There have been rumours of Andy Rubin – the co-creator of Android – starting his own company and developing a smartphone that he designed and the reports pointed to a release of the smartphone today (30th May, 2017).
This was even confirmed by the company (Essential) through their new Twitter account:
Hi, welcome to our Twitter page. We're here to let you know something big is coming May 30th! Stay tuned…
— Essential (@essential) May 25, 2017
Well, the d-day is here and The Verge got an early access exclusive of this mouthwatering device. The Essential Phone (at it will be known) comes with a 5.71-inch QHD (2560*1312) edge-to-edge display with rounded edges and an aspected ratio of 19:10.
The device is built with a Titanium frame, holding together a ceramic back and the Corning Gorilla Glass 5 covering the display. Inside we have a Snapdragon 835 processor with 4GB RAM and 128GB internal storage with UFS 2.1 technology all kept running by a 3040mAh battery.
As for the Camera, the Essential Phone features a Dual Camera set-up with two 13MP cameras one RGB and one Monochrome, just like the Huawei P10. The selfie camera is an 8MP shooter capable of recording video at 4K resolution.
Other specifications include pure Android Nougat with Google UI (or something that looks close to it), Bluetooth 5 (like the S8), USB-C port, a rear-mounted fingerprint reader and magnetic connectors for attaching mods but there is no 3.5mm headphone jack, instead you get a dongle in the box.
The creators of the device brag about the phone’s durability, claiming that due to the titanium build, it cannot scratch, dent or bend and that is why they won’t be selling any cases for the device.
The Essential Phone looks beautiful and if you can sense the excitement as I write this piece, it is because I am excited. The device will be available in Black Moon, Stellar Gray, Pure White and Ocean Depth.
It will retail for $700 and will be available through the company’s website.
