Andy Rubin's Essential Android Smartphone Possibly Appeared In A Michelin Ad

Andy Rubin’s mysterious bezel-less “Essential” Android smartphone hasn’t been fully revealed yet, but it might have already appeared in an ad released back in February.

Rubin, one of the co-creators of Android OS, departed Google back in 2014 and started Essential Products Inc. in 2015. In January 2017, Bloomberg reported that Rubin and his new company are building his own flagship smartphone this year. Later in March, Rubin shared a teaser photo of the upcoming handset on Twitter confirming that it will come with a bezel-less design.

Since then, Rubin has kept quiet on the smartphone and has left many curious as to what the device might look like. It’s now being speculated that the mystery Essential smartphone might have already been fully shown in ad released by Michelin a couple of months ago. The smartphone in question can be spotted around the 0:07 mark.

It shows that the handset has rounded corners on top, while a very thin bezel is still present in the bottom. The device appears to be in a transparent plastic case that has three cutouts on the bottom for what appears to be for the headphone jack, USB and speaker grille.

For those who are probably saying that the smartphone in the ad might be the Xiaomi Mi Mix, the Mi Mix features four rounded corners instead of just two on top, as pointed out by GSM Arena.

The Sharp Aquos Crystal, which shares a similar design to the smartphone shown on the ad, can also be ruled out too. The Sharp handset features a thicker bottom bezel and has the Aquos branding plastered right on top of it, according to the Android Guys.

The appearance of the the Essential Android smartphone in the Michelin ad hasn’t been confirmed by Rubin, but it does really look like it could be it. The arrangement of the ports on the bottom of the device is unique, and can’t be seen on any other bezel-less smartphone that’s available now.

However, it’s also possible that the phone on the ad might simply be a generic mockup, as pointed out by Android Headlines. But its resemblance to Essential Products’ upcoming phone is quite striking.