Phones have gotten a lot better over the past decade, with brands making important refinements that really push a design to its limits. And while refinement builds a better product, some would call it boring, and lacking innovation. Samsung, Google, and Apple are all companies that have fallen into this groove, but there was a time when innovative products looked to take over the market.<\/p>\n
One device that really caught the attention of many was a modular phone from Google called Project Ara<\/a>. Even ten years after its announcement, tech enthusiasts are still fascinated<\/a> with a product that never managed to make it to retail. And while we’ve seen images and spec leaks in the past, a new video online is giving us our best look yet at some Project Ara prototypes. <\/p>\n A detailed look at Project Ara<\/p>\n The folks at 9to5Google<\/a> picked up a video being shared on TikTok<\/a>, giving eager viewers in 2025 a glimpse of something that could have been. The images come from the account “racoondetectionsquad” which looks to be a channel that shares images and videos of some of the best phones from the past 20 years. <\/p>\n In addition to retail models, it looks like the channel also has quite a collection of prototypes, with the Project Ara being showcased in a recent post. The user has a few models, with plenty of modules in tow as well. To be frank, it’s quite an impressive collection, considering that none of these made it to retail shelves. <\/p>\n As companies look to make devices slimmer<\/a>, repairability is something that often takes a back seat. And while it’s a great idea to be able to repair and upgrade devices on your own, we haven’t seen all that much success when companies like Fairphone have tried to carry the torch<\/a>. <\/p>\n Regardless, it’s cool to be able to see images of Project Ara in such detail even though it was canceled nearly ten years ago<\/a>. And while I’d personally love to see a similar project in the future, I don’t think that’s in the cards with the current climate at Google. What are your thoughts about this? Would you buy a Project Ara-like device in 2026? Let us know in the comments. <\/p>\n