34 ms·
Essential Phone, available now
- free_everybody 9y agoMaybe I'm just buying into the marketing hype, but this actually seems pretty cool and I'm curious what the OS feels like.
- andrenotgiant 9y agoIsn't the OS just vanilla Android?
- ghostly_s 9y agoApparently so, according to the specs page. I thought the whole thing with this company was that they're developing a competing OS not based on Android?
- distances 9y agoNo, that wasn't their goal, it was stated to be Android from the beginning.
- ghostly_s 9y agoWhat do they need Andy for, then? The press I've seen with him over the past year seemed to be pushing the narrative that he started this company to 'correct the mistakes' of Android...decided that's too much work?
- reitanqild 9y agoSeems they have their own OS for home devices, ambient OS.
- free_everybody 9y agoOh, I thought they had Ambient on their phones too. My mistake. Makes a lot more sense to use Android.
- rsync 9y ago"Isn't the OS just vanilla Android?" Have they discussed whether the phone is designed to be rooted easily ? Like a nexus device, for instance ?
- ktta 9y agoYes. https://twitter.com/essential/status/870381000852996099 https://twitter.com/essential/status/870381000852996099 https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/6eppuc/the_essential_phone_will_have_an_unlockable/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/6eppuc/the_essenti...
- kevincox 9y agoThat's exactly what I want :)
- Analemma_ 9y agoI think the general feeling among people/reviewers who have got their hands on one is that it is cool; the question is whether it's $700 cool. That's a lot of money to give a company without a proven track record.
- whipoodle 9y agoThe sub-sections underneath the "Phone" menu are Accessories, Materials, Colors, Screen, Camera, Specifications, Order. OS doesn't seem like something they want to discuss much. (They are all about this whizzy 360º camera though!)
- scblock 9y agoSelling but not shipping. No word on actual ship dates on any of the three linked sites (direct, Best Buy, or Sprint) unless I'm looking in the wrong place. Edit: Sprint is currently estimating August 28 on their shipping page.
- tahw 9y agoDoes anyone know if these phones will work with Project Fi?
- eggpy 9y agoFrom the Project Fi FAQs: >Project Fi is available on the Pixel, Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, and Nexus 6. Currently these are the only smartphones to support our network of networks. You must have the North American model of the above devices in order to use it on the Project Fi network.
- coolsunglasses 9y agoThat's for official support. Project Fi worked fine on my iPhone SE. However, I had problems with Project Fi sending my calls to random other peoples' phones across the country even when I was using my sim in my Nexus so I went back to T-Mobile.
- gaahrdner 9y agoI recall it "working" on other phones, but it's stuck on T-Mobile or Sprint (depending on your phone's hardware), and you lose out on some functionality since it uses specific bands[0]. Plus you still need an approved phone to activate it. 0. http://arkienet.com/2016/03/fi-on-a-non-nexus-phone-is-like-mowing-your-lawn-with-a-weed-eater/ http://arkienet.com/2016/03/fi-on-a-non-nexus-phone-is-like-...
- bduerst 9y agoAFAIK, Fi uses both T-Mobile and Sprint if you have a dual band phone, and wifi if you're in a building without reception. Most phones have been dual band for a couple years now.
- praneshp 9y agoHey, this happened to me. The reason was that one of my older phone numbers was available to Google somehow, and it made that number a backup number to Fi. So when I dropped a call, it made a call to that old number, which is now owned by someone else (A nice lady who even helped my wife debug what was going on.).
- dsr_ 9y agoIf they really made it well, it would come with a declared lifetime. What it has is a 2 year $99 extra warranty, on top of a $699 price.
- kevinSuttle 9y agoEh, who has a phone longer than 2 years now?
- infinitone 9y agoI do... and i know a lot of others in tech that aren't as hyper to line up for a new phone. Also, so far, in my opinion- after the iphone 6- there hasn't been any major differences.
- kevinSuttle 9y agoYes, that would fall under '2 years'
- my_username_is_ 9y agoI do. Why would I replace a phone for an increasingly more expensive one if it's not broken?
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- richardknop 9y agoI don't (unless I break or lose phone). I try to keep using the same computer/phone/gadget for 3-4 years to get my money worth these days. I just feel like it's a rip off to ask me to shell out £500 every two years for new iPhone, £600 for new iPad and £2000 for new MacBook Pro (prices are my best guess, I think new iPhones actually go for as much as £700 with better specs). So I try to go using my current tech longer. It's also environment friendly. Bad for companies if more customers start thinking like this because they depend on selling the same device over and over again with minor tweaks.
- agnsaft 9y agoAt this point, the only thing I care about is whether or not they plan on releasing quality software updates in a timely manner for a reasonable amount of time...
- nicktelford 9y agoThey stated 2 years OS updates, 3 years monthly security updates in the blog post.
- jordanlev 9y agoIt's kind of funny what they follow that up with: > Essential Phone will get guaranteed Android OS updates for 2 years and will get monthly security updates for 3 years, so your phone will always be secure and have the latest features. I do not think the word "always" means what they think it means :)
- plopz 9y agoAre there any reviews out? From what I can tell reviews are either embargoed or review phones haven't been sent out.
- briandear 9y agoThe comment about FaceTime made no sense. On iPhone you can use all the apps he mentioned. In terms of security, I trust FaceTime far more than I trust What’s App who, in their policies, make it clear some data is shared with Facebook. Using What’s App as a counterargument to FaceTime is rather strange to me. Signal maybe, but you can run that on iPhone just fine as well.
- infinitone 9y agoYeah, i was confused about that... that whole 'closed system' section was much weaker than i thought. I thought somehow they were going to build a standardized app that can interface with all these closed apps- but then again, how would they do that to begin with?
- dreinhardt 9y agoJust write an android app that emulates an iPhone.
- PleaseHelpMe 9y agoReally dont want to make a joke here but your user name doesn't go well with the title.
- whipoodle 9y agoThat's cool... it looks like an Android phone.
- maxaf 9y agoWhy would I spend $700+ on a phone with a dubious fate when I can spend $230 on a Moto G5 Plus and have Lineage OS running on it in no time, for a long time?
