Former Android chief unveils edge-to-edge phone and Echo-like speaker

Andy Rubin, the co-founder of Android, today released his latest smartphone under his new company Essential, with the phone being called Essential Phone. Unlike other smartphones in the market, the Essential Phone is a bold and modular smartphone in many ways.

Essential Phone, as it’s called, runs Android and has a 5.71-inch QHD edge-to-edge display with Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The display extends all the way to the the top of the device and wraps around the front-facing camera.

The Echo rival, called Essential Home, features compatibility with Apple’s HomeKit framework and other software platforms for the connected home.

Essential Phone

Encased in a titanium body with a ceramic back, Essential Phone can survive a drop test “without blemish, unlike the aluminum competitor devices,” says the company. The premium smartphone with a high-resolution 5.71-inch, 2,560-by-1,312 pixel display is powered by Qualcomm’s eight-core Snapdragon 835 processor with four gigabytes of RAM.

There is also a fingerprint scanner at the rear of the device, with a USB-C connector and a bottom firing mono speaker at the bottom. Sadly, the handset lacks a 3.5mm audio jack, though Essential is hoping to make up for it by including an adapter in the box. On the software front, the Essential Phone runs on Android 7.1.1 Nougat with no bloatware thrown in.

Availability

Essential Phone will be available in Black, Gray, White and Ocean Depths colors. At the time of this writing, only white models were able for pre-order. The contract-free phone costs $699.

Essential Phone got 360-degrees camera which costs $50,but the price will increase to $199. Let us know your opinion if you are going to buy it or not.