Hi guys, Cody Lopez here with Techcellent News and today we are going to show you how
the Essential Phone has been holding up after a year since its release.
This is our long term review so let's not waste anymore time and get right into it.
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Essential is no ordinary smartphone newcomer.
Its founder and CEO, Andy Rubin, helped create Android back in 2003.
The phone is both modern and classy.
Its squared edges kinda reminds some of the old iPhone 4, while the edge-to-edge screen
looks and feels like something from the future.
It's tough too.
It has a super durable titanium frame that Essential claims doesn't dent, scratch or
even bend.
The back is made of ceramic, which is scratch-resistant.
My unit is black and has absolutely no manufacturer branding for a very clean aesthetic although
it is prone to fingerprint smudges.
Also on the back the device houses a fingerprint scanner, dual camera system and a unique pair
of magnetic connectors for the Essential phone's modular accessories...like this 360 camera.
Around the bottom there is a USB-C charging port, speaker grill, but no headphone jack.
This is definitely a bummer but not much of a surprise in 2018.
You also won't find a microsd card slot but I can forgive this due to the generous 128GB
of on board storage.
Oh and try your best not get the Essential Phone wet because it doesn't offer any water
resistance.
Aside from a couple omissions the Essential PH-1 is one of the best designed smartphones
and because of it's superb build quality, the device retains its beauty even after all
this time.
The Phone is powered by some top-of-the-line components, including Qualcomm's Snapdragon
835 processor and four gigabytes of RAM.
Sure, this is last year's processor but it definitely doesn't feel like it.
The device glides with ease through everyday usage and has no issues with games or other
power-hungry applications.
A Lot of the reason why it continues to be so responsive is because of the software.
You see, this is where the Essential Phone truly shines.
Android enthusiasts will be thrilled to see that this phone is running the stock version
of Android.
Honestly, when this phone first launched, the software was a bit of a mess.
It had a lot of latency issues and it just did not feel like a phone with the specs it
has.
But over time the company has done a lot and I mean a lot to resolve those issues with
software updates.
It has even been getting consistently monthly security updates, generally as fast a Google
devices.
Not many manufacturers can say that about their devices.
Whats even more impressive, is the fact that the Essential Phone received the latest version
of its software, Android Pie on the same day of it's release, something that has never
happened in the history of Android.
Now with Android 9.0 Pie, the Essential Phone feels even more polished.
Although, I will admit it did take some time getting used to the new navigation guestures.
There's nothing like stock Android.
Your phone's performance is certainly boosted by running an unmodified version of the OS.
It makes you think, If a new smartphone company could achieve this one their first device,
other manufacturers shouldn't have much of an excuse right?
Samsung and LG should seriously take note.
Now When I first used the Essential Phone, I wouldn't say that I was overly impressed
with the battery life.
Although, after a year of updates, I can definitely say that it has gotten better.
Thanks in part to it's new Adaptive Battery feature from Android Pie, I can get a little
over a full day with it's relatively small 3040 mah battery.
You see, Adaptive Battery works to prioritize battery power only for the apps and services
you use the most.
Although, the phone lacks wireless charging, it does feature fast charging over USB-C if
you did need to top up really quick.
Now let's talk about the camera.
Alright let's be honest, when this phone launched over a year ago, the camera was sub-par at
best.
While the dual-camera hardware itself is good, the software turned the photos it produced
into a mess.
Some users went as far as using third party camera apps to obtain better pictures.
Like the latency issues, Essential put in a lot of work to improve the camera experience.
It received many updates over the last year and while it isnt Google Pixel or Galaxy S9
territory, the picture quality has gotten much better.
Definitely way more acceptable than what it was.
And that's the story of the Essential Ph-1, its the story of a newcomer continuously learning
from their mistakes and improving themselves over time.
And speaking of improving over time....that leads us to the price.
Now at launch, this phone was priced at $700 dollars, certainly a tough pill to swallow
compared to its competition.
Then it dropped to $500, still a little hard on the wallet but around Black Friday it was
reduced to $400 and made the phone much easier to recommend.
Today, the phone has been seen listed around $300 and sometimes for as low as two hundred
twenty four dollars.
I'll be sure to leave a link in the video description with the most updated price.
But overall, you cant go wrong with the Essential Phone at these prices.
Its super easy to recommend an unlocked phone with amazing build quality running stock Android
at that kind of price, even if its a year old.
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Once again I'm Cody Lopez with Techcellent News
and I will see you all in our next video.