Phonebloks is a new concept for a mobile phone with a replaceable screen and easily moveable, changeable “bloks”, each containing a different element such as battery, chipset, gyroscope and so on that would give users a chance to choose from a range of components, and replace or upgrade them when necessary.
A phone only lasts a couple of years before it breaks or becomes obsolete. Although it’s often just one part that killed it, we throw everything away because it’s almost impossible to repair or upgrade.
The idea, by Dutch designer Dave Hakkens, came about when Hakkens realised that if a device could be taken apart and restructured more easily it would last much longer (and minimise electrical waste).
And so the idea of Phonebloks was born.
Bloks can be developed for specific needs. Solar powered batteries, sensitive screen for blind people, lightweight for travelers etc.
“Let’s say this is your phone and you do everything in the cloud - why not replace your storage blok with a bigger battery blok?” says Hakkens. “If you’re like this guy and love to take pictures, why not upgrade your camera?”
The bloks themselves would be available from a ‘Blokstore’, like an app store for hardware. In the store you buy your bloks, read reviews and sell old bloks. Small and big companies develop and sell their bloks. You can buy a pre-assembled phone or assemble it yourself by selecting the brands you want to support. The choice is yours.
And the platform can be adapted into other sizes to create new devices like tablets, cameras etc.
But at the moment, it’s just an idea.
For Phonebloks to happen, it totally depends on companies thinking there is a market for it, so the more people that are interested, the sooner companies start working on it.
