Some of you might be aware that Andy Rubin is the co-founder of Android. A few years ago he left his position at Google to pursue other ventures. Essential is his flagship venture. The company unveiled its first smartphone, the Essential Phone, several weeks back. While it has missed its release deadline for the Essential Phone, it confirmed retail availability for the device yesterday. Rubin has also released production photos of the device to show that manufacturing is ramping up.
Essential’s first smartphone is a flagship device with the specs to rival the best of them. It features a 5.71 inch edge-to-edge QHD resolution display with 19:10 aspect ratio. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 processor coupled with 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 3,040mAh battery.
The handset also features a dual camera setup at the back and an 8 megapixel front camera with 4K video support. The Essential Phone has been priced at $700. The company will sell it off-contract and unlocked. It will also be available from Amazon and Best Buy.
Sprint is the exclusive carrier partner for the Essential Phone in the United States. International availability details will be confirmed later this year.
Rubin has said that the company is in full mass production and that it’s ramping up to deliver the Essential Phone. Details about the precise release date are expected to be confirmed next week.