HomeWinBuzzer NewsAndroid Pioneer Andy Rubin Reveals Beautiful $699 'Essential Phone'

Android Pioneer Andy Rubin Reveals Beautiful $699 ‘Essential Phone’

The Essential Phone will feature 4 GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage and a Snapdragon 835 processor. It's available for reservation today.

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As the co-founder and CEO of 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.

SourceEssential
Ryan Maskell
Ryan Maskellhttps://ryanmaskell.co.uk
Ryan has had a passion for gaming and technology since early childhood. Fusing the skills from his Creative Writing and Publishing degree with profound technical knowledge, he enjoys covering news about Microsoft. As an avid writer, he is also working on his debut novel.

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