Google Project Ara tablet rumors and news

By Julian Chokkattu February 8, 2016

Project Ara — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Google’s Project Ara hasn’t exactly been in the news all that much, but that might change with a product launch this year.

If you don’t remember, Project Ara lets users swap out parts of their smartphone, so that you don’t need to upgrade the entire phone every year or so — just a specific “block,” such as the camera. This lessens the burden of cost for users, who can just purchase these blocks to upgrade their device, rather than spending upwards of $500 for a new device with slightly updated hardware.

In a tweet last summer, Google’s Project Ara division tweeted that a product launch would be delayed to 2016. Up until now, what was expected was a modular phone — but a GFXBench listing reveals a 13.8-inch tablet.

While we can’t verify the details or the listing, GFXBench describes the tablet running Android 6.0 Marshmallow, with a 1,920 x 1,080p display. That’s not going to be the sharpest looking display, as it’s spread across a large 13.8-inch display. The purported tablet will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810, with an Adreno 430 GPU.

What’s odd is while the device has 3GB of RAM, the listing also shows internal storage of 10GB and 25GB. Now, apart from taking this information with a grain of salt, it could be that these are modular parts that you can swap out at any time for the device.

The purported tablet comes with all the sensors you’d typically expect — from Bluetooth to GPS to NFC, and more. While we don’t know the exact release date of the device, this could be the product launch Google referred to in the tweet last year. If anything, there’s no doubt we’ll be learning a great deal more at the Google I/O developer conference beginning on May 18.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Julian Chokkattu

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Julian is the mobile and wearables editor at Digital Trends, covering smartphones, fitness trackers, smartwatches, and more…

Mobile

Apple and Google are teaming up to make tracking devices less creepy

Apple AirTag lifestyle image.

Apple and Google are partnering to develop a new standard for Bluetooth tracking devices that seeks to stop malicious stalking and other abusive use of gadgets like the Apple AirTag. Essentially, this would be a universal, OS-level tracker detection and alert system that will work uniformly across Android and iOS. The two companies are inviting stakeholders to review the proposal and submit their feedback within the next three months.

Once the feedback period is over, all the involved parties will work together to finalize the technical standardization, with the hope of releasing a market-ready version by the end of the year. Following the release and adoption by makers of tracking devices, the tech will be generally made available via a software update for Android and iOS devices.
Better late than never

Mobile

This new Android tablet has an e-ink screen that destroys the Kindle

Tab C Ultra by Onyx

Onyx is one of the few brands that seem bullish about the potential of e-ink screens, and it makes fairly impressive products while at it. I recently got my hands on the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra with a monochrome e-ink display and was pleasantly surprised by its unique appeal. Now, the company is taking a big leap with a new variant that replaces the black and white screen with a full-color e-ink panel on its latest tablet — something the Kindle has never been able to achieve.

Say hello to the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C, an Android tablet that stands out with its 10.3-inch color e-ink screen. This one boosts the resolution to 2480 x 1860 pixels, offering a higher pixel density compared to its monochrome sibling. Onyx has deployed what it calls a Kaleido3 screen on its latest tablet, which promises “soothing and soft tones.” The electronic ink panel looks and feels more like a newspaper than a glossy screen and also happens to be easier on the eyes without minimal risks of visual fatigue.

Mobile

The Pixel Tablet’s killer accessory may have an eye-watering price

The Google Pixel Table and the Speaker Dock seen from the back.

The Pixel Tablet is one of Google's most hotly anticipated pieces of new hardware. But rumor has it that for users to make the most out of the tablet, they'll need to spend some extra cash.

There's been much speculation regarding the charging speaker dock that was featured in the announcement videos for the Pixel Tablet, especially since Google didn't say much about it during the reveal. However, a recent leak seems to suggest that Pixel Tablet owners will need to buy the dock separately.