Essential Gem? Andy Rubin unveils the smartphone's new design

Dominik Bärlocher

9.10.2019

Translation: machine translated

Andy Rubin, CEO of Essential, has sent Twitter into a frenzy. And the reason? The unusual shape of the successor to the Essential PH-1.

New shape, new software

The new phone has a completely new shape. Manufacturers generally favour an 18:9 or even 21:9 format. The new smartphone is much narrower. The wrist times Pi and, based on the dimensions of this image, it should be around a 29:9 aspect ratio.

The back is just as interesting. While the phone is very slim, you probably won't be able to use it with one hand. It's far too long for that. To prevent it from slipping, Essential has provided a small recess into which you can place your finger on the back of the phone. It should also act as a fingerprint reader.

1. green
2. orange
3. red or pink
4. blue

Rubin has announced that the device's software will have a brand new interface. He shows it off in another picture.

We can assume that the software is a distribution of Android.

We don't know its name or release date

The hashtag could reveal the device's future name. PH-1 is not a model name that can simply be picked up, as it is a pun. PH-1 → PH-One → Phone. So PH-2 certainly makes sense as the successor to PH-1, but the pun isn't there. Can we deduce from this that the new phone will be called "Gem", which means "precious stone"?

Dominik Bärlocher

Senior Editor

dominik.baerlocher@digitecgalaxus.ch

Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.

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