Project Ara is a very interesting project and I know they have a lot of very smart people working on it, but I can't help but think that it's an evolutionary dead end. To my eye, the future isn't modules integrated with the phone itself, but modules out there, self-contained and communicating wirelessly. Who's going to put a fitness tracker module in their phone instead of having one built into their shoe or watch? Who's going to put an environmental sensor there, where it'll track their pocket humidity? Customizing is good, and people should be able to, say, upgrade the camera for an extra $30 or what have you — that's limited by manufacturing processes, alas.
I just feel Ara is going to end up in the "curiosities" pile of tech history, having looked years into the wrong future.
I just feel Ara is going to end up in the "curiosities" pile of tech history, having looked years into the wrong future.