http://www.projectara.com/

if it turns out to be good i'm willing to ditch my iPhone for it.

That mess will flop.

I don't see this happening. It's been in the pipeline for what, 4 years now? Carriers also wouldn't be here for it because it would kill the upgrade cycle they so much depend on. Maybe it will fill out its own niche like the yotaphone

...... well thanks for your contribution

they're pilot testing here in PR this year, let's see how it goes.

Puerto Rico? Lucky!! When does it start? I didn't know they were this close to releasing it.
I have a question though. When you want to upgrade the phone where do you buy the parts? Like it's there a 'PartsStore"

Adaptive screens with keyboards and buttons that rise up out of the screen when you need them.

Apple placed a patent on the technology a while back.

http://www.cnet.com/news/a-keyboard-...touch-screens/

^^^ similar concept

That's very cool but at the same time I can just call it a day, and get one of those Ryan Seacrest (???) keyboard add-ons. I'm Interested in seeing what Apple will do with this technology though

If I understood correctly Google will be a US carrier soon. Project Ara or whatvlever it is called is under Google's wings so there will be a fierce competition.

i honestly haven't really checked any news lately, last thing i found out was about the pilot testing. but with this new thread i might go hunt for more news about the project.


i think the upgrades will be treated as cellphone accessories because if i'm not mistaken the phone will come equipped with the necessities. however one thing that's cool about this is the market of trading.... you can trade any upgrade with your friends or family, it won't be locked or exclusive just for your phone. i think that's what makes this project exciting, it'll bring a whole new aspect of socializing with phones

ip4 was the last one.

It's not dead, it just doesn't pay.

Look at the Blackberry Passport... square phone with candybar keyboard, powerful specs, you can sideload Android apps.. this is innovation in this market. If Apple came out with something like this it would be a showstopper, a game changer. The keyboard is both a touch pad and can be used to type... this is significant leaps in the smartphone market and you can't even use the "but Blackberry has no apps!" excuse because of the ability to download straight from the Google Play store. The only thing lacking is Google Play services and guaranteed, this is not what's stopping people from purchasing the phone. They probably have no idea what that even is.

And Windows is attempting to innovate, but not as much through form factor (or really, we don't know yet because the new phones haven't been announced still). Universal apps is on the way which is a SIGNIFICANT leap in the smartphone world, and they're using a cheat code to get us all on board faster too by providing the Windows 10 update free. iOS/Android apps can be converted over to Windows with a few clicks and minor changes, this is a huge game changer. Then Continuum... the ability to plug your smartphone into a monitor and essentially have a netbook at your disposal is unheard of and obviously requires phones much more powerful than Apple and Samsung have been putting out (and Windows.. hence the wait). Being able to make purchases using face detection.. that's what we've learned so far, this is pretty big stuff.

The LG Flex 2 is curved... the Sony line went hard with waterproofing phones (which is shockingly useful)... the LG G4 tries to be a DSLR in a smartphone (shout out to the 808/Zoom phones too for trying)... gestures over most newer devices so you don't have to touch the screen... another random example, the deviation from a smartphone dedicated camera button in favor of flicking the phone to open the camera (Moto X), you've got very durable Android phones through the CAT line... people don't care still.

There is definitely innovation. The GP just doesn't give a **** because they don't put any research into their phones, they just go with whatever phone kinda sounds good and is a decent price on contract OR they figure it's time to upgrade from x device and go with the next iteration. The GP just don't put much thought into it, so they have no idea what's going on, so smartphone companies can't justify huge innovations because no one will notice anyway.

Not me reading this and thinking it was the OP

This is marketing 101 though,

they probably have a bunch of new features lined up, but they will incorporate them one by one over the next decade so y'all will buy 3-5 new phones and not just 1 awesome one.

I have an iPhone 5 and I can't see myself needing anything more. The TouchID on a 5s would be useful but I can punch in my 4 digit pin just as fast, upside down, drunk and half asleep. No big deal there.

The main thing that would be nice is more storage and a more desktop like system. I don't want the adult pictures I have from Tumblr saved as IMG_0001-IMG_9999 and have it start all over. Because when I transfer them to folders on my computer it gets complicated. Seriously I have 39 folders of Tumblr nudes and it's all such a mess. One day I'm going to have to organize this crap instead of having it in the right place from the start

I feel like we're running out of ideas for now