we focus on making damage prone parts modular first, the display and battery should be a good start. Then engineers should be able to work up from there. In regards about adding features to the phone: I think a USB Type C expansion back plate with the new standardized ports should suffice. But this just my opinions on what I believed caused it's demise and what I think should be done if the ideal of a modular phone was picked back up. (Hopefully)

Dave you are a hero to me. As in, old school hero. Doing something to save others. Thank you. 👍👍🤗

Dave, until we give big companies a way to make more profit making phones modular, they wont change the way they are doing them.

That was 5 years ago! Man, this makes me feel old.

Thank you for this update! So great to hear it from your side. I remember following this project with such a keen eye when you launched it and monitored Google’s progress closely, such a shame they pulled the brakes. They invented a brand new magnet for it ffs!!

Bring it to the chinese..they will comeup with something.

hopefully someday. always sucks when you need to throw something out because one small, but otherwise important piece breaks, even if the rest of it works fine.

So good to see this again!

Awesome 🎉A couple more years and then we will be happy that we made this a reality! Let's GO

Damm thanks for making a this video! I had been wondering what had happened to this idea; even though, it didn’t work out for google, I agree with you that this is an idea that will transcend in a loooong lapse of time,

Awesome! Y'know, the idea is still in the back of my mind, so when my phone broke recently I've been looking for a modular or fairphone. I was happy to find that some new phones have appeared, a german company producing Swiftphones (Swift6m for example) is one! And wanting to compare these modular phones I came across your Phoneblocks website, Swiftphones is missing!!

Thank you for this follow-up, no one ever does this and it's an honest and wise look-back on the progress so far. While the lego-brick modularity is in the wings (GOOGLE, DO IT), modular cellphones like the LG G5 and MotoZ deserve to live in future iterations.

03:37: Respect for you, guy! I'm using plain old phone too! Just because I'm tired about software incompatibility (obsolesce), fast OS version upgrade (which requires a new hardware), surveillance and permanent distraction.

Another 5 years here.....

RiP, man. I had been looking forward to this, forgot, then remembered only to find that it had come and gone. Seriously project Ara would have been great.

Thanks for the update!

I was seriously hyped for this back in 2013

I loved your video, continue !!

I hope one day this concept and idea will be rebooted. I would love a phone like that

They knew it was too good to be put out for business

had been following this for many years, I even presented this as part of my communication skills subject in my Uni back in 2015.... was really sad when I heard that the Project ARA was stopped. Anyway thanks for the great idea and kick starts of a new era Dave.

But the important question is... how about recycling them if the parts stop working or someone drops it into the toilet, etc?

A modular phone with the current brand name "Pixel" would have been such a good match. With the 2,000 HTC engineers moving over to Google, I thought they were going to resume ARA... not chase after the iPhone aesthetics with the 3rd Gen Pixel.

I wish you could develop your idea or somebody because your design looks soo clean and satisfying

I had the "modular" LG G5 mentioned in the video, it came with a default module with the same features as any other phone except for a loose connection. The only other module was a camera grip with additional controls so you could have physical buttons to control the digital zoom on the awful camera. You could not replace parts other than the bottom "module", and the removable battery, which was not a new feature, but one of the last phones with the ability to remove the batrery

On the bright side, modularity has become a thing again. Alienware made their laptop modular. The Area 51-m.

So i'm currently designing and making the second version of a well selling product for my company. Phone blocks inspired me like many others when the video was posted. Because of that i'm making this new design modular, it's upgradable, fixable, cooler, and generally future proof. As a small business trying to squeeze what profit we can out of our sales it didn't make sense to do this as our cost with go up and the end user does not care so he will want to pay the same price, so our profits will go down substantially. But because we are a small business doing well we made the decision to do this knowing we are helping our future selves, but a big company just sees, cost and reward right then and there.. I did some experimenting and development with the Project ARA dev kit and it was awesome, very cool idea and I think executed brilliantly. Such a shame that it's been shelved. Well done Dave for inspiring such a great change that needs to happen to all expensive electronics. Cost and profit is NOT everything, practicality, sustainability, need to come more into play. I don't care if the new iPadMacAppleOrange 3000 is only 5 hairs thick and weighs 5 tomatoes.. can it be upgraded or fixed it when it breaks?!

i feel like a kid when you say him that it's no santa claus :( all of my hopes are gone but i just want modular smartphone 😥😔😕😞 please JUST TRY TO DO IT AGAIN!!!

wow!! the google ones looked incredible, i would want to have this so much!

