The Essential Phone: A Hidden Gem in 2018?
Hey, guys, this is Austin. A few short months ago, one of the most hyped phones in years was announced. The Essential Phone promised top-notch build quality, a clean build of Android, and some seriously great cameras. However, things weren't all that they were cracked up to be.
When it went on sale, there were some serious issues. The camera was lacking both water resistance and a headphone jack, and with a $700 price tag, the phone really just didn't get off the ground. Nothing shows this off better than the sales figures, which were reportedly less than 90,000 over the first year of the Essential Phone's life.
That being said, it's 2018, and the Essential Phone has actually gotten a lot better. The first and biggest change is the price. You can pick up the Essential Phone on Amazon right now for only $450. And that includes some other colors that weren't available at launch, including this pure white.
When you look at this as a $700 phone, there are some issues, but at $450, it's a whole different story. The lack of waterproofing is still a concern, the battery life is only okay, and the camera was one of the biggest problems. However, now that these issues have been addressed, I think a lot of people would be really happy with the Essential Phone.
One thing to note is that the phone is still running Android 7.1 Nougat, which may seem old compared to newer versions like Oreo and Pie. However, it's a clean build, and there's zero bloatware of any kind. The good thing is that when I say a clean build of Android, I mean it.
The camera has also improved significantly. With a pair of 12 megapixel cameras around back, the hardware seems to be there, but it wasn't always the case. The Essential Phone used to have a terrible camera, but now it's so much better than before. Literally, on the day we're shooting this, it got another update that improved its performance and added some additional options in the camera app.
The auto-focus is still a little bit slow, and one of the things I noticed is that while the image might not look great on the preview, once you actually take a shot, it typically does look a lot better. The portrait mode is also pretty decent now, although the blur can be a little strong sometimes.
Overall, I think the Essential Phone is worth a look, especially if you're looking for a phone that no one else has ever heard of. It's got some great features, and it's much less expensive than the other flagship phones out there. So, what do you guys think about the phone? Let me know in the comments below, and I'll catch you in the next one.
WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Hey, guys, this is Austin.A few short months ago, one of the mosthyped phones in years was announced.The Essential Phone promisedtop notch build quality,a clean build of Android andsome seriously great cameras.However, things weren't allthat they were cracked up to be.When it went on sale, therewere some serious issues.The camera was a borderline deal breaker.It was lacking both water resistanceas well as a headphone jack,and with a $700 price tag,the phone really justdidn't get off the ground.Nothing shows this off betterthan the sales figures,which were reportedly less than 90,000over the first year of theEssential Phone's life.That my friends, that's notgood, however, it's 2018and the Essential Phone hasactually gotten a lot better.The first and biggest change is the price.You can pick up the Essential Phoneon Amazon right now for only $450.And that includes some other colorsthat weren't available at launch,including this pure white.Now, sure, when you lookat this as a $700 phone,there are some issues,but at less than $500,nothing even comes close totouching the build quality here.I'll even go farther than that.This is one of the nicestbuilds on any phone, period.So with that ceramic back,especially when you put itside by side with a glass-backedphone like the iPhone X,it really makes it lookdull in comparison.You do lose wirelesscharging, but in return,you're getting not only that look and feelbut you're also going to be gettingthe extra durabilityof having that ceramic.It's not going to be foreveryone, but personally,I absolutely love theway this looks and feels.Come around to side of the phoneand you'll see that itis made of titanium.Now that's also something thatyou don't really exactlysee on phones these days,and it gives it a nice feel in the hand.Now what's interesting is, isthat while a lot of flagshipsthese days are going for a very rounded,sort of curved design,this is much more chunky,which I kind of like, you're makingthe best use of space inside the phone.That same solid feel comesaround to the buttons,which have a nice tactile click,as well as the machining on thingslike the USB-C port, aswell as the speaker grill.No, it does not havestereo speakers, and no,it doesn't have the headphone jack,but there's a lot to reallylike about the hardwareof this phone, and that's noteven getting into the screen.Come around front, and you'llfind that 5.7 inch displaywith some of the thinnestbezels that we've seen yet.Now, keep in mind, this phonehas been out for a while.Even phones