Andy Rubin’s Essential Phone wants to be your next smartphone

After months of teasing, Essential, the company that Andy Rubin, the man known as the father of Android, founded, has its unveiled first smartphone.

Known simply as the Essential “PH-1” Phone, the device is an ambitious high-end Android smartphone that combines, into one cohesive package, many of the unique and disparate ideas we’ve seen other smartphone OEMs attempt over the past few years.

The Essential Phone’s most noticeable hardware feature is its edge-to-edge display, which Essential has taken to calling a “Full Display.” It’s a 19:10, 2560 x 1312 pixel QHD screen that one-ups similar bezel-less displays from Samsung and LG by extending all the way to the top of the device and around the phone’s front-facing camera.

The entire device is made from Gorilla Glass 5, titanium and ceramic. It also doesn’t include any branding. Thanks to this design, Essential says its phone is significantly more durable than competing devices like the iPhone and Galaxy S8.

Also notable is the smartphone’s back-facing camera. Like the iPhone 7 and Huawei P10, the Essential Phone features two back-facing cameras. Like the P10, the second camera features a monochromatic sensor. According to Essential, this allows the Essential Phone’s back-facing camera to capture 200 percent more light than a traditional smartphone camera, leading to best-in-class low light performance. On the front of the device, is an 8-megapixel camera that can capture 4K video.

The company will also ship a separate 360-degree camera. The optional accessory is capable of capturing 4K 360-degree video at 30 frames per second. It attaches via two magnetic ports on the back of the device. Essential claims its 360-degree camera is the smallest in the world. The company will ship other modular accessories that connect to the back of the Essential Phone and add additional functionality to it in the future.

The phone is no slouch when it comes to performance. It features a Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, a 3,040mAh battery and back-facing fingerprint sensor. In terms of connectivity, the Essential Phone supports USB-C, Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 5.0.

It also supports some but not all Canadian carrier frequencies and bands. Notably, the Essential Phone does support Band 66.

That said, it’s missing several features that have become commonplace with other high-end devices like the Galaxy S8 and LG G6, including water-proofing and microSD expandability. It also doesn’t include a headphone jack — according to Essential, the phone will ship with a USB-C headphone dongle.

Essential did not say much about the PH-1’s software. It will run a stock-like version of Android 7.1.1 that’s designed to work in conjunction with the company’s Essential Home product.

At launch, the Essential Phone is set to cost $700 USD (approximately $943 CAD) unlocked. Essential did not announce a Canadian release date for the device.

Correction: An earlier version of this mistakenly said the Essential Phone would not be compatible with Freedom Mobile LTE network.

[source]Essential[/source]