Essential kick started beta testing Oreo for its only smartphone Essential Phone PH-1 back in mid-November. And now a month later it has released the second beta of Oreo build.
According to the changelog, the latest build includes December security patches and native Oreo features like Smart text selection, instant app, picture-in-picture mode, Google Play Protect, along with performance improvements. It also brings fixes for Android Auto, battery life, and data tracking.
Here's the complete change-log:
What's New
- December Security Patch
- Smart text selection, instant apps, PiP
- Faster startup and app sign-in
- Google Play Protect Security scans
Issues Fixed from Beta 1
- Android Auto and OEM Bluetooth Car Kit Interoperability Improvements
- Data tracking issues for certain U.S. Carriers
- Setup Assistant screen cutoff issues due to status barFurther Treble support
- Battery life improvements
- LED notification and charging behavior
The update weighs in at 142.4MB in size, and is rolling out over-the-air if your Essential Phone is currently running the previous beta build. If not, you can do it manually by sideloading the latest build via ADB. The instructions and download files for the lastest beta build are on Essential's website (link).
Source
The Essential Phone's camera received negative reviews due to its poor performance, compared to other flagship, but the company has been improving it through software update.
A few days ago Essential update the Essential Phone's pre-installed camera app to enable background blurring Portrait mode and added JPEG compression to improve image quality along with other small improvements. Before that it also added Facebook 360 streaming support to its 360 camera module.
Now Essential has updated the Camera app again to add two new features: YouTube Live 360 support (for Essential 360 Camera) and the option to broadcast Facebook Live 360 on a page. If you own the Essential Phone you have to update the Camera app to get the new features via Google Play Store.
In addition the company has updated the Essential 360 camera as well, to improve image stitching, JPED quality and over all stability. The update arrives as build NNJ41C, and you have to attach the 360-degree camera module to the phone to download the update.
As a reminder, the Essential phone boasts bezel-less design, dual-cameras, and modular attachments like the 360-degree camera. The specs include 5.7-inch QHD display, Snapdragon 835 Mobile Platform, 4GB RAM, 128GB internal storage, 13MP dual cameras, 8MP selfie camera, NFC, USB Type-C port, fingerprint scanner, and 3040mAh battery. It runs Android Nougat and is expected to get Android Oreo soon. At present the Oreo is in beta testing phase.
Source 1 | 2 | Via
Andy Rubin backed Essential has been one of the device makers to consistently push the security update at the earliest to its only smartphone. Google released December Android Security patch yesterday, which has a fix for the KRACK issue.
And keeping up with the good work, Essential has rolled out December security update for its bezel-less Essential Phone. The company took to Twitter to make the announcement.
The update arrives with build number NMJ51B, and contains the December security patch. The change log doesn't mention anything else. The update weighs in at 67.5MB and is rolling out over-the-air. If you've not yet received the update go to About Phone is settings and then Check For Updates.
Recently Essential Phone's camera app received an update to support background blurring Portrait mode, a popular feature found in the likes of Pixel 2, iPhone X among others.
At present, Essential is beta testing Android Oreo for the Essential Phone, and the official Oreo release can be expected to happen anytime soon.
Via
Andy Rubin backed Essential has finally started beta testing Android Oreo for Essential Phone.
The Android Oreo beta is now available for download for the Essential Phone, from the company's developer website. It is listed as OPM1.170911.130, and you'll need to download and manually install it using ADB. OTA is not available for the moment.
However, to get access to the download page, you will need to enter you email and agree to the terms.
Since this a pre-release build, Oreo beta users will see ‘Increased battery drain with Bluetooth enabled’ and ‘Android Auto compatibility issues with some vehicles.’. Having said that, Essential will have a fix for these issues in the final version of the update.
It has also published factory images as well, so you'll be able to revert to Nougat from Oreo beta, if you find problem with the build. The factory images can also be flashed using ADB.
Essential has also provided instructions for how to download, sideload, and flash the update
Download Build : Essential Phone Oreo Beta 1 (OPM1.170911.130) - download
Before Sideloading:
Caution: Before updating, backup any personal data on your device—so you can recover it if you encounter an issue.
