The Essential Phone PH-1 is an Android smartphone that is being manufactured, developed and marketed by Essential Products, the phone was designed by Andy Rubin – Android co-founder.
Unveiled on May 30, 2017, Andy Rubin initially designed the Essential phone for just himself and his colleagues but the phone got huge demand from many other people around the world, so the company had to go into mass production and it has since then been available for purchase.
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Essential Phone PH1 Key Specs
- OS: Android 7.1 Nougat
- Fingerprint: Back-mounted
- SIM Type: Single Nano SIM
- 4G LTE: YES
- Screen Size : 5.71 Inches LTPS IPS Touchscreen
- Screen Resolution: 1312 x 2560 pixels (504 PPI)
- Processor Type: Octa-core (4×2.45 GHz Kryo & 4×1.9 GHz Kryo)
- Chipset: Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835
- RAM: 4GB
- Internal Storage: 128GB. NO external storage
- Back / Rear Camera: Dual 13MP camera & Dual LED Flash
- Front Camera: 8MP Camera
- Battery: Non-removable 3040 mAh
Essential Phone PH1 Features Overview
The Essential Phone is a phablet-sized device with a very freakish screen. The screen measures 5.71 inches diagonally and has a Quad HD resolution of 1312 by 2560 pixels with 504 pixels per-square inch. There is a Gorilla glass 5 for advanced screen protection.
Pre-installed out of the box is the Android 7.1 Nougat, the device will also get subsequent Android updates in the future. The Essential phone has no external storage slot but it comes with a good 128GB worth of internal storage space.
Essential Phone PH-1 is powered by an Octa-core (4×2.45 GHz Kryo & 4×1.9 GHz Kryo) CPU, Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835 chipset and Adreno 540 GPU. There is a provisional 4GB RAM to provide seamless phone experience.
On the camera side, the device hosts dual 13 megapixel back cameras that comes with dual LED flash, the front sees an 8 megapixels camera which is centrally positioned in the top bezel. The rear camera has basic features such as f/1.9 aperture, phase detection and laser autofocus.
The Essential Phone houses a non-removable 3040 mAh battery and it supports fast charge technology. The phone is a single Nano SIM phone with 4G network option. It uses a type-C 1.0 USB with reversible connector and has Snap-on accessories.
Andy Rubin’s Essential phone has a peculiar body design both at the front and at the back, the body cover is made of glass while the border is finished with a Titanium frame. The phone is available is several colors which includes: Stellar Gray, Ocean Depths, Black Moon and Pure White. There is a back-mounted fingerprint sensor on the phone.
Price of the Essential phone is 750 USD (270,000 naira) if you are buying the device with the Snap-on accessories, if not, you will get the phone for 700 USD(252,000 naira).
Essential Phone Best Alternatives
Given the outstanding design on the device, you will be considering some other devices with similar body design and spec sheet like the Xiaomi MI Mix, Samsung galaxy S8 and galaxy Note 8.
Essential Phone PH1 Detailed Specs
Network | |
| 2G Network | GSM: 850/ 900/ 1800/ 1900 MHz |
| 3G Network | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 & TD-SCDMAHSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 & TD-SCDMA CDMA2000 1xEV-DO |
| 4G Network | LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 11(1500), 12(700), 13(700), 17(700), 20(800), 21(1500), 25(1900), 26(850), 28(700), 29(700), 30(2300), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500), 42(3500), 43(3700), 66(1700/2100) |
| SIM | Single Nano SIM |
| Status | Available: August 2017 |
Body | |
| Dimensions | – 141.5 x 71.1 x 7.8 mm – Weight: 185g |
| Keyboard | Touchscreen |
| Colors | Stellar Gray, Ocean Depths, Black Moon and Pure White colors |
| Cover | Glass (with titanium frame) |
Display | |
| Type | LTPS IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors with multi-touch (up to 10 fingers) |
| Size | 5.71 inches, 1312 x 2560 pixels, 504 Pixels Per-square Inch (Gorilla glass 5) |
Memory And OS | |
| Card slot | NO |
| Internal | 128GB |
| OS | Android 7.1 Nougat |
| Processors | – Octa-core (4×2.45 GHz Kryo & 4×1.9 GHz Kryo) – Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835 chipset – Adreno 540 GPU |
| RAM | 4GB RAM |
Audio | |
| Alert types | Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones |
| Loudspeaker | Yes, with stereo speakers |
| Audio port | NO 3.5mm jack |
Connectivity | |
| 2G | GPRS – EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps |
| 3G | HSPA – 42.2/5.76 Mbps |
| 4G | YES, LTE-A (4CA) Cat16 1024/150 Mbps |
| WIFI | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Wi-Fi direct |
| Bluetooth | Version 5.0, A2DP, EDR, LE |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS |
| NFC | YES |
| USB | Type-C 1.0 reversible connector |
Camera | |
| Primary | – Dual 13 MP, f/1.9, phase detection & laser autofocus, LED flash (dual tone) – FEATURES: Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR, panorama |
| Video | 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 720p@120fps |
| Secondary | 8 MP, f/2.2, 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 720p@120fps |
Battery | |
| Capacity | Non-removable Li-Ion 3040mAh battery |
| Stand-by | N/A |
| Talk time | N/A |
| Music play | |
Other Features | |
| Sensors | Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer |
| Messaging | SMS, MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM |
| Browser | HTML5 |
| Java | No |
| Miscellaneous | – FM radio: NO – Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic – Snap-on accessories (optional) – Fast battery charging – XviD/MP4/H.265 player – MP3/WAV/eAAC+/Flac player – Photo/video editor – Document viewer |
Price | |
| Price level | About 270,000 naira (750 USD) or 252,000 naira (700 USD) |
