The maker of the “original” notched phone is releasing a new device very soon

Remember the Essential Phone? They are a smartphone maker led by one of Android’s co-founders, Andy Rubin. Out of the blue, Andy had replied to an old tweet from September last year indicating that a new announcement is right around the corner. Could this be the Essential Phone 2?

There are no firm details about the device but we do know that Essential has stopped production on the PH-1 late last year to focus on their next mobile product. It was also reported that Essential had cancelled their second smartphone as the company was struggling.

With this latest development, it seems that the company might have turned things around and it is possible that the new device isn’t a smartphone. It was speculated that their next product could be AI and voice activated device which is designed to take care of your day to day task that you perform on your phone. Since Andy was replying to a tweet about an Android phone, we think the announcement is highly likely to be a new smartphone.

The original Essential Phone was Andy Rubin’s take on what a smartphone should be as he wasn’t happy with the current state of technology. The Essential Phone PH-1 was arguably the first “notched” smartphone that’s packed with top specs and it’s made with the premium materials.

The device came with a 5.71″ Quad HD+ display that stretches in a 19:10 aspect ratio for a big screen experience in a smaller form factor. It ran with on a Snapdragon 835 processor with 4GB RAM and 128GB of storage. The device uses a titanium frame for durability and a ceramic back for better scratch resistance.

One of the standout features is its modular expansion. At the rear, there are magnetic connector pins which allow you to attach additional accessories like an Essential 360 camera. The attachment has two 12MP f/1.8 fisheye cameras that can capture 360 degree 4K videos at 30fps, and it is sold separately at US$199 (about RM828).

Instead of having a wireless charger, the Essential has released a charging dock that charges via its magnetic connector. In the US, the Essential Phone was priced at US$699 (about RM2,909) and the 360 camera bundle was going for US$749 (about RM3,117). The device was only sold in the US and Canada, and eventually, it was released in France, Germany, Spain, Japan and the UK.

Alexander Wong