A disassembled Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone. Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Rumors are rampant that another modular smartphone is in the works — and this time not by a tech powerhouse like Google. A Finland-based startup called Vsenn has indicated that it will be releasing more information soon about a smartphone focused on security and customizability.
The company’s sparse website describes the three modules that will be upgradeable and replaceable as the camera, battery and processor/RAM. Data will also be “protected using triple layer encryption”. Vsenn will provide free access to a VPN network and a secure cloud as well, and the phone will come with pure stock Android software.
PC World says it reached out to Helder Vicente — a spokesperson for Vsenn — who said a press release to be issued next week will have more details on the phone, and will reveal the identity of the manager of the project. Vsenn has said that the overseer is an ex-Nokia X program manager. (Microsoft shut down Nokia X — another Android-based phone project — earlier this year when it decided to focus on creating Lumia-branded Windows phones.)
This is the second modular smartphone that has been revealed to be in production, and Vsenn’s project — along with Google’s Project Ara — indicates a further shift in the desires of many mobile consumers. A few companies sought to change phone security and functionality following Edward Snowden’s NSA leaks in 2013: communications security company Silent Circle partnered with Spain-based smartphone startup Geeksphone to bring ultra-encrypted Blackphone to market; FreedomPop revealed earlier this year that it was working on Privacy Phone; and Boeing announced Boeing Black — a phone that can self-destruct data and is designed mainly for government workers.
Google’s Project Ara made headlines this year as the first modular smartphone, which was aimed at providing interchangeable sections of the physical phone that allows users to customize both functionality and hardware. The company opened up a developer project this past summer. But Vsenn seems as though it is trying to combine both customizability and thorough security — two elements that will likely be of greater importance to future smartphone buyers.
