I’ve used the Google Pixel XL for 12 months straight, save for when I tested other handsets. I really dig the Google Pixel and figured I’d probably be getting the Google Pixel 2 as soon as it came out.
Why? Simple: I like Android, I like getting updates as soon as they’re ready, and I hate bloatware. Prior to the Pixel, I used Nexus phones. In this respect, I guess I am something of a Google purist.
But Andy Rubin just threw a massive spanner into the mix. The Essential Phone has been rumored for awhile, but since it dropped there has been a huge amount of hype around the handset and I think the reason for this is twofold:
- The Essential Phone will get Android updates for two years.
- The Essential Phone has great specs and it looks brilliant.
The first reason is the most important here, as no one else in the space – save for Google – is doing it. Samsung doesn’t, neither does LG, OnePlus, Sony or Huawei.
Android fragmentation is now an accepted fact of life inside the Android space and, usually, the only way around it was with a phone made by Google. With the Essential Phone, however, you now have another option. And I’d argue it is a far more attractive option too.
Like Tesla, Essential is building a business around one, quality product and it is ensuring it works and offers value because it knows this is what savvy shoppers actually want from a phone in 2017.
The idea that you can run a phone, knowing it will get updates for the entire time you own it, that looks good and functions well is not a new idea. This is what Apple built its iPhone business around, so it’s no surprise that Essential is taking a leaf from its book.
This is what Google is trying to do with its Pixel phone – make it into an Android iPhone of sorts. And up to now, it was kind of doing it by itself, though it definitely has some competition in the form of the PH-1 now, so the next question is this: can Essential sell more phones than Google?
Potentially. The hype and reaction to the Essential Phone has been largely very positive. The price of the handset is also cheaper than what Google will likely retail its Pixel 2 at (the Essential Phone costs $699) and these factors, combined with the phone’s excellent looks and design, could well place it in front of the Pixel 2 later this year.
I know I am extremely tempted by the Essential Phone. It is easily one of the phones I am most excited about testing out. And with a release date scheduled for Q4 in the UK, it looks like I won't have to wait too long before getting my hands on one.
by rgoodwin via Featured Articles
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