To sideload a device using the image below, you’ll need the latest ADB tool. Don't forget to either add adb to your PATH environment variable or change into the directory containing the executable.
Also, set up USB access for your device, as described in Run Apps on a Hardware Device.
Finally, check to see if there’s a pending OTA update for your device. Tap Settings > About phone > System updates, then tap Check for update. If your system is up-to-date, you can continue with the sideload. If not, update your device before continuing.
How to Sideload Image:
- Download the appropriate update image to your computer
- Verify the checksum of the image. The OTA mechanism has a built-in validation feature, but verifying will save you some time if the file is incomplete. The last portion of the filename is the first 8 digits of its SHA-256 checksum; the full SHA-256 checksum is also shown next to the download link.
- Make sure USB debugging is enabled, then execute: adb reboot recovery
- If you're unable to use ADB to reboot into recovery, you can use the key combination for your device. Then, navigate to the Recovery option by pressing the Volume-down button. Once Recovery is highlighted, press the Power button to confirm.
Your device is now in Recovery mode. An Android logo with red exclamation mark should appear on screen.
- Hold the Power button, then press the Volume-Up button one time. When the menu appears, select Apply update from ADB.
- Run the following command: adb devices. Then check that your device shows up with “sideload” next to its name
- Run the following command: adb sideload ota_file.zip where ota_file.zip is the name of the file you downloaded and verified
- Once the update finishes, select Reboot system now to reboot your phone
For security, you should disable USB debugging when the device is not being updated.
Source | Via
Andy Rubin's Essential Phone is not only bezel-less, but also has a semi-modular design, like Motorola's Moto Z line, that lets you attach modular accessory to the back on the phone via two-pin connection system to give it extra functionality. However, for the time being, Essential is only offering a 360 degree camera.
That being said, Essential has updated the 360 Camera module for the Essential Phone, giving it the ability of live streaming immersive 360-degree videos to Facebook Live.
Essential also published a blog post, explaining how to live stream 360-degree video to Facebook Live. The steps are mentioned below:
- Connect your Essential 360 Camera to your Essential Phone
- When the 360 Camera app opens, tap 360° Live or swipe left to select it
- Tap the red "Live" camera icon
- Log in to your Facebook account, then allow permissions for the Camera
- Tap Only me and select who you want to see your stream: Friends, Friends of Friends, Public, or keep it to just you
- Add an optional description, so people know a bit more about what they’re watching
- Tap the red "Live" camera icon again to start your stream. When you want to stop your live stream, just tap the square Stop button
Apart from Facebook Live, Essential in the blog spot also explained how to upload 360-degree content,captured on Essential's 360-degree camera to YouTube, Vimeo and Instagram. It also added that it will soon add support for live streaming 360-degree videos to Twitter via Periscope.
Source 1 | 2
Andy Rubin's Essential PH-1 is getting a new update that brings November Android security patch, that Google released yesterday for Pixel and Nexus devices.
The software update with build version NMJ32F weighs in at only 57.4MB, and also includes fixes for fingerprint gesture related instabilities that some users have reported.
The update is rolling out over-the-air, and to check if it's available for your phone, go to Settings>About Phone>System Update. The update is still based on Nougat, and the phone is expected to get Oreo soon.
Via
Andy Rubin's bezel-less Essential PH-1 is getting a new update that brings a couple of improvements, and latest security patch.
The new build of Nougat adds fingerprint gestures like swiping down the sensor to access notification or swiping up to dismiss it, and improvements to touch scrolling when navigating around the phone's UI.
The update also brings October Security patch and fix for KRACK WP2 WiFi protocol vulnerability.
The update carries the build number NMJ20D and has started rolling out from today. It is just 74.8MB in size.
In related new Essential PH-1 recently received a price cut, and now sells for $499 in the U.S.
Source
Andy Rubin's Essential Products has announced a massive and permanent price cut of $200 of its first smartphone, just two months after it shipped the phone to customers.
