Google's modular smartphone Ara is still breathing and will launch in 2017

During the Google I/O 2016 developer conference, the company gave an update on its "Project Ara" modular smartphone. Google says the consumer version of the phone will launch sometime in 2017.

During the ATAP panel at Google I/O, the Ara Developer Edition was shown onstage. It was running a version of Android wth six separate hardware modules, which work with no driver updates or rebooting of the phone. The demo even showed how the camera module could be removed by voice command.

The panel also showed some examples of Ara modules, such as one that can monitor blood sugar levels for people who have diabetes. Google plans to offer the Ara Developer Edition sometime in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Google also briefly showed a teaser of the consumer Ara phone, which is supposed to be thin and light. Google did not state how much modules for Ara might cost, nor did it give a price for the full Ara consumer phone.