Andy Rubin Essential Phone Release Date: PH-1 Pre-Order, Specs Revealed

Andy Rubin, the co-creator of Android OS, has finally revealed his company’s new Android smartphone called the Essential PH-1. The handset, which is made by Rubin’s Essential Products Inc., is now available to preorder for $699.

The Essential PH-1, or simply the Essential Phone, comes with a titanium body, a ceramic back along and Gorilla Glass 5 covering the display. Speaking of the display, the handset features a 5.71-inch display with a quad HD (2,560 x 1,320) screen resolution.

The display itself almost covers the entire front of the device leaving just a little room for a bezel on the bottom. On top, there’s also a cutout for the device’s front-facing camera, but more on that later.

The Essential Phone is only 7.8mm thick and weighs less than 185 grams. Despite its thinness and being very lightweight, the handset appears to be quite sturdy thanks to its titanium body, which Essential Products Inc. claims to be more resilient than aluminum, as pointed out by TechCrunch. The device is available in four color options: black moon, stellar grey, pure white and ocean depths (green & gold).

As for the Essential Phone’s innards, the handset is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor alongside 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, according to The Verge. The device also houses a 3,040 mAh battery which also comes with fast charging capabilities.

As for cameras, the Essential PH-1 features dual rear-facing cameras. Each feature an f/1.85 lens and a 13 megapixel sensor, but one camera only shoots in monochrome (black & white). When shooting in color the RGB (color) and monochrome images taken by both are combined to produce the best photo possible. This is the same kind of setup that’s found on the Huawei P9 and P10.

There’s also hybrid auto focus, phase detection and an infrared-assisted auto focus. For videos, the cameras can shoot in 4K at 30fps, 1080p at 60fps or 720 at 120 fps.

Meanwhile, the front-facing camera comes with an 8-megapixel sensor and an f/2.20 fix hyperfocal lens. Photos taken with the front-facing camera produces photos with a 16:9 aspect ratio. For videos, the front-facing camera can also shoot in 4K at 30fps.

On the software side of things, Essential Products and Rubin have opted for the PH-1 to run pure Android. However, they didn’t specify which version of Android it will actual ship with. What the company did make clear is that the phone won’t have any unnecessary software features or bloatware.

As for other features, the Essential PH-1 also comes with a single USB Type-C port with no 3.5mm headphone jack in sight. The phone will ship with an adapter though. The device also has NFC, Bluetooth 5.0 and a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner.

Buyers of the upcoming phone can also add $50 to get a 360-degree camera accessory. The accessory, which was hinted a couple of time before, simply snaps onto the magnets on the back of the Essential Phone and users can start recording 360-degree videos.

Overall, the Essential PH-1 blends together everything that consumers might want on a smartphone; high-end and powerful specs, in a beautifully crafted device. Although the upcoming phone will surely turn heads, it’s very unlikely that it will make a huge difference in the smartphone market which is being dominated by Apple and Samsung.

Andy Rubin will be discussing the Essential PH-1 tonight during Recode’s Code Conference at 9 p.m. EDT in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.