Google has suspended work on Project Ara, its modular smartphone. The project was designed to let users buy a basic phone and add different modules like a keyboard or other sensors,

Google had announced during its developer conference I/O in May, its intentions to have a developer version ready to ship in the autumn.

Instead, the company will now concentrate on its other phones, tablets and other hardware lines, reports Reuters.

The idea was to create a smartphone which could be customised to owners' tastes with interchangeable "modules" including screens, cameras and processors.

In May this year, Google said a new version of the modular phone would be less customisable than originally planned.

LG has also released the modular LG G5 phone earlier this year to a lukewarm response.

On launch it only supported two additional modules - a high-definition audio processor and a camera grip. The battery can also be exchanged, but doing so causes the phone to reboot.