The Essential phone is now priced at $499, down from the launch price of $699. At the revised price, the Essential Phone can be purchased from Essential.com.
Additionally, for those who already own an Essential Phone, Essential is offering a $200 friends & family code, which can be used towards Essential 360 Camera or another Essential phone.
As a reminder, the Essential phone boasts bezel-less design, dual-cameras, and modular attachments like a 360-degree camera. The specs include 5.7-inch QHD display, Snapdragon 835 Mobile Platform, 4GB RAM, 128GB internal storage, 13MP dual cameras, 8MP selfie camera, NFC, USB Type-C port, fingerprint scanner, and 3040mAh battery. It runs Android Nougat and is expected to get Android Oreo soon.
Andy Rubin backed Essential is rolling out a software update for the bezel-less Essential Phone's system and camera App, which brings improvements to the device's performance and camera. To remind you, Essential Phone's camera received negative reviews due to its poor performance, compared to other flagship, and the company has been working on improving it.
Essential says in the latest update, it has improved latency, reliability and performance of the phone's camera. However, before installing the Camera update, you must first install the latest system update (NM181C), which brings improved performance and bug fixes. The update weighs in at 72MB.
After installing the system update, you can update the phone's camera, by going to Play Store, and search for the phone's camera app, and hit the update button to get the latest version.
Here's the list of changes included in the update
- Boosted capture speed in regular and low light to below 1 second (over 40% faster);
- Improved brightness and performance in low-light;
- Spatial sound when shooting in 360 (supported on device, Facebook, and YouTube);
- Use volume up/down keys as shutter buttons in 360 mode;
- Countdown timer when in 360 camera mode;
- Bug fixes and overall reliability improvements.
Essential also mentioned that it is working on bringing more improvements for the camera, such as HDR enhancements, live 360 streaming to Facebook and Periscope, Portrait Mode and Pro Mode. These features will be rolled out to Essential Camera app via Google Play.
Source | Via
Andy Rubin's Essential Phone was supposed to ship in June, but was delayed due to carrier certification. However, last week the company sent out notification to those who pre-ordered the device, assuring them, their order will be shipped within a week.
And Now after several delays, the wait is finally over. Essential has confirmed that the company has started shipping the Essential Phone to customers who pre-ordered it in the U.S. It will also send customers an email attached with tracing information of the device.
Andy Rubin's Essential, in a tweet from its official handle said “We’re beginning to ship Essential Phone! Please look out for an e-mail today with tracking info. We appreciate everyone’s patience!”
It's worth mentioning that Essential will only ship the back color variant for now, while the White color version will release at a later date.
The Essential Phone is a $699 (Rs. 44,500) bezel-less phone that offers edge-to-edge display, dual-cameras and modular attachments like a 360-degree camera. The specs include 5.7-inch QHD display, Snapdragon 835 Mobile Platform, 4GB RAM, 128GB internal storage, 13MP dual cameras, 8MP selfie camera, NFC, USB Type-C port, fingerprint scanner, and 3040mAh battery. It runs Android Nougat and the company guarantees software support for two years.
Via
Essential Phone, which created lots of buzz for its bezel-less design is finally available for purchase in the U.S from the company's website, Amazon, Best Buy and Sprint. The company backed by Andy Rubin also revealed plans for software support.
To gain confidence of Essential phone buyers, Andy Rubin has announced that the smartphone will receive guaranteed Android OS updates for two years and monthly security updates for at least three years. He also mentioned that the device comes pre-loaded with a limited number of apps, and there is no duplicative services (in simple words, no Bloatware). This brings Essential Phone in par with Google's Pixel phone in terms of software and software support.
For a quick recap, the Essential Phone offers edge-to-edge display, dual-cameras and modular attachments like a 360-degree camera. It features 5.7-inch QHD display, Snapdragon 835 Mobile Platform, 4GB RAM, 128GB internal storage, 13MP dual cameras, 8MP selfie camera, NFC, USB Type-C port, fingerprint scanner, and 3040mAh battery. It runs Android Nougat.
The Essential Phone has been priced at $699, and for a limited time users will get Essential 360 Camera bundled at $749. Only the black color variant will be available for now.
