Essential Phone, which created a lot of buzzes when it was launched in June this year, will receive Android OS update for 2 years. Andy Rubin has said in a blog post that the device will receive monthly security updates for 3 years.
Rubin also announced that the smartphone is now available on Essential.com, Sprint, Amazon and Best Buy. Essential Phone is compatible with all major carriers. Further, the unlocked Essential Phone is priced $699 and for a limited time, users will get Essential 360 Camera bundled $749.
The company is also planning to release new wireless accessories like Essential 360 Camera every few months. These accessories will also work with other products like Essential Home, he added further. Rubin says that the Essential Phone has no branding and one will find a limited number of preloaded apps and no duplicative services.
Recollecting some key features of the Essential Phone, it is made from Titanium body and has a ceramic back, while the front is protected with Corning Glass 5 cover glass. The brand says that Titanium is more durable and does not scratch, dent or bend. The back sports a dual-camera setup coupled with Autofocus and LED flash and just beneath it, you will find a fingerprint sensor. At the right, there are volume controls and power on/off button
The major highlight of the device is the magnetic connector situated at a top-right corner of the rear panel. The company has introduced a new 360-degree camera, which can be connected easily with the smartphone. The camera comes loaded with dual 12-megapixel fisheye images with f/1.8 Aperture and a 210-degree field of view. The camera is able to record 360-degree UHD Resolution at 30 fps. Then there is a docking station for the Essential Phone to quickly recharge the smartphone.
Jumping straight to the specifications, the device comes loaded with a 5.71-inch QHD display with a screen resolution of 2560 x 1312 pixels and an unusual aspect ratio of 19:10 coupled with 500nits brightness. The device is powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Processor along with Adreno 540 GPU. The phone is backed by a 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Further, The Verge says that the smartphone will run on Ambient OS, which is based on Android, though there is no information about the Android version.
On the camera front, the device sports 13-megapixel dual cameras with one being used to capture RGB, while the other is a monochrome. It also features f/1.85 lens, Hybrid Auto Focus combing Contrast, Phase Detect and IR Laser Assist Focus and 4K video recording at 30fps. For the front, there is an 8MP shooter with f/2.2 fixed hyperfocal lens and 4K video recording. In terms of battery, the phone is juiced up by a 3040mAh with fast charging. On the connectivity front, it supports Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac with MIMO, NFC, 4G LTE, USB Type-C and fingerprint sensor. It measures 141.5 x 71.1 x 7.8 mm and weighs approx. 185 grams.