Essential Phone 2!

[Morty2264]

Let me be honest here.

The Essential Phone 2017 started out as a bit of a mess. Missed deadlines, broken software and a camera that had potential but ruined by crap software. It had supremely exquisite hardware but its issues at launch made its price tag hard to swallow.

Things have changed a bit now after countless software updates and a new price tag. It's still not what I'd call supremely great but it's significantly better than it was.

Of course, sales numbers are pretty paltry, so I'd assume Rubin and Co. would like to do better this time around.

Here's what I want them to do for the Essential Phone 2018

• Keep the hardware. Essential almost nailed it when it comes to exquisite hardware. Yes, it's probably one of the least practical materials out there since it is a fingerprint magnet and pretty shatter-prone due to it being ceramic. But very few phones have a ceramic back and a titanium midframe, which makes it an exquisite piece of tech and makes it feel much more expensive than it is.
• Keep to the ethos of "Essential". Have little bloat and refrain from adding unnecessary hardware features.
• Improve the reliability of the software. Don't need further explanation partly because it's self-explanatory and partly because they're already doing so.
• If it doesn't work, ditch the dual-camera array and go for a single-camera setup with a big sensor and intelligent post-processing. The current setup has heaps of potential but if Essential can't realize it, leave it out of the second one and use a more traditional setup. Then maybe put it back on the third one if it can work out better.
• Commit to 3 years of updates and patches at least.
• Headphone jack maybe?

I don't know pal.

USB-C audio hasn't caught on much, if at all. Almost all USB-C buds suck in one way or the other (or even as a whole) and the dongles are an utter mess. I have tried a Motorola dongle, a Xiaomi one and some others. The Moto one only worked with the Moto Z and the Xiaomi one only worked with the Mi 6. They never worked with my Note8 or the Honor 8 Pro or even my ASUS gaming laptop. To date, only Google and Essential have dongles which work universally across all USB-C devices.

And while Bluetooth is much better than before, it still sucks when it comes to reliable connections, with my headphones frequently skipping audio at times. I initially thought it was a cheap headphones thing but my pricey 1000XM2s does the same at times too. Only the EarPods have been able to maintain audio connectivity even in high traffic areas, with only occasional skips.

... Can you just work for Essential and design the next phone? Love your input.

 

[messypotamia]

The camera needs more options like changing image size, and control over rapid-fire.

 

[anon(5630457)]

The Essential 2 would have to have cameras that could compete with the top dawgs on the market for me to even consider purchasing one. It would also need to have at least an IP67 rating.

 

[messypotamia]

... And don't mess with the build quality!

Yes, do *not* mess w/ the build quality! I'm on the fence about changing from USB-C back though, I'm hoping for better functionality in the 'C because it saves hw build real estate.
Thanks.

 

[Jean-Marc Beaulne]

1. Have a stable firmware with minimal bugs upon release
2. Improve camera software and processing
3. IP68
4.oled display
5.IR blaster wouldn't hurt either

These things would be enough to make me completely satisfied. Keeping the dual camera set up, and maybe take a look a the Huawei p20 and implement a triple camera setup that would put them all to shame.

 

[ChuckG73]

Nail the software this time around, improve the camera experience (OIS, etc...), keep with the impressive build quality, go OLED, and add water proofing.

 

[TheMortallyWounded]

I agree, except that a direct connection would be necessary. So why not include a pogo-pin interface to replace the USB? Keep the magnetic camera, add a stereo camera accessory option, and use that connection for debugging, etc. If they're going to take away the 3.5mm jack, might as well take away the USB too. A pogo pin high speed charging dock would be great.

Also, they should introduce three sizes: 4", 5", and 6". Essential 2S, 2M, and 2L. And make them here in the USA!

 

[Melissa Kautz]

It needs to be just as good as all the other phones out there

 

[Melissa Kautz]

I want to see 256gb, more ram like 8gb of ram, better battery, newest snapdragon, better camera, true stereo speakers and headphone jack back. Needs to beat the Google Pixel phone and other brands.

 

[dbareis]

I'd have bought one if it had have had a bigger screen and 6GB+ of RAM

 

[Morty2264]

I'd have bought one if it had have had a bigger screen and 6GB+ of RAM

I do like the 5.7" screen size but who knows what Essential will do with its upcoming iteration - maybe it'll be six inches!

 

[1901Madison]

Fix the vibration motor - make it more like the Pixel 2.

 

[ritterrav]

Android Authority had a video posted on Facebook today about upcoming and exciting phones of 2018 - and the next phone from Essential was on the list! According to the video, the phone may be getting a reconstruction to make it "able to compete" with smartphones in 2018.

What do you all hope for in the next Essential Phone? I'm super excited to see what Essential does next!

1. Keep the size, design materials
2.Oled Screen, watch that notch disappear even more if the screen can reach those deep blacks.
3. Better camera, OIS. Keep the Monochrome.
4. Move the usb c to the left or right(asym, I know) and mimic the top speaker on the bottom and make them them loud for stereo.
5. Have all the accessories you are planning to have, available upon release and all backwards compatible.
6. Faster finger print sensor.
7. Some type of IP certification

Straight up if they delivered on the just the OLED and IP cert, in the same frame/design, I would be set.

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

... Can you just work for Essential and design the next phone? Love your input.

I don't think they'd need me. xD

The phone already looks pretty good as-is. The widows' peak is still up for debate though

 

[Morty2264]

I don't think they'd need me. xD

The phone already looks pretty good as-is. The widows' peak is still up for debate though

I agree that the phone looks stellar. Really hope they hit a home run with this next iteration!

 

[Powdah]

T-Mobile 600mhz band

 

[gforce1963]

Decent trade-in program for the current owners

 

[tech_head]

I don't want OLED.
I don't like OLED. It's oversaturated and looks bad. I always need to run software to fix the bad colors.
I don't need to do that on the Essential.

For the next version, the latest SD, which right now is the SD845.
I'm not missing the headphone jack.
I had multiple phones with wireless charging and never bothered.
I just plug a cable in.

Update the processor and give me a better camera.
Maybe a better screen.
Leave the form factor alone so there is consistency like the iPhone.

 

[Vega007]

Fix the vibration motor - make it more like the Pixel 2.

Yeah that vibration motor was harsh. I quickly disabled vibration feedback across the board, something I rarely do on a phone.

 

[mogelijk]

I don't want OLED.
I don't like OLED. It's oversaturated and looks bad. I always need to run software to fix the bad colors.
I don't need to do that on the Essential.

For the next version, the latest SD, which right now is the SD845.
I'm not missing the headphone jack.
I had multiple phones with wireless charging and never bothered.
I just plug a cable in.

Update the processor and give me a better camera.
Maybe a better screen.
Leave the form factor alone so there is consistency like the iPhone.

OLED does not have to look oversaturated, just that Samsung (and many phone manufacturers that want to copy Samsung) choose to oversaturate the colors. It appears a lot of people actually prefer the oversaturated colors. In contrast, the iPhone X is a good example of an OLED screen that is not oversaturated; Apple tends to do a great job of color accuracy on the screens of their phones. With the nice job Essential did on their initial screen, my hope would be they could do a similar job on an OLED.