Until now, upgrading the camera on a smartphone meant splashing out on an entirely new device. Google's Project Ara uses interchangeable parts to keep upgrades specified and affordable though and Toshiba has been hard at work so it can be the first to reveal work on Project Ara cameras.

Toshiba has shown off three camera modules for the Ara phone that can be swapped out for simple upgrades. The company is still developing its line, which includes a 2-megapixel front-facing selfie camera, 5-megapixel rear camera and 13-megapixel rear snapper.

Google plans to release Project Ara in a test capacity in Puerto Rico later this year. The aim is to make the basic system, which comprises frame, battery, CPU and Wi-Fi, down to $50 which is about £32. Users will then need to buy modules for anything else they want, such as the camera, but how much we can expect to pay for a 13-megapixel camera module from Toshiba, for example, hasn't been announced yet.

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Toshiba

The 5-megapixel Toshiba camera module will feature a 1.4µm pixel size while the 13-megapixel camera will have 1.12µm – for those of you who find such things helpful.

Expect more manufacturers to get involved with Project Ara as this is still early stages with Toshiba claiming it's the first to create a working camera module for the modular smartphone.

READ: Google's Project Ara modular smartphone: Everything you need to know