Andy Rubin revolutionized the smartphone experience through the software means by co-founding Android OS. Now, to take smartphone experience to another level through the hardware means, he just brought a new smartphone named Essential PH-1. On the hardware side, the phone has somewhat quirky specs but seems to offer greater functionality and usability than most of the smartphones of these days.
Essential PH-1 comes with a spacious 5.71-inch display with no bezels on three sides of the phone but a little on the chin. The bezels-less design reminds of the Xiaomi MI Mix but what makes the PH-1 different is the placement of the front camera. The front camera is placed on the top-center of the phone, with a groove cut out within the display. The display comes with 504 PPI pixel density with Gorilla Glass 5 protection.
The device is powered by Qualcomm’s flagship chipset Snapdragon 835 backed by 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage with no provision for storage expansion. PH-1 bears Ceramic back and with Titanium frame around. Titanium is tougher than the Aluminium and shows greater resistance to scratches and bends during the drops.
On the optics side, the phone comes with Dual-camera setup on the back with the megapixel count of 13MP. The dual-camera setup is the assembly of Monochrome and RGB sensors. The focusing of the camera is done by Phase detection autofocus and Laser autofocus. And the LED flash completes the rear camera assembly. On the front, the round groove within the screen is an 8MP sensor with f/2.2 aperture. It is interesting that both the cameras (front and back) are capable of shooting 4K videos.
Essential PH-1 ditched 3.5mm headphone jack but has added the magnetic wireless data transfer feature. The concept seems quite alike to Motorola’s Moto Mods in which custom accessories could be attached to the phones through the magnetic connector. So, there are rumors of shipping headphone dongles in the box as an alternative. Essential’s first add-ons include a 360-degree camera and a charging dock. The 360-degree camera can be clipped to the rear-end of the phone and can be used to capture 4K 360-degree videos at 30fps with the help of dual 12MP fisheye sensors.
The phone embraces 3040 mAh battery with the provision of fast charging. Essential PH-1 is priced $699 (£543) and comes in black, gray, white and green color options.
What do you feel about the new Essential PH-1 phone? Could it be the iPhone or Pixel killer? Let us know in the comment section.
[socialpoll id=”2443860″]