- jedmeyers 9y agoPremium materials and true craftsmanship shouldn’t just be for the few, but for everyone (who has $700+ to spend on a phone).
- nradov 9y agoIt looks basically the same as every other smartphone and is mass-produced with no "craftsmanship" involved. The concept of "premium" materials for what's essentially a disposable device just seems ridiculous.
- MBCook 9y agoIgnoring the battery stuff isn't Samsung's build quality on Galaxy devices considered close to/as good as Apple's?
- unlmtd1 9y agoOver 60 francs. Comparable to the yearly salary of a legionnaire of Rome (When they were well paid).
- paradite 9y agoI think the entire blog post is meant to address that question. It is trying to differentiate from the cheap Android phones. For me this is the most interesting point: > Devices shouldn’t become outdated every year. They should evolve with you. Also the design looks much nicer than average cheap Android phones.
- Gaelan 9y ago> Devices shouldn’t become outdated every year. They only promised 3 years of security updates.
- astrobase_go 9y agoat a $700 price point for two years of os updates and three years of security updates, it seems runner-up to iphones with four year (or more) timelines on os updates, maybe longer for security updates, for a comparable price point.
- fhood 9y agoand even better, iPhones have a closed ecosystem, although come to think of it, I may not be their target audience.
- soperj 9y agoGenerally after 2 years the updates seem to make the Apple product less useable, rather than more.
- emef 9y agoThis used to be the case, but I'd argue not as much anymore. I had the 3gs for ~4 years and by the end it was nearly unusable due to updates (noticeably worse every time). I'm now nearly at the 5 year mark on my 5s and on the latest ios, no problems. It's not as snappy as my wife's new phone but completely usable.
- astrobase_go 9y agoi would agree here. both of my parents and the wife have just as much time logged on their full-updated 5s' as well and, save for foreseeable decrements in battery performance, they think their system performance is generally indistinguishable from new.
- sabujp 9y agotoo expensive
- 5trokerac3 9y agoFreedom from everything except needing a Google account to turn the damn thing on.
- r3bl 9y agoWell, if you stay outside of the Google Play Store, you don't really need a Google account to get it working. Bought a new one this month, and I was able to do basic functions + receive a security update before I got home and typed in the password from my password manager.
- tapoxi 9y agoIs it just me, or does the selfie camera ruin the display? It comes so close to being bezel-less and ruins it with a feature I'll never use.
- ktta 9y agoYou're not alone. Just go to any thread and search for camera. For example: https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/6e6f48/exclusive_this_is_the_essential_phone/di7ywh8/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/6e6f48/exclusive_t...
- revmoo 9y agoHmm, a new untested phone with a fifth less battery than my current one and it isn't even waterproof. Why should I care about this?
- foobaw 9y agoAs someone who worked in a large OEM company releasing tons of smartphones, I'm actually impressed it only took 100 people to getting this out. I presume there was an incredible amount of sleepless nights, as this is no easy task. To be fair though, Sprint is one of the easier carriers to work with after T-Mobile. I can't imagine them releasing a phone on AT&T or Verizon, as their process is grueling. I guess since they're selling an unlockcked version of their phone, it doesn't really matter to power users. However, most sales for smartphones are from contracts sold directly from carriers so it'll be interesting to see how they'll do in the market with their current strategy (similar to One Plus One). Props to them though. It's not just about carrier certification. Releasing a smartphone is a long complex process. Some engineers at Sprint were briefly talking about how great the phone was, so I have high hopes.
- nicpottier 9y agoPretty sure they used Sharp as a partner, so it isn't like they started from scratch. That guess is based on this Sharp phone looking mighty familiar (http://www.gsmarena.com/sharp_aquos_s2_taken_apart_a_bezelless_phone_thats_put_together_well-news-26760.php http://www.gsmarena.com/sharp_aquos_s2_taken_apart_a_bezelle...) and Rubin having worked with Sharp extensively during the Danger days. (most of the Sidekicks were made by Sharp) I'm kinda sort interested in this device, but honestly I'm in the sit and wait given that Sharp isn't exactly a name brand anymore.
- boondaburrah 9y agoSharp for some reason refuses to sell their smartphones outside of Japan. When I lived there I had a Sharp phone - and it was amazing. Smoothest non-stock android experience I've had. Recently they were selling [did this finally happen?] off their phone business to foxconn because it was falling behind. Man, if you actually tried to sell your phones, Sharp, they might have sold? Funny concept. If this phone is indeed a Sharp creation, I'm all over it.
- a_rahmanshah 9y agoExactly! Sharp was the one who started this thin-bezel trend with Sharp Aquos Crystal in 2014.
- iplaw 9y agoI am seeking a dual SIM variant that supports all bands of AT&T and Sprint. This does not currently exist.
- 0xbear 9y agoNow we'll know exactly how many Andy Rubin fanboys there are in the world. Why would anyone else buy a $700+ phone from a startup which might not even be there next year? My prediction: a few tens of thousand units will be sold mostly in the US, darn near zero anywhere else.
- kreetx 9y agoI, too, think the price point won't help this phone much. Hopefully there will be enough buyers to keep this phone alive. The specs are good and the attachment camera will probably be very useful.
- X86BSD 9y agoGenuine question, I am waiting for the soon to be announced iPhone 8, but what I am curious about is what is the selling point of this phone? The camera? Security? Why would I want this phone? I don't follow google or their employees companies much. Personally google makes horrible UI's and services IMO. The latest interaction with them by me has been Google fiber + TV. The fiber is fine and fast but the TV is a tire fire. I'm not impressed with the UI of android. So I really am curious what would compel me to buy this phone?
- sbov 9y agoI like the drop test results. My pixel's glass chipped when it fell out of my pocket when I was sitting on a concrete floor. First phone I've ever gotten a case for.
- X86BSD 9y agoI always get a case for my phones. They cost to much to leave unprotected imo. I use otter box cases. If that drop test is duplicated by a third party that would indeed be impressive. Thanks for answering my question.
- ProAm 9y agoAndy Rubin has the clout to make this work though. I'm tempted by this phone, as soon as my OP3T dies, this is next.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- lolsal 9y ago> Your phone is your personal property. It’s a public expression of who you are and what you stand for. No, it's really not. It's literally just a tool I use for communication.
