Project Ara is a platform still in development - not yet ready for the consumer market. There are still parts of the phone that are works in progress and/or require more research before final market readiness. Security is one issue that remains in the Ara project for now - battery life is another. One thing - actually, several parts - that are actually confirmed and working are all in physical hardware - the Endo base of the phone and Module pieces. How do you interchange them? How are these Modules mounted on the base?
The most important feature in Project Ara is interchangeability. Each individual piece, or module, is held to the Endo (base of the device) via magnets. Since it's especially important that no module falls off of a Project Ara device, Google isn't using regular magnets. They’re approaching it with a technology known as electro-permanent magnets.
Electro-permanent magnet technology allows Google to selectively switch on or off each magnet's grip with a short surge of power. Once the switch is on, the magnetic pad latches one part to the other, but doesn’t require a constant power surge.
Simplified, the modules stay in place when you need them to, and become easily removable when you want or need to switch them out. All without placing too much strain and demand on the battery.
See more in our full hands-on with Project Ara right now!