Project Ara aimed to create a modular smartphone with interchangeable components, in a move which would streamline the company's hardware efforts.

The idea had some backing and Google announced a host of partners for Project Ara at its developer conference in May and said it would ship a developer edition of the product this autumn.

It seems that Google may still work with partners to bring Project Ara’s technology to market, potentially through licensing agreements, but it is no longer interested in the idea itself.

One of the issues is that while they are great for the environment and could last forever, they are bulky and costly to produce. This means they will always be beaten by phones which are super thin and look better.

Last year, the company shelved plans to sell the modular phone in Puerto Rico with Latin American carriers.