Essential PH-1

[Sankari]

Controversial venture capitalist Andrew E. "Andy" Rubin has thrown his hat into the ring with the launch of a titanium unibody phone with a 5.7", 19:10 aspect ratio, edge-to-edge screen, clumsily titled Essential PH-1:





(Source).

https://www.essential.com

US$700, currently US only.

 

[grudas]

US only, don't care.

 

[Sighn]

Wanted this phone but Q4 UK release has put me off considering the US is getting it in a few days.

 

[Silly Goose On The Loose]

I personally think the front looks utterly rank.

 

[Glaucus]

Other than titanium, it's just any other high end phone. Which for me misses on so many levels.

I hope eve (crowd design tablet) make a phone once their tablet is being sold as their tablet although some large to surface is just better all round.

 

[insane200]

Looks really nice to me, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Grns57T3XY

 

[deuse]

Looks good and I hope it works here. But I wonder if support is any good?

 

[tigerstyle]

I personally think the front looks utterly rank.

The front, and even the whole phone, look basically the same as 99% of smartphones on the market?
Or is it the centre camera that is really killing you

 

[Silly Goose On The Loose]

The front, and even the whole phone, look basically the same as 99% of smartphones on the market?
Or is it the centre camera that is really killing you

I just think the way the screen goes around the camera looks awful!

 

[thecremeegg]

I just think the way the screen goes around the camera looks awful!

Wait til the new iphone comes out, it'll be the best design feature ever

 

[Silly Goose On The Loose]

Wait til the new iphone comes out, it'll be the best design feature ever

I also think it looks awful on the new iPhone!

 

[tigerstyle]

I just think the way the screen goes around the camera looks awful!

I think they've made the right choice of making the desktop pic not encroach around the camera, sure users will, but leaving it dedicated for battery+notifications lessens the impact of it.

 

[Mr_Moose]

I'm in the market for a new phone, current contact is up in October, and came across this in my searching.
Quite like the look of it tbh. The reviews I've read say the camera doesn't actually intrude that badly on the screen when you're using it.

The thing that does stand out is no waterproofing or wireless charging which, for a high-end phone these days, is pretty standard. That and the camera doesn't seem to be getting good reviews, but that could be software rather than hardware as 1 reviewer mentioned they got a software update 6hrs prior to their deadline and actually noticed a decent (but not S8, Iphone comparable) improvement in image quality.

Will be interesting to see how it stacks up against the Pixel 2.

 

[insane200]

I'm in the market for a new phone, current contact is up in October, and came across this in my searching.
Quite like the look of it tbh. The reviews I've read say the camera doesn't actually intrude that badly on the screen when you're using it.

The thing that does stand out is no waterproofing or wireless charging which, for a high-end phone these days, is pretty standard. That and the camera doesn't seem to be getting good reviews, but that could be software rather than hardware as 1 reviewer mentioned they got a software update 6hrs prior to their deadline and actually noticed a decent (but not S8, Iphone comparable) improvement in image quality.

Will be interesting to see how it stacks up against the Pixel 2.

Its been said there will be a kind of wireless charging which uses the magnetic pins on the back where the 360 camera would go.

 

[Sighn]

Camera is being reported as a newly discovered level of terrible.

 

[kona786]

Camera is being reported as a newly discovered level of terrible.

Mr Mobiles camera review showed the low light as terrible.

 

[Mekrel]

It's a shame to hear such reports, I think we need more competitive players in the Android OEM arena.

We need an OEM that can compete both with Samsung on the hardware and design front, and with Google on the software front. I'm not really a fan of the bezels on 1st gen Pixel, and Google still fall short in Bluetooth performance and features. Seriously Google, taking until Android 8.0 to implement Aptx?!

 

[V_R]

Saw that earlier, shame as this was a strong contender for my next phone if the camera was any good...

 

[BananaDunka]

If this had an IPX rating, and a decent camera, then I'd be all over it. Oh and not forgetting a bigger battery and 256GB storage option...

It's a shame to hear such reports, I think we need more competitive players in the Android OEM arena.

We need an OEM that can compete both with Samsung on the hardware and design front, and with Google on the software front. I'm not really a fan of the bezels on 1st gen Pixel, and Google still fall short in Bluetooth performance and features. Seriously Google, taking until Android 8.0 to implement Aptx?!

Not just aptx though, aptx-hd, among other codecs as well. It took many many years, but at least it supports them all now, and you can choose which codec you want to use from Developer Options in Settings.

If you want the hardware and software being top shelf, then the Pixel 2 XL is going to be the one to keep an eye on I'd say.

Its been said there will be a kind of wireless charging which uses the magnetic pins on the back where the 360 camera would go.

It will just be a docking station like on phones of old (think Xperia Z3 style).

 

[Russinating]

Sad to hear reports about the camera as this was looking like the next phone for me too, but the camera is one of my most 'essential' features...