23 August, 2017
The Essential PH-1 is now available for pre-order directly from the company that made it, Essential. Sprint is the only carrier in the United States that offers the Essential Phone, but the unlocked model can be had via Amazon, Best Buy, and Essential's online store.
Canadian operator Telus also announced the start of pre-orders for the phone and camera on its website.
Rubin's startup Essential has recently been in the news for its Essential PH-1 phone which is set for its USA launch this week, and will be making utilisation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to change the way people interact with their devices, by assigning some of the tasks performed on the phone to its AI.
The advantage to picking up the smartphone from Best Buy is in the fact that you can get extended cover for $99 which will get you two years worth of accident and breakdown coverage. Only the Black variant of the device is now available from Essential and Best Buy, though the white model will, hopefully, land soon as well. He also talks about the Essential smartphone and it being the first step of his plan, in which future Essential smartphones could run more powerful and complex algorithms and AI to help automate a lot of tasks that will help kick our addiction.
When Android co-creator Andy Rubin's Essential announced the near-bezelless Essential Phone, the company also revealed that the phone would support add-on accessories that attach to the phone's back via magnetic points. The device is fueled by the Snapdragon 835 64-bit octa-core SoC, and the phone comes with a 3,040mAh battery.
"Every year, like clockwork, manufacturers make "design tweaks" and launch new features and products that work well if you choose to stay in their ecosystem", Rubin said in a press release. It is a rather interesting idea and approach, although we should note that the smartphone market is extremely competitive and not necessarily kind to newcomers.
