Update: Looks like everyone agreed with this, and the discounted batch of Essential Phones has sold out. Be sure to keep an eye out at Thrifter to see if it comes back in stock!
Despite launching with a seriously bad camera, buggy software, and janky performance, the Essential Phone has still remained in the headlines over a year after its release — and for good reason.
For one thing, Essential's been straight-up killing it when it comes to software updates. Not only has the company issued a heap of camera and performance improvements, but it also kicked out the full Android 9 Pie update to all Essential Phone owners just minutes after Google released it for the Pixel and Pixel 2 series.
Secondly, the Essential Phone has seen a number of big price cuts since it debuted with that staggering $799 price tag. After Essential permanently cut the phone down to just $499, various retailers have been running their own promos here and there to make the phone even more affordable. This past Prime Day saw one of the better deals with the phone being lowered to a mere $250.
This is one of the best values in smartphones you'll find all year.
We didn't think we'd see a better deal than that, but to our delight, we've been proven wrong. Right now on Amazon, you can pick up the Halo Gray Essential Phone for only $224. That's it!
The Halo Gray color has a nice matte finish you won't find with the Black or Pure White variants, and since it's an Amazon exclusive, it's also got Alexa baked right into it.
For those 224 dollars, the Essential Phone gets you way more than your money's worth. The 5.7-inch LCD 2560 x 1312 is bright, crisp, and handles the notch far better than most of the competition since it ushered in the design trend. The Snapdragon 835 and 4GB RAM offer more than enough performance for day-to-day tasks, the 128GB of internal storage ensures you'll never run out of space, and the combo of ceramic and titanium for the Essential Phone's construction creates for one of the most premium-feeling phones that's on the market right now.
Whether you're shopping for a sub $300 phone, need a backup handset, or have been meaning to see what all the hype for the Essential Phone is about, now's the time to pull the trigger.
