Another major Android smartphone is getting ready to enter the flagship fray.
The Essential Phone is now official. The device is the first product from Essential, the new company from Andy Rubin, who is often referred to as “the father of Android”.
In terms of specs, the Essential Phone offers a 5.7-inch 2560x1312 display with a 19:10 aspect ratio and rounded corners. There’s an 8-megapixel front-facing camera that supports 4K video capture, and as you can see in the images of the device, the camera juts into the Essential Phone’s display, likely a decision made to help keep the bezels slim.
Around back there are two 13-megapixel cameras, one color and one monochrome, which Essential says help to capture more light and improve low-light performance. There’s also a fingerprint reader around back as well as a set of pogo pins for connecting accessories. The first accessory to take advantage of these pins will be a 360-degree camera.
Inside of the Essential Phone, which features a titanium frame, ceramic back, and Gorilla Glass 5 front, is a Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of built-in storage, and a 3040mAh battery. The device includes a USB Type-C port and fast charging, and while there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack to be found, Essential does plan to include a USB Type-C-to-3.5mm adapter in the phone’s box.
The Essential Phone runs Android 7.1.1 and will be sold unlocked in the US and will include support for all four major wireless carriers.
You can now reserve an Essential Phone in Black Moon or Pure White. The phone will launch at a later date at a price of $699. The 360-degree camera add-on will cost $199, but if you reserve an Essential Phone early, you can get one for $50. Essential also plans to sell its phone in Stellar Gray and Ocean Depths colors in the future.
So there’s the Essential Phone. Because it’s coming from Andy Rubin, the device is sure to get a lot of hype, at least from mobile phone addicts. The phone mostly looks pretty nice (that front-facing camera seems kind of strange), and its spec list is just about what you’d expect from a flagship Android phone in 2017. What remains a mystery is whether or not the Essential Phone can become a hit. Most “normal” folks probably don’t know or really care who Andy Rubin is, and as we’ve seen in the past, it can be difficult to sell a phone in the US without the support of a major carrier.
What do you think of the Essential Phone? Will you be reserving one?
