After much hype, fanfare and delay, finally Essential Phone also knows as Essential Ph-1 has started shipping. In a tweet today company said, “We're beginning to ship Essential Phone! Please look out for an e-mail today with tracking info. We appreciate everyone's patience!”
A brain child of Andy Rubin who is credited to create the Android mobile operating system, Essential Ph-1 aims to be an alternate of Apple and Samsung with its high-end features, super camera quality, fast operating system and amazing customer experience.
Essential Ph-1 was first showcased at an event in USA, since then there has been speculations about its features, specifications and ability to offer great user experience. On August 17, company announced the availability of the Essential PH-1 on its website and started accepting pre-booking. Now, the smartphone is being shipped to all who had pre-booked it.
To keep user experience above all, the company has announced that Essential Phone will have no branding and limited number of pre-installed apps. “One of the first things you'll notice about Essential Phone is that there's no branding. That's because we want it to be yours, not ours. And once you turn it on, you'll find that there are a limited number of preloaded apps and no duplicative services,” company founder Andy Rubin wrote in his blog.
Price at $699 (Rs. 45,000) Essential Ph-1 sports an edge-to-edge 5.7-inch QHD display with a resolution of 2560×1312 pixels. There's Corning Gorilla Glass 5 coating on top for protection. Essential PH-1 is 7.8 mm thick and it weighs approximately 185 grams. It runs on Android v7.1 (Nougat) operating system. The smartphone is powered by Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor paired with 4 GB of RAM and have space for 128GB for internal storage.
On camera front, Essential Ph-1 has a 13 MP front and rear camera powered by a CMOS image sensor. One of the lens is capable of taking shots on dual RGB, mono and another is true monochrome. Camera has f/1.85 aperture and hybrid auto-focus The device is powered by a 3040mAh battery.
According to reports, currently only glossy black colour device is being shipped. More colour options would be available in future, said the company.
Many experts have touted the Essential Ph-1 to be a competitor to the likes of Samsung Galaxy S8 series devices and the upcoming iPhone 8. “At Essential, we are up against industry giants that employ tens of thousands of workers to develop and deploy smartphones around the world. There is a significant advantage to that kind of scale, but we also know that when a company gets to a certain size, the desire to create a customer-first experience sometimes takes a back seat to other considerations, like profits and corporate agendas,” wrote Rubin.
We're beginning to ship Essential Phone! Please look out for an e-mail today with tracking info. We appreciate everyone's patience!
— Essential (@essential) August 25, 2017
“Our 100-person team is made up of people who believe in putting the best experience for you above all else. That's why we're working around the clock to create products designed to fit your life—never the other way around—with the spirit of American innovation and craftsmanship imbued in every part we design,” he added.
According to company, Essential Phone will get guaranteed Android OS updates for 2 years and will get monthly security updates for 3 years. Company also plans to release new wireless accessories (like snap-on 360º Camera) every few months.
Essential Phone is available on Essential.com, Sprint, Amazon and Best Buy. It is compatible with all major carriers. On can get an unlocked Essential Phone for $699 and for a limited time one will be able to get Essential Phone and Essential 360 Camera as a bundle for $749, said company.
