Buy Essential Phone
The Essential Phone has a titanium and ceramic body, an edge-to-edge display protected by Gorilla Glass 5, and two rear cameras, one of which is dedicated to black-and-white photography. Accompanying the phone is a 360-degree camera that can be attached to the top of the device. It was notably also the first mainstream smartphone to feature a "notch" (the cut-out at the top of the display to accommodate a front-facing camera), which would eventually become a trend in the industry.[10] On December 28, 2018, Essential announced to media outlets that they would discontinue the Essential PH-1.[11]
buy essential phone
The phone first appeared in a tweet by Rubin, posted on March 27, 2017.[15][16] In a quote of the tweet, Alphabet executive chairman Eric Schmidt confirmed the phone would run Android.[17] A few days prior to the official announcement, Essential tweeted an image of what appeared to be a 360-degree camera attached to the smartphone.[18][19] The Verge exclusively announced the device on May 30, 2017, hours ahead of Rubin's onstage announcement at a technology conference.[20]
The phone is also equipped with the Click Connector, which uses magnets to secure a modular accessory to the top rear surface of the phone; two gold-plated pogo pins provide power to the accessory, and the phone communicates with the accessory via wireless USB.[35] The Verge compared the Click Connector to the Moto Mods system used on the Moto Z line of smartphones.[36] The first modular accessory designed and launched with the phone is a 360 camera.[35] Also at launch, a charging dock accessory was announced for the same connector.[20][25] Keyssa announced a lawsuit over the technology used in the Click Connector in October 2017. Essential had discussed wireless data connectivity with Keyssa for several months under a non-disclosure agreement, but Essential opted instead to use hardware from a competitor, SiBEAM.[37] For more discussion on the Keyssa lawsuit, see Trade secret lawsuit.
In January 2018, Essential announced the development of the Audio Adapter HD, a third Click Connector accessory providing a headphone jack,[38] external DAC, and amplifier. It was scheduled to ship in the summer of 2018.[39] After it went on sale on November 13, 2018, as a limited edition, Essential sold out of the Audio Adapter HD within a day.[40]
In January 2018, the phone quickly received a patch to fix the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities after they were revealed. Until this time, only phones by Google had these vulnerabilities patched.[57]
Rubin announced on May 30, 2017, that the Essential Phone would ship in approximately 30 days,[58][59] i.e. June 2017.[60] This estimated timetable was not met, however, without Essential responding to media queries.[61][62][63] In mid-July, Rubin sent an email to potential customers saying carrier certification and testing were underway, and that he expected the device to be shipped "in a few weeks".[64] After a series of delays and the lack of an exact release date, Best Buy put up listings for the Essential Phone,[65] which went live on August 17.[66] On August 9, 2017, Rubin announced the phone was in mass production, and that a release date would be announced in the next week.[67][68][69] The Essential Phone was then confirmed to start shipping by the fourth week of August, according to an email sent by Rubin to customers.[70] It began shipping in batches by August 25.[1]
On August 29, 2017, reports emerged that hundreds of customers who ordered the Essential Phone started receiving e-mails from an @essential address. The e-mail contained an official-looking request for a "photo ID" of the customer to "verify information to complete the processing of the recent order". Essential later tweeted that they were aware of the recent e-mails received by some customers and that they were investigating them and had taken steps to mitigate problems.[71][72][73] Rubin personally apologized and one year of LifeLock was offered to affected customers; around 70 people were affected.[74] Some customers' drivers' licenses were leaked over e-mail as well.[75] Customers affected by the data leak got the phone for free.[76][77]
Keyssa, a startup company founded by Dr. Frank Chang, Ira Deyhimy and Gary McCormack [79] and specializing in wireless data transmission, filed a lawsuit accusing Essential of trade secret theft in October 2017. Keyssa said it was in talks with Essential for roughly 10 months to help provide the technology behind connecting Essential's new Android phone and their planned future products. Essential wanted to incorporate a Keyssa-developed microchip in the Essential Phone to provide functionality to their modular accessories, but turned to a similar company, SiBeam, to produce the microchip. Keyssa says Essential stole its proprietary technology because the non-disclosure agreements it signed protected the two companies' meetings and prevented Essential from using those trade secrets to make commercial products.[80][81]
In its first month of release, shipments of the Essential Phone were very low, with sales of around 5,000 units estimated being sold through Sprint.[90] Due to low demand, Essential reduced the price of the phone from an initial US$699 to US$499. Customers who purchased the phone at the original price could claim a US$200 "friends and family" code that could be used to purchase the 360-degree camera module or another Essential Phone.[91][92]
The PH-2, a successor that was in the works according to designers[95] has been cancelled.[94] According to sources at Essential in October 2018, the company was working on another phone that operates primarily under voice control to automate certain tasks, such as responding to emails and text messages or making appointments.[96]
On October 9, 2019, Essential founder Andy Rubin shared Project Gem which was planned to be the company's upcoming smartphone. The images shared by Rubin showed an abnormally tall smartphone running on Android.[97] On February 12, 2020, as part of their announcement regarding ceasing operations, Essential showcased videos of the phone and stated they had, "taken Gem as far as we can and regrettably have no clear path to deliver it to customers."[98]
Right now, the Essential Phone retails for about $430 - $499 depending on where you buy it. That's certainly a lot cheaper than flagships like the Galaxy Note 9 and Pixel 3 XL, but there are other phones out there with newer specs that cost even less.
