Without a doubt, the Essential Phone is one of the hottest flagships of 2017. The phone was announced earlier this year and teased in a May tweet by Essential’s creator, Andy Rubin in which he showed the phone covered by his hand and said “I'm really excited about how this is shaping up.

Well, the good news is that in the three months since the tweet, everything has become known about the essential and, as of this week, the phone has now launched in several markets across the globe.

The Essential Phone PH-1, like Google’s Pixel phones, is built with one thing in mind – a pure software experience. There is minimal bloatware, timely updates, apparently, and guaranteed support for two years.

Andy Rubin created Android, so it stands to reason he knows how to make a phone work properly with Google’s OS. But beyond the software, the design of the phone itself is truly captivating. I cannot remember seeing a phone quite as good-looking as the Essential Phone PH-1. Let alone a debut phone!

Competition will be stiff inside Q4 with the release of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and Apple’s iPhone 8, but Essential has priced the Essential Phone PH-1 very cleverly; it’s still expensive but, importantly, it retails for around $200 less than Apple’s iPhone 8 ($1000+) and Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8.

This kind of makes it a more premium-OnePlus-style release, sitting snuggly between the high-end and super-high-end segment of the market. How this tactic pays off will be interesting, even more so once Google’s Pixel 2 phones land. Could Andy Rubin’s start-up company outsell Google’s Pixel phones?

Looking at the handset, comparing it to what Google’s Pixel 2 is expected to look like, I’d definitely be willing to wage a good chunk of money that it could.

But if you feel like you still don’t know enough about the phone, here are ten essential (sorry for the horrible pun) things to keep in mind.

It Lacks A Headphone Jack

Yep, the Essential has no headphone jack. Apple got slammed for removing the headphone jack in the iPhone 7, but it appears that’s the way the world is heading. Instead, the Essential comes with a USB-C to headphone jack adapter so you can plug your wired headphones in.

It Was Created By Android Co-founder Andy Rubin

This is the first Android phone that was designed by one of the co-founders of Android OS. Back in 2005, Rubin developed the Android software, which Google then bought up. After co-creating Android, Rubin then went to work in various other areas of the tech sector before founding Essential Phone.

It Has An Unusual Aspect Ratio

There’s no denying the Essential’s design is amazing and that edge-to-edge display is beautiful. But the phone does have an unusual 19:10 aspect ratio. We suspect that's because more display could be fit on the device since its bezels are so thin.

It Has A Dedicated Monochrome Sensor

The Essential has a dual lens rear camera, which is all the rage today. However, one of the lenses in the rear camera has a dedicated monochrome sensor, which will let you take improved black-and-white pics.

Also – ALL Essential Phone PH-1 handsets come with 128GB of storage as standard. 

There’s A 360-degree Camera Accessory For It

Essential also makes an official 360º camera accessory that can be snapped to the top of the device that allows you to take photos in 360º.

It Runs Android

Yep, no surprise here. Essential runs Android without any modifications. Rubin has also stated that every Essential will get two years worth of Android software updates and three years worth of monthly security patches. Essential ships with Android 7.1.1.

It’s Shipping Later Than Promised

Essential only started shipping this week, which is way later than Rubin originally said it would. When he teased the phone in May 2017, he said it would ship just a month later. In reality, it’s taken three months to ship it to market.

You Can’t Expand Its Storage

Unlike most Android phones, the Essential doesn’t have a microSD card slot so you can’t expand its storage. But that shouldn’t be a problem for most. It comes with 128GB of storage built-in.

It Features Bluetooth 5

Essential packs the latest version of Bluetooth–version 5. Bluetooth 5 offers two times the speed, four times the range, and eight times the data broadcasting that Bluetooth 4 offered.

It’ll Probably Look A Lot Like The iPhone 8

With its thin bezels and edge-to-edge display, the Essential is one of the most beautiful Androids on the market–and looks much sexier than the iPhone 7. However, with Apple just weeks away from unveiling the iPhone 8, we’re betting the two flagships look a lot alike.

Though the Essential Phone will be MASSIVELY cheaper at $699 vs the $1000+ Apple will be asking for the iPhone 8. 

If you pre-order the Essential Phone now via Sprint you can save 50% on the final retail price.