A thread for those who are enjoying this phone

[anon(9918034)]

Every post on here is about issues, let's have one about the things we all do like.

The design and build quality are undoubtedly where this device shines the most right now.

For me second is battery life, it is absolutely out standing I currently have over 5 hours of sot and still at 40% battery and I unplugged it 16 hours ago.

Moat of the games I enjoy playing are a lot smoother on this device.

I don't have to worry about errors with an SD card, or if I set my camera roll to save to the SD card.

I don't really have any issues with the camera, I really enjoy the monochrome sensor by itself. I have gotten some nice pictures of my dogs. Again I don't really take a lot of pictures on any device. For a casual user I don't see much of an issue.

The screen is my favorite one on a phone, I have always been a fan of the LCD(I know eventually they will be a thing of the past)

The fact that I'm rocking the September security update in September, and not on a pixel or Nexus.

I don't have any major issues plaguing my device, my over all experience has been rather pleasant. I have had a few minor annoyances but nothing that would make me want to get rid of this device.

For those wondering, I got my device via sprint on the 14th. Maybe for once someone can actually say it was probably smarter for me to pre-order it from Sprint haha.

 

[dpackerz]

I too have only had minor issues. Wi-Fi calling isn't working, but not a huge issue to me. I've read posts that have implied a phone call to Verizon may alleviate the problem, but the phone call would be more painful. Battery, display, camera, I feel the same. Update response better than any other phone I had. Now just to get Oreo through. Got it on my daughter's Pixel; response is "meh". No big deal.

 

[PhiPsi32]

Build quality IS nice. I really appreciate the compactness of the phone, large screen in a small package. My 6P feels unnecessarily huge compared to the PH-1.

 

[jascospeed]

Definitely the most premier feeling phone I've had, It doesn't feel cheap at all. I love the ceramic back, but would prefer the Matt finish instead. The battery life has been insane for me, this they got right, i can go all day with heavy use and still not need to worry about looking for a charger.

However that's were it ends, it's going back. I wanted to keep it but I have a really hard time typing on this and I don't have fat fingers, I guess I'm used to my whale ( Nexus 6) I also had the speaker grill defect and LTE problems on Verizon. So while it's been better in most areas then any other phone I've had to date, I'm going to hold of till the Ph-2, hopefully essential will still be around for their 2nd attempt.

Be carful around the earpiece, the fabric mesh is really delicate. It'll get holes easy or just tear off.

 

[anon(9918034)]

Definitely the most premier feeling phone I've had, It doesn't feel cheap at all. I love the ceramic back, but would prefer the Matt finish instead. The battery life has been insane for me, this they got right, i can go all day with heavy use and still not need to worry about looking for a charger.

However that's were it ends, it's going back. I wanted to keep it but I have a really hard time typing on this and I don't have fat fingers, I guess I'm used to my whale ( Nexus 6) I also had the speaker grill defect and LTE problems on Verizon. So while it's been better in most areas then any other phone I've had to date, I'm going to hold of till the Ph-2, hopefully essential will still be around for their 2nd attempt.

Be carful around the earpiece, the fabric mesh is really delicate. It'll get holes easy or just tear off.

I have suspicion that the reason the other launch dates where pushed back was to address the speaker grill. Mine is free of holes and recessed back into the phone where you can't accidentally tear it off or put a hole into.

I can understand the the whole Verizon thing, that's on Verizon not essential. On sprint I can actually use their lte+ network and damn it's quick. I have all around better cell service with this phone on sprint.

 

[drhz]

I like this phone despite a few minor issues.

I pre-ordered my phone through Best Buy and it came preloaded with a Sprint SIM.

I love the build quality, so far no scratches on the ceramic back (knock on wood). I also love stock Android. I have had Samsung phones for years and it's refreshing to have stock Android.


I am also looking forward to Future click on accessories. Very interested in the charging dock although I doubt it will work with cases.

 

[modifier]

This phone fits 90% of what I need in a device; excellent design, solid build quality, great display and stock Android so I can install the exact software that I want — much of which replaces the stock Google apps.

Seeing system updates and the first security patch happen so quickly is huge. It's apparent that they're making a solid effort to keep up their promise of updates. Oreo will be a welcome addition.

My overall experience thus far has been surprisingly positive. I've not experienced the bugs and lags some have mentioned, and for the most part I've had quick responses from CS on my questions.

Mine had to go back for the speaker grille issue but I plan on buying another after the return gets sorted out.

