Coming in a day after the Essential Phone launched in the U.S., Canadian carrier TELUS has opened up its pre-orders for the new phone from Andy Rubin's company. Unlike the Sprint "exclusivity" in the U.S., TELUS has a true exclusive deal to be the only retailer in Canada selling the phone, rather than just the only carrier partner in Sprint's case. Essential won't be shipping its unlocked model to Canada at launch, so your only choice up North is to buy from TELUS.
At launch, TELUS only has the "black moon" color on offer, just like Sprint, and of course, the only storage option is 128GB.
Pricing is set at $290 on a two-year plan of at least $95 per month, or a hefty $490 on a two-year plan of $85 per month or more. Online orders ship for free (at that price they better), and the TELUS store now says shipments will head out on September 1.
TELUS also says that the Essential Phone's 4K camera attachment will retail for $270 when it ships later this year.
