Andy Rubin's Essential Phone Considered Anything But (theregister.co.uk)

An anonymous reader shares a report: Andy Rubin's ambitions to create a new consumer electronics ecosystem are floundering at base camp. Sales of Essential's phone, which forms a key part of the strategy, are tepid. Google Play reports a mere 50,000 download of Essential's Camera app so far, the Android Police blog notes. This doesn't paint the full picture, but it can be assumed a fairly complete one, barring a few brush strokes. Essential launched in the US with support from Sprint, at a recommended SIM-free retail price of $699. After reported sales of just five thousand in the first month, this was slashed to $499 and could be grabbed for $399 in the post-Thanksgiving sales. As devices from different manufacturers proliferate in the home, Rubin has alluded to "a new operating system so it can speak all those protocols and it can do it securely and privately." But rather than launching a new software platform he's had to launch hardware.

Comments

For me, it's the best phone I've owned - no cruft

[unfortunateson]

I've had it now for two weeks, and it's pretty darn sweet:
* same basic specs as the Galaxy S8. Same SOC, memory and 128GB storage. Phone is a little shorter, but with less bezel, there's not much difference in pixels
* fantastic battery life
* sturdy construction
* can't beat the price at those specs -- it's a high-end phone at mid-range prices
* pure Android, no carrier or manufacturer cruft

Downsides
* camera is not top-notch (but it's getting better in software)
* accessories are minimal
* there may be some touchscreen glitches, hard to pin down (could be software, as alternate firmware doesn't have the problem)

This is the android phone for people who want the pure experience, unlocked bootloader, and don't want to pay Pixel prices.
Their marketing is not top-notch. I would barely have heard of it if I didn't fish in the android forum waters.
My biggest worry is if Andy Rubin decides he's bored with it, and it loses support for upgrades in the future. However, if they deliver on the Project Treble version of Oreo, maintaining upgraded firmware gets a lot easier.