You might recall the rather ambitious plan that Motorola and a company called Phonebloks have to create a fully-modular smartphone that can be customised to suit a user’s needs. They’re not the only company thinking about an easy-to-customise smartphone, Chinese company ZTE has had their eye on a similar device called the Eco-Mobius for some time.
ZTE presented a concept of the Eco-Mobius at CES this year, something that Motorola’s Project Ara has yet to do. Reports state that ZTE kept the concept device behind glass for the duration of the event but visitors were able to see just how various components, like RAM, processors, cameras and the like can be swapped out for different or upgraded parts.
It seems that hopes for a modular smartphone will have to be pinned on Motorola’s Project Ara however, The Verge reports that ZTE was very definite about the company not putting their Eco-Mobius phone into development. There is speculation that engineers at the company may be working on a way to put the device into production but nothing along those lines has even been hinted at as yet.
Source: The Verge