Google's Modular Smartphone Gets a January 2015 Launch Date

The Project Ara device will have a $50 starting price.

At the first Ara Developers Conference, happening now in Mountain View, California, Google developers took to the stage to discuss their modular smartphone project. We already knew that the most basic model would be available at a starting price of about $50, but CNET reports that team leader Paul Eremenko told conference attendees yesterday that a gray version of the Project Ara device is slated to go on sale in January of 2015.

Image Source: Project Ara/Google

The color option might not tickle your fancy, but the choice is a deliberate one. Functional modular hardware isn't the only selling point of Project Ara. Eremenko made it clear that the team's goal for the device is maximum customization, which includes aesthetics; as a color choice, gray represents a blank slate that future users can personalize to their heart's content. The Project Ara website shows a few possibilities, from monochromatic gray blocks to bright, bold hues.

Image Source: Project Ara/Google

Also discussed was Project Ara's expected timeline. For it to be made available for purchase early next year, a few milestones must be met first. The device will run Android, but the operating system is not designed with modular components in mind, so the team is looking to have a version of Android that can support the drivers used by Project Ara ready by December. It's a tight deadline, but one that Eremenko and Regina Dugan, former director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and current head of Google's Advanced Technology and Projects division are confident they can meet.