Take the Nokia 7.1 for example. Released earlier this year, the 7.1 delivers a fantastic design, great software experience, a gorgeous display, and good cameras for just $350. The Essnetial Phone's hardware may be more impressive, but the 7.1 is better in its own right with two years of guaranteed software updates thanks to the Android One program and a 3.5mm headphone jack (something the Essential Phone doesn't have ?)
The OnePlus 6T is running Qualcomm's insanely fast Snapdragon 845, has a gorgeous AMOLED display, impressive cameras, some of the fastest charging speeds around, and a software experience that's so good we almost prefer it to what Google offers with its Pixel phones.
The Essential Phone isn't necessarily a bad product in 2019, but it's also not the best way to spend your money anymore. Whether you want to save even more cash or can spend a few extra dollars, there are other phones on the market that we think you'll be a lot happier with in the long haul.
One of the best phones around.The OnePlus 6T costs a few extra dollars compared to the Essential Phone, but it's better in just about every way possible. It has a more colorful display, faster processor, vastly better cameras, and a much more polished software experience.
A great choice for tighter budgets.If you were looking at the Essential Phone as an affordable alternative over something more expensive, why not go for the Nokia 7.1 instead? It offers a very comparable experience while also offering a newer CPU, guaranteed software support, and is the only phone we've talked about to feature a headphone jack.
Not the same great purchase it once was.After launching with a laundry list of complaints and tough-to-stomach price tag, the Essential Phone eventually turned into something special following relentless software updates and steep discounts. Unfortunately, at this point in time, there are considerably better phones on both ends of the price spectrum.
One phone with the phone's original launch software. One phone with loads of updates. Mano a mano. I made these phones my daily drivers, and used both of them to take an awful lot of pictures and video. I even gave Essential's 360-degree camera attachment another go.
Eleven. That's how many times Essential has updated its Camera app in the past five months. It's impressive -- even considering most of them fix things that should have been fixed before the phone came out.
We shot these pics of CNET photographer Josh Miller with three different Portrait Mode-capable phones. The Essential's camera makes his face look a bit distorted here, but it can also be slimming from the right angle.
You might be wondering: Isn't it unfair to ask that much from a now-$500 phone? Yes and no. Because when I put the Essential side by side with my personal $500 Motorola Moto Z2 Play, the Essential still couldn't meet that bar.
You can definitely take great photos with the Essential Phone, as you can with any modern phone if you get lucky or work hard. (I like this photo a lot.) But it should be way easier, even when your phone costs just $500.
I say "almost" because the 360-cam is also a tremendous battery hog. It pulls power directly from the phone, and I've drained 17 percent of my phone's battery with a single 10-minute recording. (On average, it seems to drain about 1 percent a minute, but I've definitely seen worse.)
Video quality is actually impressive given the camera module's tiny size -- the 4K footage looks clearer and less noisy than either the Moto 360 Camera add-on (for Motorola's Moto Z phones) or the standalone Ricoh Theta V, particularly indoors. 041b061a72