The Moto X is one of the most customisable smartphones on the market, users can pick a range of different colors and design the phone to look the way they want it when it comes out of the box, but it is still a long way from what people can do with a PC.
Motorola wants to develop a modular phone similar to the Phonebloks idea and sell it to consumers. Where many were quick to denounce the Phonebloks idea as a dream and unlikely to ever happen, they now have backup from one of the oldest mobile providers.
The company has said they will make it out of endoskeleton modules and we believe this will be the next generation of Moto X. Instead of just having the color customisable, what if the user could pick what processor, battery, camera and storage they wanted and then in two years, swap it out for enhanced components.
Motorola will develop an open hardware platform for third parties to develop components on and offer on the smartphone. This is without a doubt the biggest leap forward Phonebloks needs to actually gain recognition from big companies like Qualcomm, Sony and other manufacturers who make the displays, processors, memory and cameras for smartphones.
Not everything looks great, Motorola has still not discussed a time frame and we do not know how bigger batteries will fit on the current concept design. The current design allows parts designed to a certain dimension, Phonebloks offered a board with no closed boxes.
Whatever happens, Motorola’s involvement in modular smartphones with Google’s backing can only mean exciting things in the future. We are sure Samsung, HTC and others will either belittle or hop on board this idea, perhaps some day the biggest brand manufacturer will be the one with the most exclusive components.