Remember earlier this year when a rumor suggested that Andy Rubin is working on a new high-end smartphone? Well today Rubin appears to have confirmed that rumor.
Andy Rubin, who co-founded Android and spent years at Google, took to Twitter today to post the image you see above. In it, we can see the corner of a device that has a rounded display corner and very minimal bezels, reminiscent of the Xiaomi Mi Mix. The status bar looks like the one found on Android, complete with an “LTE+” cellular indicator.
Attached to the image is the phrase “I’m really excited about how this is shaping up. Eager to get it in more people’s hands…”
While Rubin does say anything about the mysterious device that he’s holding, a recent report suggested that he's started a new company called Essential and is working on a new smartphone. The device has been described as a high-end smartphone with an edge-to-edge display that measures 5.5 inches in size, but has a smaller footprint than the iPhone 7 Plus.
Rumors have also suggested that this Essential smartphone will be able to “gain new hardware features over time.” Rubin’s team is reportedly working on a proprietary, magnetic connector that’ll serve as both a charger and a way to expand hardware features.
It’s been suggested that Rubin is aiming to launch his new phone in the middle of 2017 at a price of around $649.
Not much has been confirmed about this mystery device that Rubin teased today, but there’s definitely going to be a lot of hype surrounding it. Not only does it look good, packing features that are very “in” right now like rounded display corners and thin bezels, but Andy Rubin is a huge name in mobile. After founding Android and spending quite a bit of time at Google, it’s understandable that folks will be excited to see whatever new mobile device he cooks up next.
Here’s to hoping it won’t be much longer before we get to meet Rubin’s new phone.