like the iPhoneX, as well as the Galaxy S9,can't quite match that super thin bezel,but they also can't match the notch.Yes, my friends, the EssentialPhone was actually firstwhen it comes to thenotch, and personally,I actually like the way they do it herebetter than on the iPhone X.It's just barely big enough tofit that front-facing camera,and everything else has been crammedinto the tiny little bar aboveit, including the status LED,as well as your earpiece.To be fair, the IPS panelon the Essential Phonecan't quite match up tothe awesome AMOLED displayson both the Galaxy S9 as wellas the S8 and the iPhone X.However, I'm reallynitpicking at this point.This is a very, very good display,especially when you consider the price.Sure, there's some minorthings that I can nitpick.So the plastic thatsurrounds the front glasson my unit is slightly imperfect.There are a couple little placeswhere it's not totally smoothed,and on the actual pixelsthemselves they come aroundnot only the notch but as well asthe rounded edges onthe top of the display.You can actually see thatthere are individual pixelsthat you can barely make out.But this is really nitpicking,when you consider thatthis is a $450 phone,there's nothing to complain about.Unless of course, youwant a headphone jack,in which case, sorry?Inside, you're getting prettystandard flagship specs.The Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB of RAM,as well as 128GB of storage,which is definitely helpful,considering that there'sno microSD card slot.I should expect everythingis super snappy.Now, a lot of this is thanks to Essentialconstantly updating their phone.So I was pretty goodwith it first came out,they've consistentlyadded updates to be ableto smooth out things likethe touch response in this,as well as the scrolling speed.But as you would expect, it's just as fastas pretty much any Androidflagship at this point.Now as far as the softwareside of things go,it's good but not perfect.The biggest issue is that it isstill running Android 7.1 Nougat.Now, yes, Essential has said thatthey're working on an Oreo update,and hopefully that comes outsoon, but as of right now,it's a very clean build,they slightly older version of Android.The good thing though is that when I saya clean build of Android, I mean it.There's exactly zerobloatware of any kind.Now there are some minortweaks that Essential has done,mostly to actually support the notch,which is actually one ofthe more impressive parts.It actually kind ofworks pretty well here.Supported apps like Google Maps will flowaround the front-facingcamera, essentially,giving you that full screen experience,and even other apps that aren'tfully supported by the notchare still going to give youaccess to your notifications,as well the system info, withoutreally getting in the way.It's kind of like usinga normal phone like that.It's not an OLED display, sowhile the blacks are good,it doesn't quite fully blend in,although she does a pretty good job,but it's not that far off fromsomething like the iPhone X,as far as using an appthat is not supported.Now one thing that'sactually been very impressivethat Essential has doneis update the camera.This thing is so muchbetter than it used to be.With a pair of 12 megapixelcameras around back,the hardware seems to bethere, but it launched,the Essential camera wasstraight garbage town.Now, don't get me wrong,it's not exactly goingto rival the Pixel, but it has gottenso much better than before.Now, pretty much all thatis thanks to Essentialconstantly releasing updatesto improve the camera.In fact, literally theday we're shooting this,it got another update,which not only improveda little bit of theperformance, but also addedsome additional options in the camera app.Provided that you had some decent light,the photos really aren't too bad.Now the auto focus is still alittle bit on the slow side,and one of the things Idid notice is that whilethe image might not lookthat great on the preview,once you actually takea shot in this process,it typically does look a lot better,which is nice except that it'd be betterto know exactly what yourshots going to look likebefore you hit the shutter button.The portrait mode isalso pretty decent now.I will say that the blur canbe a little strong sometimes,and like all the systems,it's not going to be perfectat cutting you out from the background,but it's not that far behind somethinglike the Galaxy S9 orthe iPhone X, and again,it is going to be much,much less expensive.And that's really where I comedown on the Essential Phone.When it first launched at $700, there weresome legitimately really big problems.The lack of waterproofing,the battery life,which is only okay, and thecamera were big problems.But now that a lot of thesethings have been addressed,and it's got a huge price cut,I think a lot of people wouldbe really happy with the Essential Phone.So, if you want to join90,000 other peoplewho have a phone that noone else has ever heard of,the Essential Phonereally is worth a look.So I'm curious, what do youguys think about the phone?Especially in 2018, I thinkit's gotten a lot better,but let me know what youthink in the comments below,and I will catch you in the next one.