Wow the ARA phone prototypes seemed COOL, i remember watching the phonebloks a long time ago and idk i just remembered

You cite "software" for the reason Project Ara failed, but there really isn't much information out there about why exactly Google shelved it. A lot of people are saying that Google decided they would make less money with this kind of design. I would argue that the idealistic version of a modular phone would actually make them more money. I suspect that the reality is pretty complex, but based on Phandroid's video of the hands-on Project Ara phone, I think that it boils down to this: The project would have lead to a phone that costs more money and is worse in just about every aspect when compared to any other phone in a given price range. As much as I hate to say it, there it is.

thanks for the update!!

I work for Innominds. The company that makes Kite reference hardware platform. The modular phone that Shree made is based on Kite :)

One guy against the world and still there is people who complain about how their life goes on. Be the change you want to see in your life!

I remember watching this, I shared it on Facebook back the lmao. It’s sad that Google would just drop the project after working on it so hard. I hope one day we get phoneblocks, but I doubt.

I've got a Fairphone 2. I like it. But I haven't actually dealt with any modular aspect of it other than replacing the case (the launch one was just flawed in design) and the battery (if you buy a phone without a replaceable battery you really should reconsider if you should be in charge of your personal decisions). There's not that many modular parts available. I could get the camera upgrade but I practically never use the camera for high resolution/quality purposes. I suspect they were hoping for a larger customer base. The service profit opportunity for the fairphone must be massive if the scale provides.

I recall seeing the reason why it got sidelined was because all the modules were really expensive. And technology at the time couldn't make it cheaper. Maybe it'll be picked up in the future

I remember seeing your model on at the DDW a couple of years ago and I was really excited about it! Now, I'd rather buy a phone that has little to no fixed components (glued or locked instead of screwed). The drop in performance in favor of customizability is too much of a trade-off for me and I actually have very basic expectations of it, the same way someone has basic expectations from a PC when that person doesn't game or use it for demanding software like PS or CAD. There's a baseline in functionality that will serve the majority of the population and a phone that doesn't push that limit, can actually made to last. What I'd rather have, is a more modular laptop, because that can differ a lot. it's already sort of happening, like replacing the diskdrive with an SSD in a caddy, or upgrading your RAM. My preferences are different than other's expectations, because I run heavy(ish) software with little room for a desktop, while a salesperson wants more portability and battery life (maybe, just guessing). Even my own needs change from time to time, because it entirely rests on the project. To be able to change and upgrade my laptop, without being scared to break something would be awesome.

This would have been so great, we lost all of that thanks to corporate greed...

Alright then maybe I should finally see if my idea for a modular phone works

First time I hear about Phonebloks, 5 years later...

Phone companies survive on fast obsolescence of technology. The reason apple, Samsung and google are rich is because people keep buying new phones and that is a lot of phones and a lot of profit. If suddenly people like this modular phone and buy it , yes, they'll get a lot of money the first time. But the next year?-- people will buy only one or 2 new components. The companies will see their profit vanishing before their eyes. And what happens when 3rd party modules come up? no one gonna buy their Expensive upgrade modules. It would essentially be like killing their goose laying the golden eggs. Also the consumers are to blame. No matter how good and eco friendly the idea is, people will get BORED of a phone that looks the same and will want something DIFFERENT. Also with the speed at which technology is advancing , scaling it to fit the phoneblok design will be very difficult. And technology will probably outgrown the base-device of the phoneblok, within 3years. Which is the normal life cycle of a smartphone. I am sure it would reduce waste a lot. But in the end large corporation shove moral, ethics, and environment when they face a big potential loss or a big potential gain. In the end...money prevails. But I would definitely hope to see this come to fruition someday. Mayb some future tech will allow us to do so.

Hey man, just now I remembered Phonebloks and this idea of modular phones after watching Framework 16 laptop video. Would be nice if you can get in touch with them and, maybe, somehow, just revive this idea of modular phones. Hope one day in near future modular phones will really become a thing..

