Essential Phone Successor Could be Launched Very Soon

Essential, the company founded by the Android creator Andy Rubin, launched the world’s first smartphone with a notch display. The Essential Phone (a.k.a Essential PH-1) is a flagship smartphone with a premium build and top-notch specs. While the Essential Phone failed to compete with the flagship smartphones from the established brands, it is the only smartphone to get security patch and OTA updates on par with Google Pixels.

The Essential Phone was discontinued in December 2018 and there is no new product announcement till date. In response to a nine-month-old tweet, Andy Rubin teased about the launch of the Essential Phone 2. Also, the last tweet from his handle came in October 2018. While there is no official confirmation, the announcement might come out in the next few weeks. The first-gen Essential Phone was announced in May 2017 and was released three months later in the US.

As of now, there is no information about the second-gen smartphone from the company. We expect the Essential Phone 2 to also come with a premium build and flagship internals. While the Essential Phone is the world’s first notched smartphone, we are guessing the Essential Phone 2 to come with a notch-less display. It will continue to come with the stock Android and we hope it also includes the magnetic pin connector on the rear for connecting the modular accessories.

https://twitter.com/Arubin/status/1138408957880332288

While the Essential Phone was launched in 2017 for USD 499, it was retailing for just USD 200 before getting discontinued in December 2018. Even though the device is no more in stock, it got the latest Android Q Beta 4 update along with the Google Pixel smartphones. Even in 2017, the Essential Phone came with a 5.7-inch Quad HD (2560 x 1312 pixels) display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Mobile Platform.

On the rear, it sports 13MP RGB sensor and a 13MP Monochrome sensor that can shoot in 4K resolution at 30fps. The U-shaped notch on the front features an 8MP selfie camera with f/2.2 aperture. It came with a 3,040mAh battery and supports fast charging technology. The device also skipped the 3.5mm audio jack but later launched the USD 150 Audio Adapter HD accessory which can be connected to the device using magnetic pins. Stay tuned on Phone Radar for more details about the upcoming Essential Phone!