- feocco 9y agoFair. But, it seems to me that having to choose between Android, iOS, or any other OS is an expression of who you are. For others, there are more properties that express them. /shrug
- _jal 9y agoSo, do tell. What does my choice of an iPhone express about who I am? People seem to believe they can infer a very weird amount from a smidgen more than 1 bit of information.
- rcthompson 9y agoI think their point is that lots of people customize the appearance of their phones by adding custom cases, stickers, and other decorations to them, and they want to give you a blank slate to do that rather than force you to either accommodate their branding into your expression or cover it up.
- optimuspaul 9y agoIf you are anything like me it says you just want something that works and does the job reliably.
- falcolas 9y agoThat you make enough money to afford a smartphone plan, plus anywhere from $30 to $50 a month to pay for the phone itself, either up front or as part of the contract. That you likely don't just own an iPhone, but also an mac laptop (or desktop), as well as at least one Apple TV. (i-devices don't integrate well with non-Apple ecosystems) It's also likely that you have tens to hundreds of dollars invested in the iTunes and App stores. In short, it says you have money. A commitment to around $100 a month on a phone, plus the implied other devices and digital purchases, is not a trivial outlay if you're making less than your average individual. It's also entirely possible that you simply value projecting the impression of money to others enough to justify the outlay of money for the iPhone, but that still relies on the impression of money.
- LeonM 9y agoIt's amazing for me to see that Apple, once lightyears ahead with the original iPhone, is now being overtaken by small companies with features such as bezel less displays, wireless charging, high bandwidth data coupling etc. Of course we'll have to see if Essential can actually deliver on their promise...
- whipoodle 9y agoFinally someone exposes Apple fanboys for the sheep they truly are!!
- valine 9y agoEssential doesn't need to ship the massive quantities Apple does. And anyway, Apple is getting ready to announce a bezel-free iPhone in September.
- LeonM 9y agoThey are announcing after Essential and months after Samsung, so they are behind the competition. So, my observation that Apple is no longer ahead of the competition (in terms of innovation, not volume) holds true. But of course I am being downvoted into oblivion...
- Dirlewanger 9y agoNo 3.5mm jack, no thanks.
- martin_bech 9y agoDoes it have a floppydrive?
- c22 9y agoI don't know about the rest of you, but I have several pairs of headphones in my house and no floppy disks.
- LeoNatan25 9y agoWhoosh, right over your head.
- jethro_tell 9y agoThis is not a really fair comparison. For a device whose primary purpose is generally media consumption, a headphone jack is a real feature. To me it's currently a must as I don't want to buy more head phones when I already have a few really good pairs.
- KGIII 9y agoI know you say generally, but I usually use my phone for communication, not media consumption. It may be an age bracket thing, as the folks I associate with seem to be much the same. At most, I browse the web.
- archagon 9y agoRemoving useful features: Progress™!
- WalterSear 9y agoIMHO, it's just a focus on a different, more profitable, and less discerning customer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVME_l4IwII https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVME_l4IwII To this customer, getting tangled in your headphones is a bigger problem than shit sound and $400 headphones that die after a year's use.
- kreetx 9y agoI wonder how well this stacks up against the phone Red is making[1], where the add-on functionality is a major selling point. [1] http://www.red.com/hydrogen http://www.red.com/hydrogen
- modzu 9y agoall i can see are fingerprints
- baybal2 9y agoIt literally has a hole in the screen... I thought of that as an april fools day thing Who can think of this as a good idea is beyond me
- maxk42 9y agoHoly shit you're right.
- pier25 9y agoAt this price, why buy this instead of a Pixel? To be honest I'm quite happy with my crap Moto G5 Plus phone. The screen and camera aren't that great, but hey at this price I won't complain.
- Crisco 9y agoYeah, I have a Moto G4 Standard and it sure everything I want. I don't even worry about a case or screen protector because at this price point of it breaks I can easily and cheaply get a new one. I just hope in future versions they add USB-C. It'd be nice to have one charger for all my devices (laptop, phone, etc).
- komali2 9y agoWell it has a headphone jack EDIT: Er, did you mean pixel 1 or 2? EDIT: Oh my god, it doesn't have a headphone jack! lol look at me eat my own words holy shit
- distances 9y ago> At this price, why buy this instead of a Pixel? This is totally subjective, but I don't get why anyone would buy a Pixel. It's overpriced, and one of the ugliest phones in the market. Sure the camera is the best available, but I just can't get past the looks.
- nakedrobot2 9y agoIt is not available, it is still on preorder / reservation. What is the purpose of this blog post? Nothing seems to have changed in a couple months!
- idiot900 9y agoThose who preordered can now pay for the phone, as I have, and expect to physically have one in a few days.
- git-pull 9y agoI admire the gumption of making a new phone. But controlled obsolescence kills me. The real feature that improves in phones the past few years for me is the software and apps, not the hardware. My wishlist: - Give me a lighter, snappier OS. Not something clunkier and slower and uses more ram, gpu/cpu (aka battery life). - Actually support updates to the things for longer than 2-3 years. - (Not related to this phone) Use stock android, unless you're removing bloat. Why? Because inevitably there's going to be apps. What I want is a nice flat surface that includes wifi, bluetooth, and nice API's and permissions for those apps to plug into. - The biggest feature you can give me on a phone? Battery life, Replaceable battery, Data/Cell reception, Speaker/Microphone quality. - SIM card that's easy to get out. - Actually, Dual SIM's. - Support for carriers globally. - And physical keyboards. Something for SSH'ing with.
- fhood 9y agoAll I want is to get google fi on an iphone. Ok battery, reasonable lifetime (I can usually get 3.5 years out of an iphone) and cheap international data.
- msabalau 9y agoI have a Fi data SIM in an iPhone, and it works great. Not certain if you can sneak a voice SIM in.
- subway 9y agoYou can, but it first has to be activated on a supported device, and can only connect to T-Mo.
- dmitrygr 9y agoYou can insert a Fi sim into an iPhone. Officially this isn't supported, but you'll get reasonable service. What you won't get: auto switching between us cellular, TMobile, and Sprint; support; wifi calling via fi; and the Fi app. What you will get: TMobile service; International roaming at Fi rates; voice, data, and text.
