In “A Phone that’s Designed to Last”, Ali Jatoi introduces the idea of PhoneBloks which are phones composed by different blocks which can be interchangeable. Having heard of this idea before, I agree with the fact that Ali discusses how this idea would harm Apple and Samsung – the leaders in the smartphone market.

I personally think that this idea would benefit the customers since they are going to be able to differentiate and customize their product; since they can choose what they need, a bigger battery or a better camera, etc. How many times have we stopped using a phone because its battery no longer works? But we notice that all other components of the phone still work, but we still throw it away and buy a new one. PhoneBloks gives their customers the option of replacing blocks when something doesn’t work instead of investing in a completely new phone.

Apple and Samsung should be aware of this new idea since it can revolutionize the whole idea of a smartphone. However, as Ali mentioned in his blog post if this idea is introduced, then well-known brands would create individual blogs under their name which would in the end give customers the opportunity of creating the ideal phone with all the best features of different brand smartphones.

PhoneBlok video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDAw7vW7H0c

Ali Jatoi’s blog post: https://blogs.ubc.ca/alijatoi/2013/11/15/a-phone-thats-designed-to-last/