Andy Rubin’s Essential phone revealed: launching for $699 with modular functionality

The Essential phone, the new handset from Android creator Andy Rubin, is finally here. The smartphone was unveiled on the official Essential.com site (via The Verge) earlier today, which outlined all of the key details about the upcoming device.
The handset features a near bezel-less display that hugs the central front-facing camera at the top of the device face (similar to the front camera setup shown in a recent LG patent.) That screen doesn’t cover quite the whole body, though, and the Essential features a noticeable chin at the bottom of the handset. On the back, you’ll find a fingerprint scanner and a unique sensor setup — and you may notice a lack of branding. The essential is made from a combination of titanium and ceramic which should make it pretty durable.
On the back, you’ll find a fingerprint scanner and a unique sensor setup — as well as a complete lack of branding. The device itself is made from a combination of titanium and ceramic which should make it pretty durable.
In terms of the Essential phone’s specs, inside you’ll find a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor with Adreno 540 GPU, 4 GB of RAM, and 128 GB of internal storage space. Meanwhile, the display comes in at 5.71-inches, with a 19:10 aspect ratio and 2560 x 1312 pixel resolution (almost QHD) with Gorilla Glass 5 protection.
There’s an 8 MP front-facing camera with 4K recording and on the back is a dual 13 MP camera setup with f/1.85, similar to the Huawei P9. The battery comes in at 3,040 mAh and the handset will feature USB Type-C, but it won’t house a 3.5 mm headphone jack (though it will come with an adapter in the box). In addition, the device will launch with Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box and include NFC capabilities.
The Essential will also make use of modular functionality, with a couple of accessories available at launch: a 360-degree camera — capable of shooting UHD (3840 x 1920) video at 30fps — and a charging dock. These connect to the device via metal pins, and further accessories are said to follow after the device launch.
We still don’t know when exactly the Essential phone will be released, but the starting price as been confirmed at $699 and pre-orders are now open. The unit comes in four colors: Black Moon, Stellar Grey, Pure White and Ocean Depths (the awesome one you can see at the top of the page), but only the black and white options are up for pre-order currently. The handset will be released in the US initially, but we’re still waiting on wider price and availability details.
That’s all we’ve got on Rubin’s phone for now but you can expect more in the coming days. Head over to Essential.com if you want to pre-order your Essential phone and give us your initial thoughts on the device in the comments.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Linktree’s free workaround lets you add multiple links to your Instagram bio

Image
Instagram only gives you one opportunity to link to outside resources inside its photo sharing platform. This might not be a problem for a majority of the users, but for those wanting a little more customization and even more options, it leaves much to be desired. Enter  Linktree , a free tool for Instagram designed to improve traffic to your outside link, be it a blog, portfolio, or store. How it works is fairly straightforward. After connecting Linktree to your Instagram profile, you’ll receive a single link to place in your Instagram bio. Once that link in place, you can customize what it’s linked to within your browser, be it a single website, or a collection of sites you’re looking to direct followers to Say you’re a photographer who’s using Instagram as a marketing tool for your wedding photography. Using Linktree, you can direct Instagram followers to your blog, your portfolio site, and even your other social media accounts. Until now, you would’ve been stuck choosing b
Read more

EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT THE PIXEL 4, THE MOST-LEAKED PHONE EVER

Image
Google’s  Pixel 3 might have been the  most-leaked phone in history . Long before its unveiling, we knew practically everything about it from unboxing videos, photo comparisons, even a full review of the device. Surely, for the Pixel 4, Google would clamp down on leaks to leave some surprises for its debut on  October 15th , right? Let’s just say, if that was the plan, it didn’t exactly work out. We’ve now seen the Pixel 4 XL from every angle and in three different colors. At least seven different sources have touched this phone, many of them confirming the same specs. We not only know which cameras it’ll have, but also what they may be capable of, including air gestures (go figure). That doesn’t even count information Google has already shared  on purpose. So if you want to know almost everything about the Pixel 4 nearly a month before it’s announced, buckle up. We’ve sifted through all of the rumors and information we can find to compile everything we know — and everything we
Read more

Our favorite iOS apps for the iPhone and iPad in 2018

Image
As 2018 comes to a close, it’s time to look at some our favorite apps of the year. While not all of these are brand new, many of them popped up onto our radar for the first time in 2018, and are definitely worth the attention. Others are some of our favorites that are still best-in-class despite having been around for some time now. We aim to do things differently at TNW, and as such you’re not going to find the recommendations you’re probably used to seeing: Gmail, Skype, Dropbox, and the like. Instead, we want to focus on the best-of-the-best that you may not have heard of, and others that are just special enough to warrant a mention. As always, we’d encourage you to share some of your favorites in the comments below, or on Facebook. Enlight Pixaloop (Free Pixaloop  is one of my favorite apps on the market. Unlike typical image editors that allow you to remove red eye or apply a filter, Pixaloop allows you to create stunning photo animations with a few clicks on your
Read more