Andy Rubin and his new company Essential Products are preparing to make a big announcement on May 30. Rubin took to his Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) account to give the heads up. He then pointed followers to Essential's new Twitter account, where a teaser silhouette of a smartphone in a hand was posted. It looks like the long-rumored Essential smartphone, expected to be aimed directly at Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone, is about to be official.
What's Known About the Essential SmartphoneThe Essential smartphone has yet to be launched. Andy Rubin and Essential Products have been very secretive about the device they're developing, but occasional hints and discussions with mobile carriers have combined to provide clues about what they're up to.
We first reported on the Essential smartphone back in January. That's when Bloomberg broke the story that Rubin and his company were prototyping a new premium smartphone and shopping it to Sprint Corp (NYSE:S) executives.
According to Bloomberg, the new device ran Alphabet Inc's (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google Android operating system. That was no surprise since Rubin created Android before selling it to Google. However, considerable effort was being put into ensuring the new device was not going to be just one of dozens of unprofitable (or barely profitable) Android smartphone clones.
Instead, the Essential smartphone would be a premium, flagship-quality device aimed directly at the market dominated by Apple's iPhone.
Bloomberg reported prototypes had a larger display than the iPhone 7 Plus, but in a smaller form factor thanks to a virtual lack of bezels. The display was mounted in a premium ceramic backing — the kind of material AAPL currently uses for its most expensive Apple Watch Edition Series 2. Magnetic charging was in the mix, and engineers — many of whom had been hired from Apple and Google — were working on pressure-sensitive display technology.
The Essential smartphone prototypes also featured a charging port that did double-duty for connecting accessories.
The tweet from Essential shows the silhouette of a smartphone, with a large object jutting from the top corner, suggesting there is an add-on plugged into it. And Rubin tweeted another hint, with a photo of a colleague working at what appears to be a 360-degree camera testing station. The Verge published an enhanced version of the photo in that Essential tweet and it shows what is almost certainly a camera accessory.
So at this point, we are looking at a premium Android smartphone, designed to accept accessories to enhance its functionality — with a 360-degree VR camera looking to be one of those. It's likely to support wireless charging and be equipped with a pressure sensitive display, similar to the iPhone's 3D Touch.
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Source: Andy Rubin's Essential Smartphone Takes Aim at the Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPhone
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