Google's work-in-progress modular smartphone, Project Ara, got one step closer to reality this week when the company announced it had secured a custom-built processor for the handset's third prototype iteration courtesy of Chinese CPU maker Rockchip.
The project, which started off under the direction of Motorola before Google sold the subsidiary to Lenovo, aims to build a smartphone that can be upgraded by the user at any time using a series of modules. Google's ATAP team, now in charge of the project, announced the deal with Rockchip earlier this week, with the custom-made Rockchip CPU set to replace the Texas Instruments OMAP 4660 used in current prototypes.
The new processor is set to arrive with a native general-purpose interface that means it won't require a bridge chip - simplifying the design versus older prototypes, and potentially reducing the overall cost of the handset.
"We view this Rockchip processor as a trailblazer for our vision of a modular architecture where the processor is a node on a network with a single, universal interface - free from also serving as the network hub for all of the mobile device's peripherals," Paul Eremenko, Google ATAP's head of Project Ara, said of the announcement.
Unfortunately for developers that won prototype units at Google I/O earlier this year, the company also announced a delay in manufacturing prototype devices that means the first handsets aren't expected to arrive until next month. Aparently critical components were plated with the wrong material in the factory, forcing a redesign. Google will be rescheduling its Project Ara design challenge, where developers and hardware designers were encouraged to create unique modules for the handset, as a result.
Google expects the first Rockhip-powered handsets to be demoed in early 2015, but we're still waiting for word on a full retail release.
