After a series of many leaks and revelations, Andy Rubin, the founder of Android (world’s most popular mobile operating system), has finally announced his own company’s Essential Phone ahead of the launch event. The father of Android is scheduled to launch his new company’s debut products later on Tuesday at the Code Conference. These Products include a modular titanium smartphone, 360-degree camera and an intelligent home speaker assistant.
However, just before the launch event, a new report has revealed almost everything about the upcoming Android-powered smartphone. It’s called simply the “Essential Phone PH-1” and is now available for pre-order on company’s official website. The Essential Phone will be made available for purchase in Black Moon, Steller Grey, Pure White and Ocean Depths colour options. As for pricing, the phone will be available initially in the US for $699 (approximately Rs. 45,200). Essential Products is also offering the phone with company’s clip-on 360-degree camera for a combo price of $749 (approximately Rs. 48,350).
In terms of design, the stunning Essential Phone sports a metal unibody design with a metal frame all around giving it an overall premium look. The device has an edge to edge display design (only a thin bottom bezel), similar to what we have seen in the Mi Mix. The Essential Phone is made of titanium and has a ceramic back, while the front panel is protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 cover glass. The company says that Titanium is more durable and this material does not scratch, dent or bend. The smartphone also features horizontal rear-side dual camera arrangement and onscreen navigation buttons. The back panel of the device comes with a dual camera setup, and a fingerprint scanner, located just middle of the device. At the back side, the phone also features two magnetic connectors placed next to the rear camera array for modular attachments. The volume rockers as well as the power/lock buttons are placed on the right-hand edge of the smartphone and a USB Type-C port is housed on the bottom edge of the device along with speaker grille. Overall, the Essential Phone gives a sleek look complimented by a complete absence of visible logo signs.
The main USP (unique selling point) of the Essential Phone is its two magnetic pins for modular attachments that Essential promises will “keep your phone cord-free, future-proof, and always up-to-date”. The “Click” cordless connector pins will hook up to the company’s two new accessories – a 360-degree camera and a wireless phone dock. The 360-degree camera receives power from the device via two magnetic connectors (like Lenovo’s Moto Z). It features dual 12-megapixel fisheye lenses with f/1.8 aperture, 210-degree field of view and four microphones for 3D audio recording.
Essential Phone specifications and features:
In terms of specifications, the Essential Phone sports a 5.71-inch edge-to-edge QHD display with a screen resolution of 1312×2560 pixels and an unusual 19:10 aspect ratio instead of the regular 16:9 paired with 500nits brightness. The device is powered by a Qualcomm’s latest 64-bit Snapdragon 835 octa-core processor clocked at 2.45GHz along with Adreno 540 GPU to handle the graphics. In terms of memory, it comes packed with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Talking about its software fronts, the Essential Phone runs Ambient OS, based on Google’s Android 7.1.1 Nougat operating system.
In terms of photography, the Essential Phone features a dual rear camera setup with 13-megapixel RGB + 13-megapixel Monochrome lenses, Hybrid Auto Focus combing Contrast, Phase Detect, f/1.85 aperture, IR Laser Assist Focus, and 4K video recording at 30fps. On the front, there is an 8-megapixel front-facing sensor for making video calls and capturing selfies. Other front camera features include an f/2.2 aperture, 16:9 aspect ratio, and 4K video recording support.
In terms of connectivity, the Essential Phone offers various connectivity options including 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac with MIMO, NFC, GPS/A-GPS/Glonass, and a USB Type-C port for super-fast charging and other connectivity. The device is fuelled by a decent 3040mAh battery with fast charging support. The handset measures 141.5 x 71.1 x 7.8 mm and weighs around 185 grams.
