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Andy Rubin (Android co-founder) launches "modular" Essential phone (no 3.5mm jack)
- Thread starter giga
- Start date
Mr.Shrugglesã
Banned
No? It's to make room for internal configuration.
There's been tons of phones with 3.5mm jacks that are waterproof.
MarkMclovin
Member
So iVerge can't tell the difference between a square and a rectangle? It looks nothing squarish at all.
Damn nice looking phone though.
Veritigo_X
Member
Mr.Shrugglesツ;238673967 said:
Oh, I thought I heard the headphone jack was an issue when it came to waterproofing. Still crazy it doesn't have it at such a premium price.
andythinkpad
Member
Nope, last few Samsung S phones are waterproof and have jacks.
The Faceless Master
Member
Sony and Kyocera and Samsung and LG and surely others make water resistant phones with a 3.5mm headphone jack.
removing the jack makes it easier and less expensive to waterproof though.
tiredheadcrab
Member
I think the phone looks really neat. That Ocean Depths color looks sexy. I hope it does well. Wait for reviews and for people to get hands on with the device to be cautious of issues.
Wireless RF?!?!?!?!
They is clearly an upgrade over antiquated wireless and dirty radio frequencies.
Lol I can hear the marketers furiously masterbating from here.
UnemployedVillain
Member
Good thing he was only the Android cofounder
The success of the Galaxy line is about all the hope there is for the future of 3.5mm.
Frustrated_me
Member
This is going to fail, don't see what the differentiator is in a world filled with Samsung, Apple and Google phones. The modular design is incredibly gimmicky to me.
Google will buy Essential and Rubin will be back with Google.
Google will buy Essential and Rubin will be back with Google.
And he would be wrong.
Even Android co-founders can have bad opinions.
Pestilence11
Member
lol yup. Good luck bud
Sony will have a design with thick bezels at the top and bottom AND will out months later than phones announced after it. And the Xperia fans will proclaim it as the superior choice. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is moving to bezel-less phones.
That was fast: they raised $300M, and at a valuation between $900M and $1 billion.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...id-creator-s-phone-startup-raises-300-million
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...id-creator-s-phone-startup-raises-300-million
hydrophilic attack
Member
"We will always play well with others"
no headphone jack
no headphone jack
Mr.Shrugglesã
Banned
Remember when toplolski insinuated they were doing kickstarter-esque funding?
fucking josh.
Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
This should do well.
Yep. I'm out.
entremet
Member
Not surprised. You saw their exec board? They're ridiculously well connected.
Zeyphersan
Banned
This should do well.
So he wants it to sell like garbage and get horrible service, got it.
This is hysterical
Mr.Shrugglesã
Banned
Rubin wants that softbank money.
Melon Husk
Member
Interesting evolution of Google Ara, but no speaker grille and no USB-C would have been a braver design. I'm still waiting for a cable-free experience and I don't care if the charger's proprietary.
LouisaFerre
Member
This should do well.
Well, hopefully it'll go better for Essential than it did for the Palm Pre.
WebOS deserved better 
juliushandle
Member
Where is this? Company went silent.
It was supposed to ship by June and we haven't heard a peep from them since announcing it, not even on their blog.
https://www.essential.com/blog
CNET couldn't get a response from them either:
https://www.cnet.com/uk/news/andy-rubin-essential-phone-misses-own-30-day-deadline/
Mr.Shrugglesã
Banned
Andy Rubin?
More like Andhe Runin.
More like Andhe Runin.
When they say squarish, they're referring to the contours of the phone. Samsung has a curved style to their latest flagship and the Essential has sharp edges.
Sorry to bump this thread but it seems Amazon and Best Buy are their retail partners, and that for carrier version will be exclusive to Sprint.
There are pages up for the Black & White models on Best Buy. They are unlocked and will work on pretty much all networks.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/essenti...e-unlocked-black-moon/5973000.p?skuId=5973000
I am actually slightly interested in this phone, especially if the Note 8 is going to be $1k. <_<;
They are suppose to announce the new release date in a few days, and I know I am set to put one on display soon enough
There are pages up for the Black & White models on Best Buy. They are unlocked and will work on pretty much all networks.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/essenti...e-unlocked-black-moon/5973000.p?skuId=5973000
I am actually slightly interested in this phone, especially if the Note 8 is going to be $1k. <_<;
They are suppose to announce the new release date in a few days, and I know I am set to put one on display soon enough
This thread hasn't gotten much love but in the context of the Pixel 2 being what it is I think this phone should probably get a second look from those who previously wrote it off.
Here's a recap of what's happened since the announcement:
Here's a recap of what's happened since the announcement:
- Essential Phone is announced by making the website live. No press get hands-on, not even a sizzle reel of the device.
- Andy Rubin shows off the device quickly in an interview. Makes the case for dropping the 3.5mm jack--wired standards like the jack can eventually become worthless if a new wired standard of a different shape subsumes them, hence why the mods use wireless USB and only send power through the pins. Off-handedly remarks that they wouldn't have revealed it if they weren't ready to ship within 30 days.
- A The Verge reporter catches up to Rubin after the interview and gets a quick hands-on.
- An Essential exec posts two photos taken with the phone on Twitter. They look awful and the Twitter post is deleted quickly.
- Essential announces that Sprint will be a carrier partner in the US. (Note: this is like Verzion being the carrier partner for Pixel. The unlocked version still works fine on all carriers.)
- A few photos of the device end up on Twitter, including pictures of a prototype being used by an Essential employee on public transit. Several of these photos show a version with white front bezel, which the company claims is a prototype color they're not bring to consumers.
- Andy Rubin's 30 day promise gets passed, the phone is still not close to coming out.
- An Essential engineer writes a blog post about the work done on the camera to make it provide good photos, and pointedly mentions the improvements made over time (sort of a late damage control for the poor photos made by the phone posted online).
- The phone shows up on Best Buy.
- It is revealed that Amazon has invested in Essential and will also be selling the phone.
- An Essential exec promises updates "soon" and a release in the coming weeks.
- Andy Rubin shares pictures of Essential phones being manufactured, promises details within a week.
- Emails go out to reservations either asking them to finalize their preorder for the black Essential phone or telling them the white Essential phone is still a few weeks out.
- Andy Rubin makes a post today (August 17th, 2017) that the phones are now officially for sale.
Beer Monkey
Member
Software guys can be pretty dumb about hardware.
and what would that be? I just saw a rumor that the larger Pixel 2 is going to be very similar looking to the S8.
The larger Pixel 2 is going to be fine.
It's the smaller Pixel 2 that still has massive bezels and doesn't have a headphone jack to boot. The Essential Phone, being roughly the size of the smaller Pixel, seems like a good replacement for those who were hoping for less bezels.
Just look at Google themselves.
It doesn't have a headphone jack
Not waterproof
Smaller version has a normal aspect ratio
No dual cameras
No wireless charging
Dumb squeeze gimmick
Huge bezels on the smaller version.
Same price as the last Pixel.
Dual cameras have better zoom, focus, and angle.
Wait did they just copy an HTC phone again?
Well, a. the smaller one is straight up made by HTC and b. probably, the FCC docs leaked a "squeeze to launch Assistant" option in settings.
I don't get the point of it, just put in a button like the Bixby button. Seems way more useful than making the user squeeze the phone and would take less space.
Hashmal_Bringer_of_Order
Member
You'll probably be stuck buying LG or Samsung phones for at least the next year, if not for a few years until those two hold outs drop the port as well. It's a shame that they're dropping it, but the market has spoken and it's apathetic to its existence.