Wacht, ik wist niet dat dat bedacht was door een Nederlander. HOLY SHIT

love this idea!

That was you? Incredible! Also I was very frustrated to hear it being canceled. I was following the development like everyone else.

I remember reading about it...Back when i did not have Smartphone...I was hyped...

man I thought this was the coolest idea ever back in 2013

I tried using this idea of modular phone for my simulation module during my postgraduate program, which worked really well. It was impressive, and my presentation aroused the interest of all the listeners. How may I join this project as a marketing person? (my major is international business management)

i really want to see this phonebloks in mkbhd's hands... i love the design!

This was a bummer

the new fairphone is very promising

Dude, I really thought it were the greatest idea that could shape the electronic industry. But back then I had a level of naivete of an ideal future in quick sequence. I feel and understand the unspoken parts of the larger commercial and business forces that play around and wreck the process of making a better world through ideas. This is too good of an idea for the rotten world we in(covered in velvet drapes and heavily scented and perfumed). However, I just will say, awesome dude. Your individual mind has and can work wonders. Collaboration of artistic and intellectual natures should emerge once a larger portion of people are not made to run after petty luxuries beyond necessities. Perhaps, this is another idealistic phase in my life that brings me to say this in of that I haven't completely lost faith and hope in people.

a few days ago, my brain decided to remind me of phonebloks. Now I'm watching this video being sad.. because it would've been insane if we have it now.. but like everything in life, you can't always get what you want :')

awesome idea!!! hope you'll make it in the future. Thus there won't be so much electronic waste in the world.

It is sad that kite do not pass the kick-start... He should go to crowdsupply unstead

I use a smartphone but I always try to buy models from a few years ago. Second hand on ebay. The current one has lasted a couple of years so I bought another one the same as a backup. No need to make a new phone for me. Your modular idea is great though. Not surprised that Google took it and killed it sadly. Add ons for smartphones like better lenses for cameras, rechargeable external batteries and reduced app data size can work in a way similar to the modular phone. Also that nokia is a great phone. I had one many years ago. The thing is bulletproof! Thanks for another great thought provoking video!

When Apple is making harder and harder phones to repair. with parts that are a part of a bigger piece, this dream is probably won't happen in the foreseeable future. When I was working at Honeywell, I asked at an important meeting with people from the executive level in the meeting, if they are planning to consider manufacturing modules for this Phone.... THAT is how excited I was :(

I knew this would never catch on.

im designing my own now that google did that

Its still a concept someone can pick up

Sure Google dumped it, but the progress and speed they made before that just shows how damned advanced they are.

Reporting at the time showed project ara was in development prior to the phone block idea

What model is that nokia? I used to have one very similar. Its rubber casing is really drop proof. I miss that phone.

Damn, I would've loved this

I was super hyped for Project Ara a few years ago and I'm so dissapointed that it didn't work. But if the tech isn't ready then there's no reason to bring it to the market I suppose. I mean I can certainly see a lot of potential problems coming with a modular design that are difficult to fix.

Not so sure whether full modularity has a future. I suspect that the really awful speaker of my Fairphone 3 could be a lot better if it were glued to the rest of the screen to use it as a resonance body. With water and shock resistance becoming more important, every gap and wiggle room seems to be a disadvantage. Not a problem with glue. You also don't need to replace every component separately. Memory and processing power both get out of spec at roughly the same rate. They also don't tend to break. Properly built electronic components tend to outlast their obsolescence, at which point you're going to replace the entire mainboard. The radio module will also need to be changed, because a new, faster network has been developed. I think modularity is useful mostly for batteries and screens, the parts that usually break the fastest.

currently im using three phones with 5 active numbers. barely make 3 call a day ..

I never knew Jolla was interested, too!

It was and still is a good idea.just give it time as technology advances..i think a modular tablet is better tho..because there are those who use them for many different reasons.from gaming to music production to designing and at times all those require different specs and modififcations.anyways dont give up!you had a brilliant idea that will materialize in the future.

congrats, this got into top 10 videos today on walnut.tv

I remember when I first saw the phone blocks video I was blown away and I can’t believe something finally came up