Have you heard of the Essential Phone, aka the Essential PH-1, as it's officially known? You'd be forgiven if you haven't. It's a brand new handset that has come straight out of left field, although delving into things it does actually have quite a pedigree as it's the brainchild of Andy Rubin.
Rubin was one of the co-creators of Android and is considered to be the "father" of the platform, and his Essential Phone is based on the very same software that he helped build.
Many worried that the Essential Phone, like Google Home and Amazon Echo, would exist as a US exclusive for a prolonged time, but this is apparently not the case. The Essential Phone will get a UK release date, so don't street too much if this a phone you’re really interested in.
The Essential Phone is built around several core beliefs, which Mr. Rubin detailed in a blog post:
- 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 Closed ecosystems are divisive and outdated.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- Devices shouldn’t become outdated every year.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.
Here's what one of the handset's designers had to say about the Essential Phone's build materials:
"The thing about titanium (used in our phone) is that it’s stiff. Really -- it won’t bend. Often found in aerospace designs for similar reasons, it allows us to use thinner walls and have more room for bigger batteries inside. We can also shrink the borders of the product without having to worry that the display will get damaged if the phone is dropped. But it wasn’t easy to get. I literally went around the world three times before I found a partner that shared our vision. But I’m glad we did because the finished product is beautiful."
He added: "Craftsmanship is the intangible quality that a customer senses when they pick up a product for the first time. The experience one feels as the product rests in your hand, there’s an unconscious acknowledgment of whether it’s good or bad. If you hold a poorly crafted product, you can feel the haste in which it was rushed through the R&D process. This abstract notion is impossible to hide. It just doesn’t feel right."
In the US, the unlocked version PH-1 has been up for pre-order with local retail firm Best Buy since the start of August, and the same retailer is now taking pre-orders for carrier-locked models for the Sprint network where it will be an exclusive.
Sprint itself has also begun taking pre-orders, which it has said will begin shipping on August 28. Previously Best Buy said it would ship on September 1.
Customers who've bought the phone direct from Essential already have now received emails confirming that it will begin shipping within the next seven days.
However, while the phone is definitely coming to the UK market, there is currently little information about exactly when. The Financial Times has managed to dig up details which suggest it will arrive by the end of 2017.
There is some indication, though, that it will be locked to certain carrier exclusives in the UK, according to FT's report, Essential reps met with their counterparts from UK networks, EE was specifically mentioned but it is implied others were also in talks with the phone maker. Quite which firm will get the deal remains to be seen, although EE and Carphone Warehouse have a habit of snapping these things up.
