Google reportedly has shelved modular phone plan, may rebrand Nexus

Google has shelved Project Ara, the company’s ambitious program to develop modular smartphones with interchangeable components like cameras, batteries, and speakers, reports Reuters.

Apparently, Google has decided not to release the product itself, but it may license Project Ara to hardware manufacturers.

Project Ara was being handled by Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects group after it was launched by Motorola (which Google acquired) three years ago.

The big question is, how would this affect the other proposed modular smartphones. Puzzlephone announced earlier this week that its first shipment of devices won’t be ready this year, due to a cash-flow slowdown in the public funds committed by the European Commission to the project.

Meanwhile, markets are abuzz with rumors regarding Google’s new non-nexus lineup.

A report from AndroidPolice says two new devices are coming this year, one 5-inch phone called the Pixel and other a 5.5-inch phone called the Pixel XL that are reusing a brand that Google has also applied to Chromebooks and an Android tablet.

HTC branding will apparently not appear on the devices that will debut on 4th October. The report also sheds some light on other hardware, including an upgraded Chromecast ready for 4K video called the Chromecast Plus or Ultra, and a new Daydream VR headset that Google announced during I/O 2016.

The company will also use the event to provide more details on Google Home, a small speaker that seems to be Google’s answer to Amazon’s Echo. Other details on prices or release dates are still unknown and also Google is yet to comment on these reports or confirm the date.