Essential Phone update brings back notch settings, delivers October security patch

Ben Schoon | Oct 1 2018 - 11:41 am PT

Another month, another Essential Phone update that rivals Google’s Pixel phones. Just minutes after the security patch launched, Essential has already made it available to PH-1 owners, and it comes with a welcome treat in tow.

Getting the usual out of the way, this month’s security patch has been delivered just a few minutes after Google. The update has barely kicked off its rollout for Pixel and Pixel 2 owners but is already heading out to all Essential Phone owners. This shouldn’t come as a shock, as it’s been the pattern for the reportedly struggling company for months now.

As we noted in a previous post, this security update fixes a collection of different issues:

There are 23 issues resolved in the October security patch dated 2018-10-01 and 3 for 2018-10-05. Vulnerabilities range from high to critical, with the most severe relating to the media framework and a remote attacker possibly executing arbitrary code through a crafted file.

Notably in this update, though, Essential is bringing back a much-requested feature. In its record-breaking Pie update, the PH-1 lost the company’s custom notch settings. Now, those are returning as the company detailed on Reddit recently. In case you’re unfamiliar with this feature, it lets Essential Phone owners adjust how the OS treats the small camera notch at the top of the display. It’s certainly a handy little option that we’re glad to see come back.

Guess what's back. Back again. Essential notch support is back. Tell a friend.

You asked. We listened. Notch support returns in this release. pic.twitter.com/rXHpoO1dP3

— Essential (@essential) October 1, 2018