Phones have gotten a lot better over the past decade, with brands making important refinements that really push a design to its limits. And while refinement builds a better product, some would call it boring, and lacking innovation. Samsung, Google, and Apple are all companies that have fallen into this groove, but there was a time when innovative products looked to take over the market.
One device that really caught the attention of many was a modular phone from Google called Project Ara. Even ten years after its announcement, tech enthusiasts are still fascinated with a product that never managed to make it to retail. And while we’ve seen images and spec leaks in the past, a new video online is giving us our best look yet at some Project Ara prototypes.
A detailed look at Project Ara
The folks at 9to5Google picked up a video being shared on TikTok, giving eager viewers in 2025 a glimpse of something that could have been. The images come from the account “racoondetectionsquad” which looks to be a channel that shares images and videos of some of the best phones from the past 20 years.
In addition to retail models, it looks like the channel also has quite a collection of prototypes, with the Project Ara being showcased in a recent post. The user has a few models, with plenty of modules in tow as well. To be frank, it’s quite an impressive collection, considering that none of these made it to retail shelves.
As companies look to make devices slimmer, repairability is something that often takes a back seat. And while it’s a great idea to be able to repair and upgrade devices on your own, we haven’t seen all that much success when companies like Fairphone have tried to carry the torch.
Regardless, it’s cool to be able to see images of Project Ara in such detail even though it was canceled nearly ten years ago. And while I’d personally love to see a similar project in the future, I don’t think that’s in the cards with the current climate at Google. What are your thoughts about this? Would you buy a Project Ara-like device in 2026? Let us know in the comments.
