Five months after Essential first teased its Audio Adapter HD for the Essential Phone, the accessory has officially launched.
Essential is now selling the Audio Adapter HD for $149. The accessory attaches to the back of your Essential Phone using the device's pogo pins, and it requires an Essential Phone running Android Pie, specifically software build PPR1.181005.076 or later.
The Audio Adapter HD includes a high-res ESS Sabre DAC with hardware MWA rendering, which is design to enable you to listen to high resolution audio on your Essential Phone. The device has an audiophile-grade amp that can drive audiophile-grade headphones, and it's got an input of 24-bit, 96 kHz and MQA rendering up to 32-bit, 384 kHz.
The accessory is made of titanium and has an LED with different colors to indicate master quality, standard, or non-MQA content that's being played. And perhaps most importantly, the Audio Adapter HD adds a 3.5mm headphone jack to your Essential Phone.
With this accessory, Essential is clearly targeting Essential Phone owners who consider themselves audiophiles and want the best audio they can get with their phone. The accessory isn't cheap, but it's got a lot of audio hardware in a small package, allowing Essential Phone owners to get high-quality audio out of their device without much added bulk.