 

[aitt]

It's was hard to give up the phone. I kept it in a sleeve to give it the best protection. I loved the heaviness of it. I miss that in phone. Makes it feel solid. The phone was amazing. I had no issues other than crash if the camera occasionally when taking pic. The software was horrible for the camera. But the phone is hands down in off the best phones I ever held.

 

[doctormeatusa]

Thanks Swagglepuff for starting this thread.

All good here. Really like the simple design visually. Size, screen, weight, materials all suite me fine.

The software updates have corrected initial bugs. I got mine August 31 during that first round of deliveries after pre-ordering from the Essential website in mid-August.

The machine works. Bluetooth pairing and performance is better than my previous phones (galaxy S7, iPhone 6, Lumia , etc.). Battery life is absolutely the best I have ever experienced. Looking forward to having more apps whitelisted for full screen.

Camera started out glitchy, but now is as good for me (functionally and photo quality) as the S7 I switched from and I expect will get better as the software matures.

Also - I'm on Verizon and the only things that do not work yet that I used with prior phone are the visual voicemail service and the enhanced caller id. Carrier network, LTE, etc all work fine.

I use a wide variety of apps (over 150 currently installed including what comes with the base Android setup)- all work fine. All the time. Using almost all of these regularly (half of them at least daily). Productivity, banking, healthcare, games, entertainment, information, communication, social networking, etc. This shows how solid the Android OS is if left alone with quality hardware and no carrier or phone vendor customizations.
Again, they all work well. All the time.

This is the best phone experience I have ever had.

 

[modifier]

Looking forward to having more apps whitelisted for full screen.

Take a look at the following thread if you haven't already. There's now an app to manually whitelist apps both for full-screen and hidden navbar. It really makes the entire experience that much better.

https://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?t=832297&p=5973603&viewfull=1#post5973603

It works seamlessly, too, and uses the same methodology that Essential does in their own whitelist. You can turn full-screen off and on without a reboot. If an app doesn't work well in full-screen mode simply turn it off. No harm done.

 

[anon(9918034)]

So I think I figured out why this phone doesn't have wireless charging. The area to place accessories is a magnet, I noticed this the other day when I went to pick my phone up off a metal computer chassis. that area of the phone provided some resistance when picking up. Seeing as how qi wireless charging utilizes and electromagnetic magnetic coils to send and receive the charge. A magnet slapped in the same area will render the process useless as it's own magnetic field will interrupt the process. I could be just talking out my *** lol, from my understanding this I feel.is the reason.

 

[modifier]

Chances are you wouldn't have an accessory attached when wirelessly charging. The field from a Qi mat shouldn't demagnetize the neodymium magnet located near the two pins.

I think it came down to cost and thickness. Plus, wireless charging would somewhat negate them going all-in on the Click pins. They seem to want those two pins to eventually do everything.

I just hope the PH-2 doesn't kill off USB-C in favor of Click being the only interface. That would be a disaster.

 

[anon(9918034)]

Chances are you wouldn't have an accessory attached when wirelessly charging. The field from a Qi mat shouldn't demagnetize the neodymium magnet located near the two pins.

I think it came down to cost and thickness. Plus, wireless charging would somewhat negate them going all-in on the Click pins. They seem to want those two pins to eventually do everything.

I just hope the PH-2 doesn't kill off USB-C in favor of Click being the only interface. That would be a disaster.

From what I have been able to fine is that the neodymium magnet will not allow for the wireless charging to work. The same way the magnetic phone mounts don't allow for wireless charging to work while having it attached to the phone.

Usb-c won't go away, you will always need to be able to wire into your phone to trouble shoot and flash the phones software. I'm am curious to see how the charging plate is going to work.

 

[modifier]

From what I have been able to fine is that the neodymium magnet will not allow for the wireless charging to work. The same way the magnetic phone mounts don't allow for wireless charging to work while having it attached to the phone.

I can't think of a reason a magnet would prevent induction. Devices already have neodymium magnets in speakers and vibration motors. Even Motorola has a wireless charging Moto Mod and the whole contraption is held on with neodymium magnets.

Usb-c won't go away, you will always need to be able to wire into your phone to trouble shoot and flash the phones software.

I vaguely recall Andy Rubin mentioning potentially deleting the USB connector in his interview video, saying something to the effect of it not being needed with their phone. That's why I mentioned it. The industry as a whole won't change but I do wonder if Essential will try to delete it on their next device. I sure hope not.

I'm am curious to see how the charging plate is going to work.

The rendering is just a flat plate with two pins to connect to the back of the phone. Ironically it breaks their own rule of accessories being universal since it's designed with a specific size and pin location in mind. It's not universal. I suspect the final product will be different... or at least I hope so. Motorola backed themselves into a wall by doing the same thing.

