Essential has confirmed that it will be no longer selling the PH-1, the company’s overhyped handset. But something new might still be on the way.
Apparently Essential doesn’t feel like a full product catalogue are all that necessary to a sound business plan. Following a Bloomberg report that claimed the fledgling and flailing phone maker headed by Android creator Andy Rubin has slashed its workforce by 30 percent and was prepping the company for a sale, Essential has now stopped selling its namesake product, the PH-1, a titanium-and-ceramic beauty of a handset that never quite lived up to its own hype.
In a statement to 9to5Google, Essential confirmed the phone was indeed sold out on its website and added that it « won’t be adding any new inventory, » a sure sign that the once-hyped handset is all but discontinued. (As of this writing the phone is still available at Amazon in black and gray Remove non-product link .) At the time of its launch, Essential Phone was the first handset with an « edge-to-edge » notched design and a complete lack of branding, but was missing premium features such as water resistance, wireless charging, and (at the time) a headphone jack. It was originally priced at $799, but was quickly discounted to $599.
But after 18 months, all this basically means is that Essential won’t be producing any more accessories. The Essential Phone’s proprietary magnetic connector was one of its best selling points, giving the phone an expandable future a la Moto mods. It shipped with a single 360-degree camera that left much to be desired, but Essential promised more were in the way, including an anticipated wireless charger, a necessary accessory since the Essential Phone doesn’t support the Qi standard.