Andy Rubin also said that the company plans to release more modular attachments (like the 360 camera) every few months, in order to ensure that users will always have "the latest technology will always be in the palm of your hand without having to replace your phone." These accessories will also work with Essential's other products like the Home smart speaker.
Unfortunately, it is still not known when Essential Phone will hit other markets.
Via
The Essential Phone is one of the most surprising and interesting smartphone of this year. It is a premium looking bezel-less smartphone and also boasts modular functionalities. It is also well equipped, in terms of hardware including the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and dual-cameras, making it a strong competitor to Samsung Galaxy S8 & S8+, LG G6, HTC U 11, as well as the upcoming Moto Z2 Force, Galaxy Note8, LG V30 and Google's Pixel 2 line.
The smartphone comes from Android creator Andy Rubin's newly formed Essential company. Even though the phone was introduced back in May, it is yet to be released commercially.
The Essential Phone went up for pre-order back in May itself when it was introduced, but was supposed to ship sometime in June, however, it failed to meet the deadline.
Now Rubin in a tweet stated that the Essential Phone will start shipping in the coming weeks, but an exact time-frame was not revealed. The phone has been delayed because it is currently going through certification and testing process with several US and international carriers.
The Essential Phone offers edge-to-edge display, dual-cameras and modular attachments like a 360-degree camera. The specs include 5.7-inch QHD display, Snapdragon 835 Mobile Platform, 4GB RAM, 128GB internal storage, 13MP dual cameras, 8MP selfie camera, NFC, USB Type-C port, fingerprint scanner, and 3040mAh battery. It runs Android Nougat and costs $749 (Rs. 48,500).
Besides the Essential Phone, Andy Rubin's new venture Essential Products also introduced Essential Home, a smart speaker, which will compete against the market leaders Amazon Echo and Google Home.
The Essential Home is a compact-sized intelligent speaker, that works as a hub for smart home device. It comes with an always-on round touchscreen display that automatically adjusts according to your home's lighting condition. It can be controlled through both touch and voice, and can be used to get information from the web, set reminders, control light, play music and more. You can even glance at the device to activate it.
It runs Ambient OS, proprietary operating system, which according to Essential puts privacy first, and even lets you set custom actions for different activities.
Moreover, the device doesn't rely on cloud to perform local functions, instead, it stores data locally, giving users more control over their privacy, and communicates directly with the connected device. Essential says Essential Home is designed "to run most things on the device itself, so most data stays in your home where it belongs."
There's no word on the launch date or price.
Android co-founder Andy Rubin's Essential smartphone is now official and as expected, it features top of the line specs, futuristic design like the Mi 6 and modular system.
Design-wise, the Essential Phone sports almost non-existent benzels on the sides and top, but has cut out for the selfie camera. It has ceramic rear panel with titanium frames for enhanced durability. It ditches the 3.5mm audio jack in favor of USB Type-C, and includes a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner.
In terms of specifications, the Essential Phone features 5.71-inch QHD edge-to-edge display with a layer of Gorilla Glass 5 and offers aspect ratio of 19:10. The performance is handled by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 Mobile Platform and features 4GB RAM and 128GB storage.
For photography, it gets dual 13MP f/1.85 rear cameras (RGB + Monochrome) with image fusion technology and hybrid auto-focus comprising contrast, phase detection and IR laser sensor. The main camera is also capable of recording 4K videos. For selfies, there's 8MP camera on the front and can record 4K videos as well.
Connectivity options include 4G LTE, WiFi 802.11ac, NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS and USB Type-C. It runs Android Nougat and is fueled by 3040mAh battery.
For the modular system, it has two magnetic pins at the back called Click cordless connector, which allows you to snap accessories to give the device extra functionality. This is somewhat similar to Moto Z's modular system. The first modular accessories for the Essential Phone is a tiny 360-degree camera and Phone Dock. The 360-degree camera features dual 12MP fisheye sensor that can record 4K 360-degree videos at 30fps. The Phone Dock accessory, which looks like a mat, and is designed for the phone to lie down on. The company plans to launch more accessories in the near future.
