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Essential Phone’s second module is a Hi-Fi headphone jack add-on, MQA certification

The future of Essential is largely unclear right now, but the company’s latest actions wouldn’t make you think that was the case. Today, Essential is announcing new audio improvements for the PH-1, including a new module that adds a headphone jack.

Back at launch one of the more exciting aspects of the Essential Phone was its module function. The company delivered a 360-degree camera along with the phone, but didn’t launch anything else using that technology following that. Today that changes with the new Audio Adapter HD.

This new module attaches to the back of the PH-1 just like the 360-degree camera, but adds a 3.5mm headphone jack. That jack can power high impedance headphones with an “audiophile-grade” amp. There’s no pricing available for this just yet, and Essential simply says that it’s coming “this summer.”

Along with that new adapter, Essential is also touting MQA certification for the Essential Phone today. The latest PH-1 software update enables support for Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) lossless audio. This allows users to hear music the way the artist intended at the highest possible quality, all while keeping the file size to a minimum.

Essential is also partnering with TIDAL to offer users a 3-month free subscription to experience this new audio quality. Better yet, new PH-1 buyers can get a free set of the company’s USB-C earbuds included with the device.


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