- 9y ago
- RcouF1uZ4gsC 9y agoThey tout the magnetic attachment points as making it easy to add new hardware accessories. I wonder if the magnetic attachment points will demagnetize your credit cards if you have them both in pocket or your purse?
- davemp 9y agoI have a wallet with a decently powerful magnet. Modern credit cards and devices seem to hold up fine. The only issue I've had is a parking garage ticket getting wiped.
- sandGorgon 9y agoIf you are buying an Android phone, I am not sure why you wouldn't wait for phones officially supporting Project Treble . For example , Nexus 6p will get Android O, but without Treble. Treble is the framework which could potentially make 0-day Android updates possible.
- amelius 9y agoWhat OS does it run? What type of SDK does it provide?
- Tharkun 9y agoPardon the tangent, but here's a quote from their website: > There’s a reason titanium is used to build rockets and replace bones. Unlike aluminum, which is what most phones are made of, titanium doesn’t scratch, dent, or bend. The reason why titanium is used to replace bones is not its strength (though it certainly doesn't hurt). It's because titanium is the most biocompatible metal and has a capacity for osseointegration. Meaning the bone around it will fuse with the titanium.
- clarkmoody 9y agoBut we can't let science get in the way of marketing copy, now can we? (Thanks for the interesting tangent, btw)
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- mc32 9y agoWhen mac books needed some pep in marketing, as sales floundered, Jobs also diverged into Titanium in lieu of faster uPs. After that wore off he went to the unwieldy 17" Mac Books. Often times Titanium is just a marketing ploy. Like titanium cards. Titanium bracelets. Etc.
- filmgirlcw 9y agoAnd Apple moved to using aluminum from titanium in its PowerBooks (the design would later be the basis of the original MacBook Pro), in part, because the softness of of the metal, led to warps and bends in those first-gen TiBook models. I don't know how Essential is using titanium, but history certainly has examples of gadgets that suffered from using that metal over others.
- xraystyle 9y agoThe Ti-Books had a lot of issues. The biggest one was broken hinges. There were a lot of physical problems with those machines that didn't manifest until after about a year's worth of use. Too bad, they were really cool at the time they were introduced.
- gthtjtkt 9y ago> Devices shouldn’t become outdated every year. > Essential Phone will get guaranteed Android OS updates for 2 years and will get monthly security updates for 3 years. That's honestly not much of an improvement, and I'm not aware of any current phones that are outdated after a year (unless you're one of those gadget fanatics who has to have the most cutting edge phone). > we've tried to make our phone as affordable as possible. $700 is affordable now? What world are we living in!? Silicon Valley, I guess? > Simple is always better. > we put nearly a year’s worth of development into making a camera that integrates into the body of the phone (without the tell tale camera hump) Really starting to question their priorities at this point... Maybe "essential" is the wrong word for what they're doing, because it seems like they spend a lot of time on things that aren't essential at all. Who needs a 360 camera? And who cares about a 1mm camera protrusion? And since when do we all agree that a 3.5mm headphone jack isn't "essential"?
- dschep 9y agoYour first point is spot on, and why I'm really annoyed by android phones these days. A simple, and still fully factual, rephrasing of their statements makes it obvious just how bad it is: > Devices should become outdated every other year.
- gcb0 9y agowake me up when there is a phone that runs proper linux. with decent drivers. if anyone told you that you would be using your own computer in "kiosk" mode with a root password you don't have, you would be laughing your ass off. but here we are, all using the 90s equivalent of a library computer.
- fooey 9y agoUbuntu tried that, and it was a complete flop
- gue5t 9y agoNo, Ubuntu's phone efforts refused to take a stance of promising open-source drivers (because they didn't care about solving this problem for their users, they just wanted to be a phone OEM). Whether the kernel has the Android patches or not isn't the important factor; it's whether the device drivers (kernel and userspace) can be maintained by the community.
- CaptSpify 9y agoI would hazard to say Ubuntu didn't try it, they just looked like they were going to try it, but never did. Releasing only a handful of phones, not making a fully functional 1.0 release isn't trying, it's just testing the waters.
- collyw 9y agoI bought an Ubunutu phone. It had potential but it was too late to the game. It didn't get any developer momentum behind it, so it was lacking in apps, while Android got way better in the year and a half that I owned one.
- CaptSpify 9y agoI kind of agree. The Ubuntu phone was the first phone I've had that I didn't hate. That being said, it wasn't ever stable enough to get developers behind it, so it didn't have very many apps.
- Markoff 9y agodisplay damaged from factory, no waterproofing, no jack, no SD card, no track record regarding update no thanks, you are better off with flagship Samsung S8 which cost less trying to use reputation of someone who was last time around Android in times of Jelly Bean release and who just copied iOS and completely changed original idea after release of iPhone, doesn't seem like that good idea for people who know facts
- of 9y agoUgh, I hate the branding. Smartphones are NOT essential. Fuckers.
- toast0 9y ago> And while costs for such finely crafted materials are usually reserved for high-priced, out-of-reach goods, we've tried to make our phone as affordable as possible. $699 may be as affordable as possible, but that doesn't mean it's not a a high-priced, out-of-reach good.
- gnicholas 9y ago> Every year, like clockwork, manufacturers make “design tweaks” and launch new features and products that work well if you choose to stay in their ecosystem. You buy their phone, TV, speaker, and fridge with the promise of simplicity, but more and more often, this is a way to force loyalty. Good thing they're not doing that! > We also plan to release new wireless accessories (like our snap-on 360º Camera) every few months. That schedule ensures that the latest technology will always be in the palm of your hand without having to replace your phone. These accessories will also work with other products like Essential Home. Spoke too soon.
- sangd 9y agoIt's just another high end phone with fancy features. I would like to see more reviews and its usability.
- tastyfreeze 9y agoNot a single mention of the IP rating. For a device that goes with us everywhere in varied environments the IP rating is important for making a purchase decision. If moisture is able to get into the device it doesn't matter how durable the exterior is.
- ocdtrekkie 9y ago"And once you turn it on, you’ll find that there are a limited number of preloaded apps and no duplicative services." This means every single required bloatware app Google requires in order to maintain their monopoly. And literally nothing else.