The Essential Phone will be available in Black Moon and Pure White color options. The phone has been priced at $699 (Rs. 45,000) and can be reserved on the Essential's website . The 360-degree camera costs $199 (Rs. 13,000) and will be sold seperately. However, customers who order the phone can get the 360-degree camera accessory for just $50 (Rs. 3,230). As of now Essential Phone will be available only in the US.
Android co-founder Andy Rubin has already confirmed that he plans to launch a new smartphone. Back in March, he shared an image of the device sporting a bezel-less display.
Now Rubin is all set to announce the bezel-less smartphone under his company Essential. The twitter account of the company is now live and the first tweet it sent out reads "We're here to let you known some big is coming May 30th". The tweet that follows, shows a photo of the company's first smartphone in silhouette (blacked out). Interestingly, something is attached to on the top of the phone, which the company says is a 360-degree camera module.
As mentioned earlier, Essential's first smartphone will have a bezel-less display, similar to Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+, LG G6 and Xiaomi's Mi MIX.
According to earlier reports, the device will sport ceramic back with metal edges, and have 5.5-inch pressure sensitive display. It will boast flagship-grade high-end specs and also have modular capabilities like the Moto Z, and the new teaser confirms this. For the modular function, Essential will use a proprietary magnetic connector to support third party accessories, as well as charge the device.
As for the specs, the phone was earlier spotted on benchmark website carrying model number Essential FIH-PM1. According to the listing, it will have 5.5-inch QHD display, Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, 12MP/8MP camera with 4K recording, NFC support and Android Nougat.
Essential's first smartphone is expected to be priced around $649. We will get to know more about the device next Wednesday.
Back in January, Bloomberg reported that Andy Rubin, Co-founder of Android is working on a premium top end smartphone, to compete with Apple's iPhone and Google's Pixel phone.
Now Rubin has shared the first photo of the phone on his twitter account which gives us a partial look of the phone. As seen in the image, Andy Rubin's phone will have a bezel-less design, just like Xiaomi's Mi Mix, LG's G6 and Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S8/S8 Plus.
Also seen in the photo are the phone's rounded corners, a cut out on top for a speaker and a button on the side.
According to earlier reports, Andy Rubin's phone will sport metal edges and ceramic back design. It will have a 5.5-inch pressure sensitive display, which is found on Apple's new iPhone.
The phone is expected to have modular capabilities like Moto Z. It will run Android based OS and carry a price tag around $649. The phone is rumored to be unveiled in the middle of 2017, and will reportedly be part of Andy Rubin's new Essential company, which will also include several other smart products.
Source
Andy Rubin, Co-founder of Android who left Google two years ago is making a comeback with a new company called Essential. According to a Bloomberg report Essential will be armed with 40-person team, filled with recruits from Apple and Alphabet (Google's parent company), while Rubin will serve as its CEO.
"Rubin registered Essential Products Inc. with California regulators in November 2015. In late 2016, the company registered "Essential" with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, listing smartphones, tablets, accessories and "computer operating software for mobile phones" among its goods and services." said the report.
Essential is said to be working on several smart home products, but the main highlight is its smartphone, which will pack top end specs and compete with Apple's iPhone and Google's Pixel phones
The smartphone will reportedly have metal edges and ceramic back design, and a bezel-less display, which we can expect to be similar to Xiaomi's Mi Mix. It will have a display larger than 5.5-inch and might also be pressure sensitive, which is found on Apple's new iPhones.
The report further mentions that, the phone could also have a modular design like Moto Z. The company is working on a proprietary magnetic connector for charging, and will also have the capability of expanding the phones functionality.
The magnetic connector will also support Essential's or thirdy-part harware accessories that adds feature to the smartphone. For instance, Essential is working on a sphere-shaped camera add-on accessory,that shoots high-res 360 degree photos.
However, it is not known if the phone will run Android or Android based OS or other operating system. Essential is planning to launch its first smartphone in the middle of 2017 carrying a price tag around $649.
Via | Source
