The Essential Phone — is it really that essential? And with Android smartphones seemingly generating more buzz than ever before, does Andy Rubin's Essential Phone have a chance against the current crop of competition?
If you're wondering what we're even talking about here, take a quick gander at some of what's promised with the Essential Phone: an edge-to-edge display, a modular system that accepts accessories like a 360-degree camera, and an entire phone chassis crafted out of titanium and ceramic. But what it doesn't have might make you tick, especially considering its $700 price tag. The Essential Phone is without wireless charging, water resistance, or a headphone jack. As commenter Retinella put it in the original announcement post:
No. No IPXX rating on a $700 device is an automatic no from me. You could say it's non-essential.
The smartphone isn't the only part of the equation. Essential also hopes to find a place inside your home with the aptly dubbed Essential Home. It's a definite competitor to the Google Home and Amazon Echo, with the main difference being an actual display that you can interact with. The brains of the Essential Home experience is Ambient OS, which helps assist with things like playing music, setting a timer, and answering questions—just like Google Home. From the Essential Home site:
The idea behind Essential Home is that technology is there, supportive, and proactive enough to be helpful, without forcing you to ask or type a question. It's in your environment; you can tap or glance at it, but it never intrudes or takes you away from the things that are important to you.
So, what do you think? Where do you stand on all this? Is the Essential Phone or Essential Home sounding essentially like something you'd want to adopt into your home?
Anyone read the news about the upcoming Essential Phone from Andy Rubin? Looks pretty intriguing, with an edge-to-edge display, Snapdragon 835, dual cameras, and a modular system that lets you attach accessories. Looks like it'll run Android (although the version is still unknown), and priced at $699 - it could be a good choice for many. What do you think? Would you be interested? Would you...
James Falconer
Et tu, Brute? Join us in the Android Central forums. And then be sure to tune in later today when Andy Rubin appears live at the Recode Code Conference to talk about the new endeavor.
