You can be on Entrepreneur’s cover!

Watch: Google Unveils Working Prototype of Project Ara, Its Modular Smartphone The device would allow for radical personalization in terms of both functionality and aesthetics.

By Geoff Weiss

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Today, Google's dream of a modular smartphone -- an initiative dubbed Project Ara -- has inched one step closer to reality.

While technologically ambitious, a device in which different blocks can be affixed and detached -- keyboards, cameras, batteries, speakers and storage, for instance -- would allow for radical personalization in terms of both functionality and aesthetics.

The Project Ara team released a video showcasing one of its first working prototypes, the Spiral 1. Though clunky, an improved version called the Spiral 2 will be unveiled at a developer conference in January.

Related: Google Is Developing an Ingestible Cancer-Detecting Pill

In the video, Ara Knaian, a tech lead for whom the project is named, explains that the Spiral 1 doesn't leave a lot of space for developers, who will eventually be able to create various modules that attach to the phone's frame. With the forthcoming Spiral 2, however, "most of the area should be available for the developers function" thanks to custom chips created by Toshiba, Knaian says.

Knaian also describes the "magic moment" of finally receiving physical prototype parts after having envisioned the device for months, and recounts his delight when the gadget first passed its "smoke test" -- so named, he explains, because "your primary thought at that point is, "Is this thing gonna start smoking?'"

Watch the early prototype power up in the video below:

Related: BlackBerry CEO: Don't Be Tempted By Trendy, Popular Phones. Buy Ours Instead.

Geoff Weiss

Former Staff Writer

Geoff Weiss is a former staff writer at Entrepreneur.com.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

From Tom Brady to Kevin O'Leary – See Who Lost Big in the Wake of the FTX Crypto Collapse

The crash exposed an $8 billion hole in FTX's accounts, leaving investors and customers scrambling to recoup their funds.

Business News

Mark Zuckerberg Says This CEO Is the 'Taylor Swift' of Tech

Meta's CEO posed with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Instagram Wednesday.

Business News

This Highly-Debated Piece of Cinematic History Just Sold For Over $700,000 at Auction

The wood panel from "Titanic" is often mistaken as a door. Either way, he couldn't have fit. (Sorry.)

Money & Finance

5 Simple Wealth-Building Tips For This Generation's Forward-Thinkers

Explore practical finance tips for young professionals striving to overcome economic challenges.

Leadership

What We Have to Gain By Talking About Grief and Loss At Work

I lost my husband to cancer during Covid — here's how it changed how I lead at work.