Modular smartphones seemed like a joke for a very long time. It’s the kind of thing engineers would roll their eyes at if you brought it up over dinner. LG gave it a shot. Google gave it a shot. Both appeared somewhat embarrassed as they left. Ten years later, however, we are once more discussing phones that can be disassembled, reassembled, and kept functional long after the typical upgrade cycle would have pushed them into a drawer.
It’s difficult to ignore how subtly this comeback has been developing. There were no glitzy keynote addresses, celebrity endorsements, or eye-catching teaser videos. Rather, the revival has come from smaller, primarily European businesses operating out of unglamorous offices and arguing, sometimes loudly, that the disposable smartphone economy is finally coming to an end. People in their twenties and thirties are using tiny screwdrivers to pry open phones in a Fairphone repair shop in Amsterdam. This is the kind of scene that would have seemed ridiculous in 2017.
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Concept | Modular Smartphone |
| Original Pioneer | Google’s Project Ara (2013–2016) |
| First Mainstream Attempt | LG G5, launched in 2016 |
| Reason for Initial Failure | Poor implementation, weak module ecosystem, lukewarm sales |
| Recent Revival Players | Fairphone, HMD, smaller European startups |
| Key Selling Point | Repairability and reduced electronic waste |
| Regulatory Tailwind | EU Right-to-Repair rules, USB-C mandate |
| Estimated Repair-Phone Market Size | Growing at roughly 11% annually |
| Notable Modern Brand | Fairphone, based in Amsterdam |
| Outlook | Cautiously optimistic, still niche |
The change is due to a combination of political and pragmatic factors. More than any consumer demand, Europe’s right-to-repair regulations have pushed the industry toward modularity. Apple complained. Samsung made a change. Smaller companies saw an opportunity and began creating phones with standardized ports, swappable camera assemblies, and replaceable batteries. The old game of “buy, break, buy again” seems to have lost its appeal, particularly among younger consumers.
It’s interesting to note how this generation of modular phones differs in appearance from the LG G5. There is no awkward space where the chin meets the body, nor is there a complicated bottom-loading mechanism. Rather, internal modularity has become the new design philosophy; the seams are hidden unless you look for them. It’s not as loud. It’s more of an engineering decision than a marketing ploy. This could be the only reason it’s working this time.
Skepticism is still beneficial. The major manufacturers have not demonstrated a genuine desire to follow, and modular phones still only make up a small portion of the global market. The exact opposite of what modularity requires, Samsung and Apple have spent years optimizing for thinness and tightly sealed builds. It’s possible that this comeback will remain specialized indefinitely, akin to the Birkenstock segment of the phone business—respected, morally upright, but never mainstream.
And yet. There’s a change in the atmosphere as you watch this play out. A generation that grew up witnessing their parents discard perfectly good electronics is raising more challenging questions, repair cafés are opening in cities that would not have welcomed them five years ago, and the discourse surrounding e-waste has intensified. The intuition behind Project Ara survived its demise.
The fact that we are discussing modular phones once more—seriously, this time—says something, regardless of whether they become the future or remain a stubborn footnote. Perhaps the dream was correct. Perhaps it was too early.
