Over the past year we’ve had some interesting developments come to our dear mobile industry. Aside from larger displays, curved displays, and fingerprint sensors, we’ve also been introduced to the concept of modular smartphones - first as Phonebloks, and later when Phonebloks turned into Google’s Project Ara, which is said to be available sometime within the next year.

So what exactly is a “modular” smartphone? Basically, it’s a smartphone that’s primarily made out of individual modules (didn’t see that one coming, did you?) that you, the user, pick out. It’s a design that not only lets you practically design your own smartphone, but it allows you to control which features your phone has based on your own personal needs. This also means that if your needs change somewhere down the line, you only need to replace the module instead of the entire phone. It’s a cool and time-saving idea in theory, but the question remains whether it will actually work in the real world.

Hopes must be high, however, because we're no longer only discussing the prospect of modular smartphones. A new company, Blocks, wants to take the “module” idea and apply it to smartwatches as well. The same principles apply: you pick which modules are most important to you, and the modules will make up the “band” of your smartwatch. Does your smartwatch need more battery life? Add a battery module. Would you prefer an LCD display or an ePaper display? Simply switch the module to your liking, and so on and so forth.

The idea of a modular smartwatch struck me as bizarre at first, but then I realized that a modular smartphone struck me in the same way. It’s unfamiliar, of course, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t work. In fact, I’m inclined to say that a modular smartwatch might be what’s needed in order to help smartwatches take off, and here’s why.

I wrote an article the other day explaining that if I were to ever get a smartwatch, the Pebble smartwatch would be for me. I went on to explain that I liked Pebble because it focused on the points that I thought a smartwatch should focus on. I feel that most smartwatches in the market today are trying too hard to be a smartphone - but that’s solely my opinion. My vision of what makes a perfect smartwatch is not shared by everyone. With a modular smartwatch, it wouldn’t really matter. Each individual can design his or her smartwatch to fit their individual needs.

Sound too good to be true? Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t.

Just like modular smartphones, the idea that users like you and me have almost complete control over how our smartphones work might sound like a far away dream. It might sound like it would completely destroy whatever smartphone empire is currently in existence. What will happen to companies like Samsung, HTC, Apple, and everybody else who currently make some of the world’s most popular smartphones? In short: probably nothing, at least for a while.

Modular smartphones, or smartwatches for that matter, probably won’t take off as rapidly as something like the iPhone did. It might not ever really take off, as far as we know. There’s the possibility that modular design might someday overrule the way we currently see smartphones (see: when smartphones took over feature phones, when feature phones took over flip phones, etc.) but I imagine that our current smartphone set-up will still be around for years to come at this point. Modular design won’t be for everybody. I know plenty of people who would rather not bother with it at all - they just want something that works. That’s where today’s smartphones come in.

I can’t help but be a little optimistic about both Ara and the prospect of modular smartwatches. The option to customize our own device has been long-awaited in the industry, and thus far has only gone as far as color choices, or more recently, Motorola’s Moto Maker. Even then, mere design choices isn’t the depth that some have been hoping for.

I believe that modular design has a place in the industry, whether it’s smartphones or smartwatches. I think either gadget could benefit from such a design, although I have to admit that I’m a little skeptical on how well the modular smartwatch will do simply because the design doesn’t seem as solid as the design for the smartphones currently do. With that being said, I suppose we will soon be able to see whether such a method will work or not. 

Images via Blocks