Is 2016 the year of the modular phone? While the concept of the modular phone has been floating around for a couple of years now, the launch of the LG G5 seems to herald the entry into a new market. Google has also officially confirmed that Project Ara will be seeing a commercial release next year.
So could it be Apple’s turn next? Nope, before you get too confused, Apple isn’t building a modular phone, nor are there any signs to suggest that they are. Instead what we are looking at is the Otterbox uniVERSE case that has been designed for the iPhone in mind, in which it will give the handset modular capabilities.
For the most part, the uniVERSE case seems to be share more similarities with the LG G5 than Project Ara. For starters unlike Ara where you can have multiple customizations at once, the uniVERSE case will rely on a slotted rail expansion at the bottom of the phone where users can slide in a variety of modules.
The company has partnered with various companies like SanDisk, Polar Pro, and Olloclip, just to name a few. This will allow users to add things like camera lenses, extra battery, a Square card reader, expandable memory, and more. The uniVERSE case has been designed to support the iPhone 6/6s and 6/6s Plus. The modules will be priced differently, ranging from $20 and going up to $250, so if you’d like to check them out, head on over to Otterbox’s website for the details.