What was left over from Essential turned into OSOM in 2021, with the promise of a privacy-focused smartphone with the hardware that made Essential PH-1 great. Now, OSOM is reportedly shutting down within the next week.
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Essential went under in 2020, with the company having only launched the PH-1, it’s first smartphone. But there were plans for a second device from Essential known as “Gem,” and now someone has sold a unit, offering insight on some new details about the device.
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The now-defunct Essential only ever released its PH-1 smartphone, a device I personally loved. But before that, the company had promised to release “Essential Home,” a unique smart speaker that unfortunately never made it to market. Now, though, a prototype has popped up online.
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Essential employed a lot of talented folks, which was perhaps the saddest part of the death of the Essential PH-1 and the company behind it. However, many members of that team have been working on a new company, OSOM, which is today finally offering a first look at its upcoming OV1 smartphone.
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After a series of launch teasers and little information on upcoming product lines, Carl Pei’s flegling technology brand Nothing is now the sole owner of the one-time smartphone brand Essential.
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After just a couple of short years, Essential closed up shop earlier this year after bringing just a single smartphone to market. Now that all of its future plans have been scrapped, a former Essential designer is showing off what the Essential PH-2 and PH-3 smartphones would have looked like and offered.
The Essential Phone — PH-1 — debuted back in 2017 with the promise of premium hardware and clean software. Quickly, though, that vision started to fail as initial reviews were negative and prices were slashed as a result. Now, as the company shuts down, the Essential Phone is getting an abrupt end to software updates.
Essential Products announced today that it’s ceasing operations and shutting down. Founded by the controversial Andy Rubin, the start-up last August showed off a radical ‘GEM’ smartphone.
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Last month, Essential confirmed that its second device is “in testing” as some specs emerged. CEO Andy Rubin today shared some wild images of a very narrow candy bar-style touchscreen prototype that could be the next Essential Phone.
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The original Essential Phone continues to impress when it comes to updates, but it has been over two years since its debut at this point. There have been teases of a second device, probably a phone, coming from Essential before, but today the company has confirmed that device is in testing.
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It’s been nearly two years since the Essential PH-1 made its debut, and several months since the phone was discontinued. Today, Essential CEO Andy Rubin mysteriously replied to an old Twitter thread about a second Essential Phone, and he’s implying that a new device is incoming.
Despite the fact that the device is no longer being made, Essential is keeping its promise when it comes to software updates. This afternoon, the company is just a couple of hours behind Google with its latest security patch, as well as delivering support for Digital Wellbeing on the Essential Phone.
The past year hasn’t been kind to Essential, the startup behind 2017’s PH-1. Now, the company has confirmed to 9to5Google that the Essential Phone won’t be restocked as the company shifts its focus to future products.
Over the past few months, we’ve been hearing a lot surrounding Essential, but very little of it has been good news. Today, following an earlier report, it’s been confirmed that the Andy Rubin startup has acquired CloudMagic, the company behind Newton Mail.
While Essential might not be in the greatest spot right now with trouble from its founder and massive layoffs, the company has just launched a new product. Ages after its announcement, the Essential Audio Adapter HD is now available.
The Essential Phone found success only after various fire sales and price cuts that made the device a true bargain. It comes as the company reportedly canceled development of its second phone in May and paused its smart home product. A new report today reveals that the Andy Rubin company is cutting 30% of its staff.
Despite its flaws, the Essential Phone is still by far one of my favorite devices to come out of the past year or so. While previous reports claimed that Essential was done and had scrapped plans for future devices, a new report from Bloomberg claims that the company has a new device in the works, this time with a twist.
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.
Outside of Google, Essential is easily the fastest OEM when it comes to updates of any kind. Now, just a few hours after Google posted factory images for Pixel devices, the Essential Phone is picking up September’s monthly security patch.
Since launch, Essential has noticeably improved the software experience of its flagship Phone, while pushing out monthly security patches and Android P Betas in line with Google. The company today promoted the vice president tasked with software engineering to Chief Technology Officer.
While Essential might not be doing too hot in sales, the company is rivaling Google for the crown when it comes to updates. Just an hour after Google, the startup is already rolling out two new updates for Essential Phone owners.
One of the biggest deal breakers with the Essential Phone at launch was its poor camera performance. Over the phone’s lifecycle, though, Essential has made it a point to improve that in updates. Today, yet another update is rolling out.
The third Android P Developer Preview started rolling out to Pixel devices today with the final APIs, SDK, and Play Store publishing. Now, not even a day later, Essential has announced that this build of Android P will be making its way to the Phone with a handful of bug fixes.
The Essential PH-1 was one of the devices I really wanted to love last year, but it fell flat at launch leading to massive price cuts and a lot of updates to try and fix the issues. Now, it’s a pretty solid device.
Lately, the company’s outlook has taken a turn for the worse with reports of the company being in trouble and considering sale. Despite that, though, Essential is sticking to its guns when it comes to updates.
