Thoughts on Essential phone?

[libra89]

So the Essential phone has been announced today. It's essentially (pun not intended) a bezel less phone, but unlike the tall S8(+) and G6, it is smaller, and actually very close dimensions to the Lumia 650.

https://www.androidcentral.com/essential-phone

https://www.androidcentral.com/essential-phone-specs

Thoughts? Are you interested or no?

 

[krazyatom]

Never heard of this brand and it's only 3040mah battery.

 

[libra89]

Never heard of this brand and it's only 3040mah battery.

The guy who made it was one of the "fathers" of Android I believe, so that's the only reason why this phone is getting serious press.

 

[mark233]

I'm curious for sure. I'm not going to pre-order or anything. I want to wait and see real reviews of it.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I'm curious as well, since Andy Rubin is the inventor of Android.

 

[Guytronic]

Interested to see what Michael Fisher thinks when he gets a hold of the phone.

 

[Scienceguy Labs]

I'm curious, too, but it looks like it'll be too small for my liking. I love the move towards phones with virtually no bezel. I just wish they'd increase the overall size of the phone to something like the 1520. Could you imagine a slab of all screen the size of the 1520??? Holy Toledo, I'd buy that! Ha ha I'm also very interested to hear what Michael Fisher has to say about.

 

[camaroz1985]

Curious, but not all that interested. Essentially similar to many other Android phones. Doesn't seem to be anything new, just a combination of this from this phone and that from that phone.

 

[xandros9]

The display design, I'm not a fan of - don't really care for how bezels are becoming the next "thin".

But I like the philosophy behind it, and we'll see how that turns out.

I like to see new players appear anyway.

 

[kaktus1389]

it is smaller, and actually very close dimensions to the Lumia 650.

The specs on the link you've provided say it has 5.7 inch display which is to my knowledge bigger than the Lumia 650 and more like 640 XL. Am I missing something here? :-/

Also to me it basically looks like what an iPhone 7 would look like if it ran Android.

 

[libra89]

The specs on the link you've provided say it has 5.7 inch display which is to my knowledge bigger than the Lumia 650 and more like 640 XL. Am I missing something here? :-/

Also to me it basically looks like what an iPhone 7 would look like if it ran Android.

Here's what is crazy about this. With that display, it sounds like it would be huge but it's not. It's actually on the smaller side. The reason that the display can be so big is because of the bezels being mostly gone.

Check out this size compare for yourself: Visual Phone Size Comparison

 

[Drael646464]

That display is weird, with a front facing camera, in the middle of it. That's kinda awkward.

 

[anon(5415472)]

The phone itself doesn't do anything for me, but the clip-on 360 camera for an additional $50 or standalone for $150 caught my eye.

So I guess they've shelved project ARA and went for a more modest definition of "modular".

 

[nate0]

Build quality and size are good. Plus, I watched the interview, and Andy Rubin is very much entrenched in AI and understanding of what is in the world around him. He has intriguing perspectives to say the least.

It is really heavy for what it is too (Titanium/Ceramic). Maybe not a big deal though...To me if they really get the modularity thing right, it could be big. No where near my price range though. If it were though a bit cheaper I would try it out just to try. I am fascinated by the design of these things more so sometimes then what they actually do. In fact just last night bought a used unlocked Moto Z play fairly cheap so to keep an Android around the house here for testing certain functionalities of that OS that I am still interested in. I felt the Z series had some relevance being modular in that way, plus their design always caught my eye.

 

[xandros9]

The specs on the link you've provided say it has 5.7 inch display which is to my knowledge bigger than the Lumia 650 and more like 640 XL. Am I missing something here? :-/

As libra said, the bezels make a surprising difference.

As an example, the Galaxy S8 has a 5.8" display but it's in a chassis that is significantly smaller than my 5.4" Priv and friend's 5.5" iPhone 6+. Weird huh?

 

[krazyatom]

I do like the material they used but not sure id they're worth the cost. If they can give you updates equivalent to google pixel, I may consider.

 

[Photonsym]

It all comes down to support for me. I really don't wish to invest in a phone thats gonna die as soon as it was born.

 

[nate0]

Wireless USB 3.0, now that is innovative. Andy Rubin has some cards to play in the next 5-10 years. They made a statement that they are committed to monthly updates too. And the boot loader is suppose to be unlockable.

 

[digitaldd]

Its a flagship phone with stock android, big plus there. If it gets Android updates as soon as the Pixel phones and were priced a little cheaper (currently its a $700 device) I'd be interested.

 

[nate0]

It is headed for Sprint...