- exabrial 9y agoDoes it have an Ingress Protection (like IP68) rating? Isn't mentioned
- fiatjaf 9y agoImages of the site don't load here. The video of the phone falling on the ground does, some other images do also, but a lot of the page is gray or black or blue spaces where I imagine pictures should be.
- mtgx 9y ago> Essential Phone will get guaranteed Android OS updates for 2 years and will get monthly security updates for 3 years, so your phone will always be secure and have the latest features. Unfortunately, this is the maximum any vendor can promise to do right now, as anymore than that depends on the chip manufacturers and such to support their chips. So until Google changes that somehow by forcing manufacturers' hand, this will be the best we'll get.
- arrty88 9y agoi bet microsoft acquires them
- Animats 9y ago$699? Why so expensive?
- metalliqaz 9y agoBecause that's how much iPhones and Pixels cost.
- Animats 9y agoGeneric unlocked Android smartphones, which this is, run $200-$400.
- metalliqaz 9y agoWell, I don't think they want a piece of that market. I think they want a piece of the high-end market.
- Animats 9y agoThat doesn't mean they get much of it.
- balladeer 9y agoOn the surface, doesn't look too different from Moto Z, at least in conception of modular accessories. On the other hand I can't charge and use an earphone at the same time which I often do during long journeys. And I don't know how much impact will be transferred to the inside parts or the screen in case of a fall since it's not aluminium body or plastic (or this aspect is irrelevant?). But a slight fall the aluminium of iPhone SE takes one more dent or a tiny cut. Plus, ceramic shatters on impact usually as does glass. Maybe I am missing something here. Hopefully they have done something to make it not too slippery. My iPhone SE keeps slipping and for the love of keeping the size and look as it is I haven't yet started using a case. Though the clean and sleek look is very good. Hope it succeeds. Though I won't be waiting for it. I've moved to iOS and it's beyond my price and size range for a smartphone anyway.
- georgewsinger 9y agoSerious (non-troll) question: How is this phone not (at best) merely incrementally better than, i.e., Google's Pixel?
- 1024core 9y agoAs phones become more and more powerful, the EOL dates should be longer and longer. Why restrict it to 3 years? Apple supports iPhones for about 5(?).
- iOsiris 9y agoMost Android phones use Qualcomm chips, so if Qualcomm doesn't provide long term support. Neither does any company that uses their chips.
- natch 9y agoI'm sure it's a nice phone, but I cannot unsee that stubby chubby. Probably a really nice camera though. Other than the look of the camera I would consider this phone. Edit: Oh, it's an add-on. So it's like we're going back to the old Danger Sidekick days when they had that little camera dongle.
- MBCook 9y agoMotorola has been pushing their 'MotoMods' as add-on sleds recently too. 'Our phone is so thin! And has a projector and a great camera and a huge battery! You just need to carry a hand bag of accessories!'
- shosko 9y agoI was hoping this was a modern flip phone :(
- dwighttk 9y agoAt Essential we don't promise simplicity... in fact we guarantee it will be incredibly difficult!
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- jacquesm 9y agoWill it work in Europe?
- 0x8BADF00D 9y agoWhile this is truly an impressive project, both in engineering and vision, I'm probably not going to buy one. The main reason being that they chose to go with Android. They had an opportunity to experiment with offering a FOSS mobile OS, but instead they chose to go with design-by-committee's poster child.
- speakeron 9y agoI've already got an HTC One M7 that I've had since 2013. It works perfectly and seems able to continue for another 4 years at least. Why do I need this phone?
- cedricbonhomme 9y agoSomeone knows if this smartphone uses a custom version of Android?
- cedricbonhomme 9y agoSomeone knows if this smartphone uses a custom version of Android?
- lanius 9y agoI'd be interested to see how reliable this will be. I just want a smartphone that won't freeze/reboot/slow to a crawl seemingly always at the worst possible time.
- nkkollaw 9y agoA little expensive IMHO. I've dropped the iPhone a little more than a year ago. I got a Y6II for $179. Perfect performance, but didn't like Huawei's tweaks to Android. I just got a Moto G5 Plus with nearly-stock Android and it's the best phone I've ever owned, and I paid only EUR 280 for it.
- jdmichal 9y agoThere's also the Nokia 6 playing in that same space. But let's not pretend that those are in the same "flagship" league as the specs on this phone. Screen is higher resolution, processor and GPU are faster, more storage and memory, dual cameras with more MP, USB-C... I mean, almost every spec point worth caring about is obviously better.
- nkkollaw 9y agoI don't know, I can't imagine needing more than 3GB of RAM,>200dpi and 4K video in a phone. I'm not saying the phone isn't great, just a personal perspective.
- romanovcode 9y ago> Your phone is your personal property. Oh, come on! It runs android. My phone and data belongs to google.
- mixedCase 9y agoI share some of my data to Google in exchange for their services, but I can flash any OS I want on my phone and I have used Android without Google services for non-trivial periods of time. My phone is most certainly my personal property.
- dcow 9y agoI'm still holding out for Ocean Depths.
- miheermunjal 9y agoAnyone else remember that magnetic accessory connection port? Seems like a killer feature if done correctly. Or just another "Moto Mod" style feature that went wrong...
- ariofrio 9y agoGive me software updates for 7+ years, then we'll talk about buying your $700 phone. Lasting hardware means nothing without lasting software. In the meanwhile, I'll keep buying $120 phones (Moto G4 with Amazon Ads FTW) and keeping them for ~2 years until they break or software updates stop. Even though as a Catholic (Laudato Si, Rerum Novarum) it kills me to waste all those materials every couple of years and be part of the environmental degradation of our planet.
- throwaway613834 9y agoI'm on Android 4 as I'm typing this and the only reason I'm even considering a new phone is that apps have gotten a bit more demanding of the CPU, i.e. my hardware is too slow for a handful of apps now. What do you find so critical about OS/OEM software updates that you find a need to buy a new phone every 1-2 years?
- zeograd 9y agosecurity ones...
