When the Essential Phone first came out , I did n’t like it very much . But my main objection was n’t its build or characteristic — no , it was basically that for $ 700 , its camera simply was n’t in the same league as theGalaxy S8 , theiPhone 7 , or any other expensive flagship .
Thankfully though , post - launch , Essential did n’t just give up on the PH-1 . rather , the team keep up up and improved things like image quality and camera shutter lag . After a few months of update and some Leontyne Price expend , the Essential Phone made a strong comeback . Suddenly , at $ 450 , the PH-1 could be look at a unanimous competitor to handsets like theOnePlus 5Tor some of Motorola ’s mid - range headphone , and count on the competitor , it featured a observably lower damage .
Then , earlier this calendar week , the Essential Phone was discounted down to a shocking $ 224 , a ludicrously tacky price so low that we ’ve only seen it briefly duringAmazon ’s most late quality dayback in July . At $ 224 , the PH-1 easy outclasses any budget French telephone you could buy right now , which is why it ’s no surprise that the provision of super - inexpensive Essential Phones has already sold out .
Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
Still , the Essential Phone is currentlylisted on Amazon for just $ 335 , which is way less than the earphone is really deserving . If it had n’t been for Essential’sstruggles at launching , the PH-1 totally could have vindicate a $ 600 asking price . To make the pot even mellifluous , Essential is still pumping out update for its phone , with the PH-1 being one of the first , if not the first non - Pixel phone to get the upgrade toAndroid 9 Pie . Meanwhile , Samsung ’s latest earpiece — the$1,000 Galaxy Note 9 — launched running Android 8 , and if Samsung ’s previous update meter is any meter reading , it will be at least three calendar month until the twist has access to Android 9 .
At this point , the price cut on the Essential Phone have gone right smart past sensible , and while I know the phrase is overused , for this short money , for $ 335 , the PH-1 really is a steal . It ’s got great specs for the cost , a stunningly good build , strong battery life , and after all this , its camera is totally fine now , too . There ’s also the PH-1 ’s cool broker , because as the first speech sound to feature a notch , it deserves its own trivial billet in annals of smartphone history .
Sure , the Essential Phone itself still has a few effect , such as its overleap headphone jackass , but sadly , but that ’s kind of the norm today . And as for the Essential Phone not let water supply - electric resistance or wireless charging , those are feature you ’d be hard - pressed to find on any other phone in this Leontyne Price orbit . Really , the Essential Phone ’s only legitimate knock is that the wholecompany might go under or get bought out , at which clock time , further software support or update could quickly dry out up . This is no small concern . We have n’t hear much about Essential ’s destiny since May , when Bloomberg account that it had already “ canceled development ” of what would presumably be the Essential Phone 2 . But once again , for $ 335 , you could still do so much worse .
So now I call for you , how low would the crucial PH-1 have to go before you ’d be willing to purchase one — if ever ? I might buy one and just keep it in the box , as a reminder of what a wild ride it ’s been .
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