Building a smartphone with modular components that could be quickly swapped out for different parts sounds like a really cool idea, but Google is ready to admit no one actually wants one.
The Alphabet Inc. company has reportedly suspended Project Aura, its modular smartphone concept that it hoped would help solidify it as a hardware company after striking out with Google Glass.
Google sounded like it was making a big push with Project Aura at its developer conference in May, where it revealed a developer unit would be made available this fall. Reuters reports that Google no longer plans to release a phone itself.
The tech behind Project Aura could make its way into other smartphones through licensing. Motorola and LG both launched smartphones with simplified modular capabilities this year, but they’re not exactly flying off shelves.
Now that Project Aura and Google Glass are dead Google can now focus more on its Chromebooks which has been its most popular hardware project thus far.