- throwaway613834 9y agoWhat kind of security updates actually worry you though? Not trying to sound snarky, but do you install sketchy apps regularly? What are examples of actual threats are you trying to protect against? If you install untrusted apps regularly I could see why, but if not then what attack vector are you worried about? Are you worried about a WiFi attack in a coffee shop for example?
- balls187 9y agoI found it off-putting that on the home page, the 2nd section about the phone was an interview with the founder with exposition on his intentions. Seems unnecessarily narcissistic--tell me about the phone and it's features first and sell me on your product.
- Philipp__ 9y agoI got the same impression. It's kinda lame. I mean, phone looks good, real, good product, but to me it seems it's biggest selling point is the man himself behind it.
- bdcravens 9y agoGiven that he founded Android, I think that's the point.
- differentView 9y agoIt's like they took the advice of some business reality show, tell a story. Doesn't work well with a technical crowd.
- a1371 9y agoWell, the guy founded Android so it would be interesting to know what he has to say.
- balls187 9y agoSure, but before you tell me anything about the phone?
- stuart78 9y agoFurther down the page you "meet" more of the team. I think the idea is to emphasize that this is a phone made by real people, not an faceless corporation. I don't really disagree with your response, but I do think there is something nice about humanizing the design and production of technology.
- Hasz 9y agoYou want fixable and well designed, long software updates, and a good price? Buy an (old) iPhone. I've got a 5S -- still perfectly fast for what I use it for (email, youtube, brokerage account, general internet, some small games), and is getting OS updates and security patches until IOS11. It's $120 on eBay; a new screen can be had for $13, a new battery for $11. it's solidly designed and there's a gigantic field of accessories and apps. Maybe titanium and no bezels are worth a price premium, but there's no way it's worth a 5x increase in price.
- freehunter 9y agoPlus you have a great piece of industrial design. I love the look of the 5S/SE. It looks premium, it feels nice in your hand, it's solid, and those chamfered edges are so nice. It's a shame they went from that to the iPhone 6 design and stuck with it all this time. It might make bigger phones easier to hold but man it just doesn't look as nice IMO. It looks like a generic round phone. Nothing stands out about it at all.
- posguy 9y agoHaving sold hundreds of iPhone 5s's when I was selling B2B, I have to say I was fairly unimpressed. Not great battery life over time, if an employee left with iCloud enabled it was a whole affair with Apple to get them to reset the device and allow it to be reused, and the brick style design is not very comfortable overall. My favorite is the curved back, as is on most Motorola's and some LGs. Personally, I stick with cheap LG phones ($100 or so) that are rootable/rommable. If the phone gets damaged or I want a newer phone, no skin off my back, biggest concern is just moving Signal Private Messenger over to the new phone I get :P
- odux 9y agoOff topic but do you have recommendations for cheap rootable phones? (LG or otherwise)
- scott_karana 9y agoIf iCloud was your problem, it's because you weren't using an MDM. That's an OS-independent problem ;)
- bagacrap 9y ago"Premium materials and true craftsmanship shouldn’t just be for the few. [...] we've tried to make our phone as affordable as possible [...] you can get an unlocked Essential Phone for just $699" By what standard is this affordable?
- inovica 9y agoI replaced my iPhone 6 with a NextBit Robin for $120! The camera isn't as good, but I love the rest of the phone. I'd rather spend $120 now and see what else is around in 1 year than $700 on this
- bbtn 9y agoAndroid again?
- toephu2 9y ago"your phone will always be secure and have the latest features." Until 2 years passes...Apple supports their devices much longer than 2 years.
- emehrkay 9y agoRandom but, whenever a new company comes with a dot com that is a standard word, I wonder how much it cost them. I remember color.com going for something like a quarter of a mill. Essential.com has to be in that ballpark.
- purpleostrich 9y agoI'm getting a Piphone, myself.
- baybal2 9y agoUgh >You deserve a phone that can resist the trials of everyday use. That’s why we made Essential Phone out of titanium and ceramic. These materials are harder, stronger, and more resistant to dents and scratches than the materials that make up most smartphones. And while costs for such finely crafted materials are usually reserved for high-priced, out-of-reach goods, we've tried to make our phone as affordable as possible. I almost feel how hard he is forcing his engineer self to sound "markety"
- thinbeige 9y agoAndroid is a funny ecosystem. Every month, dozens of new Android phones hit the market bringing new exciting features like a clippable 360 camera but still after 10 years, there is no policy in place for direct updates from the OS vendor (like with iOS or Windows Phone). Sorry, I was a huge Android fan for many years but I just can't take an OS serious where 50% of billiona of phones out there won't get any updates because manufacturers don't get this managed. This is just insane.
- nepotism2018 9y agoSounds like oneplus. 700 dollars (540 sterling) is bit steep actually.
- andrepd 9y agoThey talk repeatedly about how their phone is so much better while still being affordable. Well, 700$ for a phone isn't affordable, especially in an age where a solid phone, excellent for 95% of your daily tasks, sets you back no more than 150$. I don't get it, what's the draw here? Is it the accessories? A couple other phones already did that shtick, and the result was the same: release 3 or 4 gimmicky products and forget about it. They talk about maintainability, but there is no replaceable battery, no expandable storage... I don't get it, what's the draw?
- teekert 9y agoOk, so he starts with a link to his 6 beliefs, I click it, read them then proceed to read the rest of the post, which contains the 6 beliefs again... I do like them though, except for the last one ;). Seems like a nice phone, but it doesn't seem particularly better then my OP3. They talk about freedom yet it's just Android right? Everything straight to Google right? What's so different from OP and the Nexus devices which also get updates and are minimal Android? That screen is nice, 128 GB is also nice. But other than that, I'm not really feeling it.
- dahoramanodoceu 9y agoCheck out postmarketOS. It's porting mobile linux to a whole host of old smart phones. It's a relatively new (open-source) project, but has already progressed considerably. A lot of people (myself included) are excited about the possibilities of having a fully hackable linux phone. I am not active in the porting side right now, but am prototyping a mobile computing device that runs pmOS. It's kind of a neuromancer style ono-sendai portable deck: A rectangular box (approx 11x29x3cm) that you can opem up and velcro your linux phone into and have a full-sized, stainless steel, porclean, or plastic mechanical keyboard and foldable mouse with slots for extra memory and battery life. It is designed to be as compact and as durable as possible, while staying true to the postmarket name by sourcing from reused materials whenever possible. My hypothetical market is mainly highly mobile autonomous individuals residing in developing world megacities, but I'm interested to know what someone from the US or Europe thinks about the idea. Oh ya, one more thing, the profits go to pmOS, to scale up a re-wilding project, and to getting these hackable linux devices into the hands of children forced to work in the supply/waste chain of electronics manufacturing.
