Get ready for modular fashion in 2016

Quite recently, nobody even thought of smart modular technology. However, the progress cannot be stopped; soon our life will be added by various electronic modular devices, a new subtype of mobile electronics:  modular smartphones and tablets, modular watches, smart bracelets, “intelligent” belts, and other accessories.

It is worth noting that not only new companies enter the market with their startup projects on modular smartphones, tablets, and smart modular watches but also big corporations, the sharks of the consumer industry. The following modular electronics projects are worth the mention.

Modular Smartphones

Puzzlephone: The Finns. Finnish development engineers from Circular Devices have stretched their claws to reach modular smartphones users in a relatively new segment. These guys managed to create a prototype of the modular smartphone consisting of three components: brain, heart and skeleton. According to the development engineers’ concept, the brain is a processor; the heart is a power supply and battery; and the skeleton is a combination of the device’s frame and display.

Puzzlephone

Phonebloks: The Dutchmen. The project is a kind of electronic Lego transformer – smart phone made of electronic devices – modules – easily replaceable by its owner in case of damage, upgrade or for some other reasons. This idea belongs to Dave Hakkens – a Dutch designer. This concept inspires manufacturers of electronic smart phones because they see a huge potential for extra customization of the already produced component electronic base with minimum business expenses.

Magic Cube: The Chinese. The project from the Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi with the code name Magic Cube was announced on the Internet and by mass media. It has tiny block design, namely: framework, processor unit, battery and photo/video camera. All the Magic Cube modules are supposed to be made of different colors. However, nothing more is known of this phantom project because no other information leaked to the press yet.

                                                                  ZTE Eco-Mobius

ZTE Eco-Mobius: Another Chinese company that has aspired to keep abreast of the modular smartphone industry in the future, has announced a modular smartphone which, apart from the slide frame, includes a display, processor core with the built-in camera module on magnet clips, and built-in power supply represented by the battery. Nothing more is known except that this exhibit was presented at CES 2014, albeit under the glass.

HTC failed to lock down fingerprints captured by one of its phones, leaving prints exposed to any app that knew to go looking for them, according to a report from security firm FireEye Labs. The firm found that the HTC One Max, a nearly two-year-old phone with a fingerprint reader, kept the fingerprints that it scanned in an unencrypted, world-readable file; what that translates to is a file that any app on the device can read or access to get a look at stored fingerprints — something that could be a real issue if a malicious app was aware of the flaw. HTC fixed the vulnerability after being alerted of it, FireEye says

The One Max had been storing fingerprint data in a specialized bitmap file, which FireEye was able to reconstruct into a proper scan of the print (shown right, cropped by FireEye for anonymity). The One Max even updated its fingerprint image every time it received a new scan, so an attacker could have grabbed multiple images.

FireEye's report suggests that other phones with fingerprint readers may have similar problems, though it only names the One Max. The report also notes that certain phones failed to fully secure their fingerprint sensor, potentially allowing apps to step in and read them as a scan was happening. This flaw was present on the One Max, Samsung's Galaxy S5, and others that FireEye leaves unnamed; all phones with the flaw were fixed after their manufacturer was alerted of the issue. HTC and Samsung did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The One Max was never a particularly popular or successful phone, and it isn't known whether any of these flaws was ever used maliciously. But there's still good reason to be concerned about this vulnerability's existence. As FireEye notes in its report, you can't change your fingerprints like you can change a leaked password: "once leaked," it writes, "they are leaked for the rest of your life."

These days, very few smartphone launches excite people enough to queue up for hours in the street. Apple's iPhones are pretty much the exception to the rule.

Yet on a warm, sticky day in central London, more than 200 people snaked around the streets outside the SwiftKey offices near London Bridge just to get a glimpse at the OnePlus 2, a smartphone few have even heard of.

Key Features

• 5.5in display (1920 x 1080)
• Snapdragon 810/ 4GB RAM
• 9.85mm/175g
• USB-C port
• OxygenOS (based on Android 5.1)
• 13MP/5MP cameras
• Dual SIM
• Fingerprint sensor
• Price: £239
• Release date: 11 August (with invite)

The long queue – and the one million-plus people who have registered interest in the OnePlus 2 online – is testament to the hype the company generated on the back of the surprising success of the OnePlus One, which launched 15 months ago and sold 1.5 million units.

OnePlus 2 is selling its second smartphone (as it did its first) as a "flagship killer", and not only the flagship models from Apple and Samsung out now but the ones coming in 2016 too.

OnePlus 2: Design

Bulky and heavy were my initial thoughts when I saw the specs announced for the OnePlus 2. At 9.5mm and 175g, is it heavier and thicker than the iPhone 6 Plus and Galaxy S6. But holding it, the first thing that came to mind was how solid it felt.

OnePlus has added a touch of premium-build quality with a metal frame around the edge, but the rear cover remains plastic – though there are alternative covers you can get with various finishes such as wood and sandstone, which is a bit like a fine sandpaper.

The phone has a large 5.5in screen but it is significantly shorter than the cumbersome iPhone 6 Plus as well as being narrower, which makes it much easier to use one-handed, though it is still a pretty big phone.