A dreamer's dream: this modular smartphone concept can be fully exchanged, piece by piece

The idea behind modular smartphones has been thrown around for quite a bit. First, we had Project Ara — a smartphone that can have most of its components replaced and upgraded, just as if it were a PC. But Ara is still stuck in development limbo, and the first "modular" smartphone to hit the market was the LG G5, which is much more conservative with its interchangeable parts – so far, we've got a choice between the Cam Plus module and Hi-Fi Plus one. And, of course, we are just hours away from the unveiling of the Moto Z Style and Moto Z Play — two phones that we expect to have their own set of interchangeable modules.

Of course, whenever a high-profile tech ideas get thrown around in the vast space that is the Internet, 3D artists and designers will often pick up on it and inject their own ideas into the conversation, through concept drawings and renders. Out of fandom, out of passion, and for the challenge of doing it, we suppose.

So, talented designer Hege has decided to imagine a modular smartphone of his own — dubbed THOR, it's a device that can be fully disassembled and put together with parts, combined to the user's taste. Metal connectors, slide-in rails, and a number of bolts are what makes sure that the different components will find their place securely and the suggested modules include a fingerprint scanner, a dual-flash camera, different-styled backs, et cetera. While this is just a concept, it has certainly taken some ideas from the yet unreleased Project Ara. We wouldn't be surprised if the first-ever fully modular phone to become commercially available ends up employing similar ways to keep its parts together.



source: Designed by Hege