- wodenokoto 9y agoI never buy phones on contract and I don't live in the states, so it can sometimes be hard to compare prices. But isn't this a fairly similar price to a similar iPhone/Pixel/Galaxy ? I mean, isn't this the price range for a premium phone and isn't this premium specced? Except for the silly "Everybody should be able to afford craftsmanship" line, I am having a hard time understanding why people are flipping out about the price. I for one welcome what looks to be a great premium phone with better software than most flagship phones.
- rconti 9y agoYes, it's a premium phone that's premium-priced, same as the competition. I don't quite get it either.
- aphextron 9y agoCan someone explain why this is not just another mediocre $700 Android phone?
- HillaryBriss 9y agoEssential Phone will get guaranteed Android OS updates for 2 years and will get monthly security updates for 3 years, so your phone will always be secure and have the latest features. that's when I stopped reading. does "always" mean "2 to 3 years"? in any case, AFAIK, that's no better than the Google Nexus/Pixel phones.
- Aardwolf 9y agoNo dual sim :( That's basically the #1 feature I want to look for in a next phone
- lostgame 9y agoUmm...we need another Android smartphone, why?
- sytelus 9y agoInteresting bits: - Dual cameras on back with depth estimation - True monochrome images (digital B&W photography!) - USB-C port - Fingerprint sensor - "full" display Overall it's great to have a phone with foundational philosophy of keeping it clean, open and play with others nicely. The biggest missing story is apps. Can I use Google Maps, Drive, Gmail, Now etc? Out of the box? Will Google Play Store be fully supported? Without all these apps, phone is just beautiful thin brick. Also, burning question is how this would stand up against Pixel.vNext which seems to have many (but not all) of same philosophies.
- minxomat 9y agoFrom your interesting bits, this might just as well be a Xiaomi Mi Mix, wich has been out for a while and is getting cloned already. No B/W sensor though (and expansion pins, but I couldn't care less). It also has a ceramic body and does hold up really well in drop tests.
- bikamonki 9y agoAndroid w/out bloatware is not an "essential" OS. Let me own my OS and I'll think about spending $700 on hardware specs that I can get for $200 elsewhere.
- legohead 9y ago$700 and no headphone jack? what courage!
- microcolonel 9y agoI think this company gets a lot of things right. Frankly, some of their marketing really speaks to me, like this bit from the home page[0]. Your phone is your personal property. It’s a public expression of who you are and what you stand for. Just because we played a part in making it doesn’t mean you should be forced to advertise that fact to everyone in your life. Now you know why we don't have any logos on the phone. They've thoroughly outclassed Apple in this and a number of other ways. I think they've put a lot of thought into matching the thoughts and aspirations of customers, and if the phone is anywhere near what it's cracked up to be, it's probably worth the price. [0]: https://www.essential.com/ https://www.essential.com/
- remir 9y agoThe only problem I see with the Essential Phone is that you'll only receive 2 years of OS updates. For a $700 phone, that's a bit insulting.
- collinmanderson 9y ago> Essential Phone will get guaranteed Android OS updates for 2 years and will get monthly security updates for 3 years, so your phone will always be secure and have the latest features. Yeah, that doesn't seem that great at all. iPhones are 3-5 years. https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/53mizf/iphone_ios_support_schedule_oc/ https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/53mizf/iph...
- microcolonel 9y agoThat is indeed a bit alarming. Maybe that's how they manage to hit even that price point with the kinds of materials they're using. That said, 2 years is the standard replacement period for most postpaid carriers, so it might be that way effectively anyway for many customers.
- antisthenes 9y agoCtrl+F "Removable battery" : 0 results. Verdict: pass. No guarantee of software support for 3+ years either.
- tux1968 9y agoThe battery is too small, only 3040mAh. Just want a phone that lasts a full day of heavy app usage. No way this is it with that sized battery.
- strin 9y agoHow could this be 10X better than products in the already crowded cell phone market?
- zanny 9y agoSince no one else has, I'll take the piss out of this "hollier than thou" bullshit. > Devices are your personal property. We won’t force you to have anything you don’t want. Devices are your personal property. The SoC is still a proprietary trade secret, the baseband is still spying on you for the NSA, the GPU is still a closed blob piece of shit. No mainline driver support, bootloader is closed source, firmware is closed source. We own this phone, you don't. > We will always play well with others. Closed ecosystems are divisive and outdated. .... > Devices shouldn’t become outdated every year. They should evolve with you. Devices become outdated because shitty vendors refuse to open source and mainline drivers for their components. > Technology should assist you so that you can get on with enjoying life. Technology should be trustable, and a device where you cannot tell if or when the microphone and/or camera are recording and being remotely accessed is anything but. Not wanting to single Essential out too much here - every vendor goes on and on about how great this phone is for you, while holding as much of a vice grip over the operation of the device as possible to make sure you need to buy another one as soon as possible through planned obsolescence. It is just the stick up the ass language announcements like these use is really infuriating when the people making them know full well how much they are screwing you over. The first actually open platform phone is the one that will have longevity. The rest are snake oil about how good they will take of you because you can't take care of yourself with your own software that you can trust.
- steeve 9y ago> Devices become outdated because shitty vendors refuse to open source and mainline drivers for their components. YES. This one of the major reasons of the Android versions fragmentation. However, most of them don't even have mainline-able drivers. See Amlogic which got rejected because of "shitty code".
- mscdex 9y agoAmlogic is being supported in the mainline kernel, see the work going on for the Odroid C2 for example, which uses an Amlogic S905. See this[1] site for more information and the incoming patches page[2] for a more up-to-date view on what's being worked on. [1]: http://linux-meson.com/doku.php http://linux-meson.com/doku.php [2]: https://patchwork.kernel.org/project/linux-amlogic/list/ https://patchwork.kernel.org/project/linux-amlogic/list/
- csense 9y agoI don't care for Android or IOS. Does anyone know of a phone that runs plain old Linux?
