Essential

The Essential Phone was created by Android co-founder Andy Rubin, and manufactured and released by his Palo Alto-based company, Essential Products, in 2017.

Featuring a titanium and ceramic body, end-to-end Gorilla Glass-protected display, dual rear cameras and attractive earth tone colors, the PH-1 was released to much fanfare in the U.S., with Sprint serving as its exclusive carrier (the phone is/was also sold as unlocked via vendors like Amazon). An Amazon-exclusive version of the Essentials phone was released with voice assistant Alexa built in.

The device garnered generally positive reviews, with writers appreciating both its streamlined simplicity and its overall processing speed. As the end of 2018, however, it was revealed that Essential Products would stop manufacturing the phone, and shift focus to its successor.

Word from outlets like Tech Radar is the new device will focus on artificial intelligence features that help organize your digital life, so you can “spend less time staring at your mobile phone and more time living in the real world.” Use LetsTalk to find the perfect plan to go along with one of these amazingly robust Android devices.