The idea of modular phones have been surfacing recently as the technology within them is becoming increasingly advance. But what exactly is a modular phone? A modular phone is one where all the parts can be completely removed and replaced. A semi modular phone is one where some of the parts can be removed and replaced but not all of them. This removal and addition makes it so that any problem can be fixed.

The amount of smartphones used by consumers is multiplying exponentially as time continues. With the majority of phones, problems begin to arise around after 1 year of usage or sometimes after even 6 months. And, most of the time people call the 2 year mark the time to get a new phone as the problems become unbearable. Some of the more common problems that begin to occur are that the phone begins to slow down and the battery life begins to shorten. These are the problems that usually push us to get new phones. This causes us to shell out more money to the electronic stores and eventually go through the same two year process of getting a new phone, having problems, and again buying a new phone. The cycle continues to repeat but with these new modular phones this cycle can be broken.

Every time your phone begins to slow down you wont have to go out to buy a new phone but you can instead replace the part that is causing your phone to slow down. When your battery begins to shorten and your phone begins to slow down you can replace those parts individually to make them seem like new. Not only can you replace parts but you can also upgrade them. Want more memory? Want a better camera? Want better screen? Want to change port for charging? Want a better speaker? You can have it all! And the best part is you don’t have to get a whole new phone.

LG tried to take a swing at making a modular phone with their newest flagship phone: the LG G5. This is not a fully modular phone as it is only semi modular. The reason is that the only part that can be changed is the battery and a few exterior accessories can be added. LG did solve the problems associated with the battery but nothing else can be changed so in the end it is still the same as every other phone and you will most likely still have to get a new phone in two years.

Google was the first company to develop a fully modular phone. They teamed up with Motorola and in 2015 they released the latest iteration known as the spiral 2 which is being used for testing. They will be releasing a consumer version in 2017. Their version is one that is aimed to be a true modular phone where any part can be swapped out and upgraded at the choice of the user.

With modular phones, problems can be fixed at an instant by swapping a part out. And, when new phones comes out with a killer feature, you don’t have to wait or spend a ton of money to get it as you can just upgrade your own phone to do the same thing. With modular phones you are now in control of it and the possibilities are endless making it so everyone can have phone that is perfect for them.