As the co-founder and CEO of Android Inc., Andy Rubin has had a huge impact on the tech world. His departure from Google in 2014 was met with sadness, but, more importantly, curiosity.
Rubin has been working on several interesting projects, and we finally have more details. His company, Essential, has unveiled a smartphone, operating system, and an Amazon Echo -like device.
Essential Phone Specs and Renders
Of the three, the phone has the most information. Essential has released a number of renders, alongside full specs. It will feature the following hardware:
- Screen: 5.6″, 2560×1312 edge-to-edge CGS
- Dimesnsions: 141.5mm x 71.1mm x 7.8mm
- Processor: Qualcomm 835 processor
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- GPU: Andreno 540, 710MHz
- Storage: 128 GB
- Camera:
- 13 MP f/1.8 rear camera with monochrome sensor for low-light situations
- 8 MP f/2.20 front-facing camera with 4K video
- Clippable, magnetic 360-degree camera
- Battery: 3040mAh with fast charging
- Connectivity: 5.0 LE Bluetooth, NFC, 802.11a WiFi with MIMO
- Audio: No headphone jack (dongle included)
- Material: Titanium body, ceramic back
- OS: Android
As you can see, the Essential Phone is shaping up to be a very solid device for its price point. It also comes with a fingerprint reader, 10 finger multi-touch, and 4 microphone array. There's even a dock for cordless charging.
It's a clear competitor to many of the phones on the market, and likely at a lower price point. However, Ruben's other release could be just as important.
Essential Home
There isn't quite as much info about Rubin's new smart home device, but, again, he's trying something a little different. It's designed to proactive, and it's also privacy conscious.
Currently, devices like Echo and Google Home send data through the cloud. When possible, Essential Home avoids that. The AI runs locally, communicating to devices on the network rather than the cloud. It's a solution that may sate privacy activists.
Essential Home will also feature an interactive touchscreen and run the new Ambient OS.
“With all of the new technology in our homes, we want a software platform that orchestrates our experiences with them,” says head of engineering Manuel Roman. “Ambient OS brings the home to life by choreographing the devices, content, people, and context in it.”
Ambient has an open SDK, allowing any developer to extend its capabilities. More information will be available soon on Essential's website, as well as a release date for the phone.