 

[anon(9918034)]

I can't think of a reason a magnet would prevent induction. Devices already have neodymium magnets in speakers and vibration motors. Even Motorola has a wireless charging Moto Mod and the whole contraption is held on with neodymium magnets.


I vaguely recall Andy Rubin mentioning potentially deleting the USB connector in his interview video, saying something to the effect of it not being needed with their phone. That's why I mentioned it. The industry as a whole won't change but I do wonder if Essential will try to delete it on their next device. I sure hope not.


The rendering is just a flat plate with two pins to connect to the back of the phone. Ironically it breaks their own rule of accessories being universal since it's designed with a specific size and pin location in mind. It's not universal. I suspect the final product will be different... or at least I hope so. Motorola backed themselves into a wall by doing the same thing.

View attachment 269362

I learned something today, and if they figured out how to completely cut the cord to the device. Sign me up, I absolutely hate plugging things into my phone.

I wonder if the plate will incorporate the standard QI technology as well as their own to make it universal. We will see soon enough I hope.

 

[modifier]

I learned something today, and if they figured out how to completely cut the cord to the device. Sign me up, I absolutely hate plugging things into my phone.

I wonder if the plate will incorporate the standard QI technology as well as their own to make it universal. We will see soon enough I hope.

Charging will be through the two pins. Those carry current. The above plate would plug into a charger and sit on a desk. No Qi needed.

If they truly cut the cord and went Click only, we'd end up with a Click to USB-C adapter instead. It would get the socket out of the phone. On the plus side it means the phone has less wear points but on the negative it's now on a small Click adapter with higher potential to lose or misplace.

It's all speculation at this point though. We won't know until the PH-2 or whatever they call it.

 

[anon(9918034)]

Charging will be through the two pins. Those carry current. The above plate would plug into a charger and sit on a desk. No Qi needed.

If they truly cut the cord and went Click only, we'd end up with a Click to USB-C adapter instead. It would get the socket out of the phone. On the plus side it means the phone has less wear points but on the negative it's now on a small Click adapter with higher potential to lose or misplace.

It's all speculation at this point though. We won't know until the PH-2 or whatever they call it.

This is making more excited for the future of this phone, thanks for the info. I hope you do decided to purchase another PH-1. The more I use this device the more it grows on me. I have an old stereo with Bluetooth tech from 2012. I gave up on trying to pair phones because it constantly would cut out during music and almost sound like skipping. My adapter I bought crapped out, so I reset the who stereo and pair my essential and it works like a freaking charm. This phone just keeps doing things right for me.

 

[modifier]

I hope you do decided to purchase another PH-1.

I'm at 95%. If Essential is prompt with my return credit then I'll wait a couple weeks for the Pixel 2 XL announcement just to see if it offers anything I can actually use. If it's a bust then I'll grab another PH-1. Camera alone isn't enough for me to spend $300 more on a Pixel. Beyond that I just want a well-built phone with stock Android and timely security patches/OS updates. Nothing else fits the bill right now. The 2 XL renders look pretty standard, if not a bit boring, although the primary pull with Google phones is the software rather than the hardware.

 

[anon(9918034)]

I'm at 95%. If Essential is prompt with my return credit then I'll wait a couple weeks for the Pixel 2 XL announcement just to see if it offers anything I can actually use. If it's a bust then I'll grab another PH-1. Camera alone isn't enough for me to spend $300 more on a Pixel. Beyond that I just want a well-built phone with stock Android and timely security patches/OS updates. Nothing else fits the bill right now. The 2 XL renders look pretty standard, if not a bit boring, although the primary pull with Google phones is the software rather than the hardware.

But they are becoming more about the hardware rather than software. The recent HTC deal shows proof of that, as well as the price tag that's going to be attached. I was super excited for the first pixel phone until it was an exact clone of the iPhone with android. That's why I will never buy a pixel. It's there to take on apple and will make it look the same and price it the same as apple every single year. I will pay 700 for a phone from a company that is at least trying to change how we look at and use a device rather then a company who just copies and follows apple.

 

[modifier]

Agreed. The PH-1 had my attention from the beginning and still does. Google's hardware is plain and unexciting. I don't look at a Pixel and think, "wow, I have to have that." Since the 128GB 2 XL will be $300 more than a PH-1 after tax and I don't care about the camera, I have an even more difficult time seeing it as a must-have. But, I'm an equal opportunity dumpster fire watcher and will at least wait until 10/4 to see what's there. I'm curious but not on the edge of my seat.