In the constantly growing era of technology, smartphone manufacturers have to be continuously developing their hardware designs and functions. In 2016, the hardware designs veered off the traditional uni-bodied brick design to a more modular one, where most of the functional parts of the phone can be removed and replaced.

The idea of a modular phone started to take shape when Google announced Project ARA in 2015 — an unnamed and upcoming modular smartphone. The idea behind this is customisation as well as the ability to upgrade all the functional parts. Meaning, if you bought a phone with an 8 megapixel (MP) camera initially, you can later replace it with a 13 or 16 MP one.

The modular design will lead to infinite possibilities for customisation and keep more money in consumers’ pockets. People would not have to buy the latest smartphone to get the latest hardware specifications when they can simply upgrade their existing device.

So far, both LG and Lenovo’s Motorola are the first two large manufacturers to take this modular approach with their flagship smartphones. LG released its LG G5 in February and the tech world was fascinated with the take on the modular design. The G5 was designed in such a way that the bottom chin (area below the screen) could be removed and replaced with different parts called LG Friends. To create this removal bottom, LG had to use some less than premium materials on the phone body.

Lenovo’s Moto take on modular design went closer to old concepts of attaching external devices to the smartphone. So the Moto Z, the next generation to replace the Moto X line, was designed with basic modular functionalities. Instead of having removable core parts, the Moto Z gives the consumer the ability to add modular parts to the back of the phone via docking pins. To accommodate the additional parts at the back of the phone, Lenovo made the Moto Z very thin, so thin that the device no longer has the 3.5 millimetre headphone jack. Audio jacks must now gain access through the USB type-C port.

With LG and Lenovo’s Motorola going full force with modular designs on their 2016 flagship smartphones, one has to ask if modular designs are the future.

But, what do people think? With help from the largest Android user community, GOOGLE+, I accessed feedback on the new approach. Two polls were done over a 7-day period from May 13-19. Poll 1 sought to find out if people would buy a modular phone while Poll 2 sought general thoughts on modular designs.

The findings suggest that many Android users are not swept away by the modular designs. However, with a number of respondents willing to buy modular phones, the android community is hopeful that the designs will get better in the future and change smartphone hardware as we know it.

Anthony Stewart is an MSc Economics student at the University of the West Indies. He can be contacted at as.anthonystewart@gmail.com