- throwaway7645 9y agoAnybody have or try one of these?
- mzzter 9y agoOooh titanium. That's next level.
- WatchDog 9y agoThis phone looks pretty slick, but I really wish it had a headphone jack. My 6p has some issues and needs replacement, and I want a flagship phone with a close-to-stock Android OS. The pixel 2 is ditching the headphone jack, it doesn’t seem like there are any other good choices.
- pbreit 9y agoHow much different or better is the $700 Essential than the $60 BLU [1]? 1: https://www.amazon.com/BLU-R1-HD-Exclusive-Lockscreen/dp/B01H2E0J5M https://www.amazon.com/BLU-R1-HD-Exclusive-Lockscreen/dp/B01...
- dayaz36 9y agoTiming could not be any worse. iPhone 8 will be out next month so even the people considering buying Essential will at least wait it out another month to see how the iPhone is. And by then, the spotlight will be turned towards the iPhone and people will be less excited about Essential. They needed to release this months ago, as far away from September as possible
- homero 9y agoI'd pay a lot of money for the latest android with stock root. I thought this was that but it's not. It's some kind of forked android with no version. Does it even have Google apps?
- duncan_bayne 9y agoThis looks like a 'nice phone' but is nothing like as interesting to me as Maru (https://maruos.com/ https://maruos.com/). Of course the reason I'm not running Maru right now is that the used Nexus 5 I bought was a gigantic POS. This phone, plus Maru, would be fantastic.
- ForFreedom 9y agoAll these phone hardware manufacturers say their phone is better than the rest by adding extra. TBH none of the extras are really needed for a common person. A common person uses the phone for "hello, how are you?" and social netowrking, games and some productivity. Anything more one would get a GoPro. I have an iphone 6 and albeit its rather slow at times and receive iOS updates as the latest phones to an extend. The android phones in the market takes about a year for an android update to be out in the market and one would have to be really lucky to get the update. The phone manufactures in general can claim that the materials used are from the asteroid or whatever but the phone is actually limited by the OS & electronics capability Not sure how Essential Phone is going to change any of this.
- guywhocodes 9y agoNo 3.5mm headphone jack, never buying.
- dayaz36 9y agoTiming could not be any worse. iPhone 8 will be out next month so even the people considering buying Essential will at least wait it out another month to see how the iPhone is. And by then, the spotlight will be turned towards the iPhone and people will be less excited about Essential. They needed to release this months ago, as far away from September as possible
- purpleidea 9y agoNo headphone jack! NEXT...
- codeisawesome 9y agoNo promises made about privacy even in a honey-talking PR piece, which is interesting.
- sigi45 9y agohaha 'essential' and 700$? No.
- lucb1e 9y ago> Premium materials and true craftsmanship shouldn’t just be for the few. At that price point, bollocks. From the title and this subheading I was expecting something around 300, or at the very least sub-500, but nope.
- hohenheim 9y agoI'm not sure what to think of this: https://www.essential.com/about#team https://www.essential.com/about#team looking at the security team.
- andy_ppp 9y agoI imagine Essential will get sued by those with big patent portfolios if they become in any way successful?
- nmbr213 9y ago> 5.71" Nah. I don't get why manufacturers stopped releasing 4" phones. Seems like a perfect screen size to me.
- PacketPaul 9y ago"We guarantee software updates for 2 years" Damn you Android guys have it bad. Apple pushes the software updates down your throats years after purchase.
- Mankhool 9y agoIf you are in Canada, Telus is the only carrier selling them: https://www.telus.com/en/on/mobility/phones/essential https://www.telus.com/en/on/mobility/phones/essential
- izzydata 9y agoWhy are new phones still a thing that people hype over? Until they significantly allow me to do something new that I can't do on any other phone it is just more of the same.
- Grazester 9y agoFirst review: They liked it. Things I learnt: It uses an LCD(screams, I like AMOLED) and has no waterproofing. An update for the camera was pushed right before the review was release which improved it greatly. Seems like a good $500 phone not a $700 one to me. https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/18/16165040/essential-phone-review-android-andy-rubin https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/18/16165040/essential-phone-...
- user-on1 9y agoEssential has any clause like the one mentioned here? https://www.xda-developers.com/one-class-action-lawsuit-against-lgs-bootloop-issue-has-been-compelled-into-arbitration/ https://www.xda-developers.com/one-class-action-lawsuit-agai...
- erikpukinskis 9y agoI think Andy Rubin is brilliant, but the more I read about the Essential phone and its history the more I think Rubin just got used to having a super high degree of control over his phone over the years, and doesn't feel comfortable not having a seat at the manufacturer's table anymore. All of the attempts at differentiation seem muddled. It's upgradeable, not locked in, except the accessories use a proprietary docking system. It's high end, but that's an incredibly competitive space. I would be shocked if this company last more than 5 years before acquisition/absorbtion. I can imagine phones that could differentiate against Google/Apple... something super low end spec wise, that sips power and has a new OS built for speed. Maybe. I still think a Web Phone is a good idea. Maybe focus on niches like an exercise phone. But... Any of this is extremely hard. Rubin just seems to be trying to beat Google at their own game, which I don't see going well.
- braeckmansj 9y agoDo you know that you can hack any ATM machine !!! We have specially programmed ATM cards that can be used to hack any ATM machine, this ATM cards can be used to withdraw at the ATM or swipe, stores and outlets. We sell this cards to all our customers and interested buyers worldwide, the cards has a daily withdrawal limit of $5000 in ATM and up to $50,000 spending limit in stores. and also if you in need of any other cyber hacking services, we are here for you at any time any day. Here is our price list for ATM cards: BALANCE PRICE $5,000----------------$300 $10,000 ------------- $650 $20,000 ------------- $1,200 $35,000 --------------$1,900 $50,000 ------------- $2,700 $100,000------------- $5,200 The price include shipping fees,order now: via email...braeckmansj@outlook.com.... you can also call or whatsapp us with this mobile number..+2348114499350
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]