Essentials

By Bayle Emlein

Andy Rubin co-founded the Android platform. Then he progressed to something more Essential. The Essential phone seeks to solve some of the problems that Android does not address, or even contributes to. Frustrated by the convoluted constraints put on customers and high end-user costs, he set out to create a new kind of company using 21st century methods to build products for the way people want to live in the 21st century.

The basic tenets of Essential are:

▸ Devices are your personal property. We won’t force you to have anything on them you don’t want to have.

▸ We will always play well with others. Closed ecosystems are divisive and outdated.

▸ Premium materials and true craftsmanship shouldn’t be just for the few.

▸ Devices shouldn’t become outdated every year. They should evolve with you.

▸ Technology should assist you so that you can get on with enjoying your life.

▸ Simple is always better.

The result is the Essential PH-1, released in one color: Black Moon. Currently shipping to the US, the price for the titanium and ceramic phone with an edge-to-edge display, is comparable to other similar Android phones The dimensions are height: 141.5mm, width: 71.1mm, thickness: 7.8mm, weight: 185 grams. The display, especially in low light, is noticeably sharper than comparable phones, including some running on a different operating system.

The Essential PH-1 has a 13MP Dual RGB + Mono camera with image fusion technology and f/1.85 lens. The 8MP front camera has a 16:9 aspect ratio and f/2.20 fixed hyperfocal lens. Both cameras handle vdeo at 4K 30fps, 1080p 60fps or 720p 120fp. Bluetooth 5.0 LE; 802.11a/b/g/n/ac with MIMO WiFi; NFC: and GPS and GLONASS keep the phone connected.

Using a Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 835 CPU, this is–not surprisingly–an Android phone. A USB Type-C port; a 60GHz, 6 Gbps Wireless Accessory Connector, 2x accessory power pins, and NanoSIM tray with pin eject complete the Essential Black Moon, the currently available color and model.

Essential also offers a 360° camera that attaches magnetically to the Black Moon. The magnetic connector with wireless data transfer keeps your phone cord-free. The website promises that this interface will remain consistent for future phone models and implies that other accessories are being developed.