Started by former Android co-founder Andy Rubin, Essential burst onto the scene back in 2017 with the Essential PH-1. The company has never released a follow-up to that phone, but it has continued to offer exceptional software support. It turns out that’s where the story ends as the company has announced it will shut down immediately.
At the time, the Essential Phone had a very unique design. It was really the first phone with the now-infamous “notch” for the front-facing camera. Essential didn’t sell a ton of phones and the early reviews were pretty harsh, especially on the camera performance. The company continued to support the phone, releasing monthly security patches on the same day as Google.
Back in October, Rubin tweeted a couple of images of a very strange-looking device. It was tall, narrow, and had a color-shifting coating. That was the last we heard of “Project GEM.” The company says they’ve “taken GEM as far as we can and regrettably have no clear path to deliver it to customers. Given this, we have made the difficult decision to cease operations and shutdown Essential.”
That may not be the worst news, however. The Essential Phone will no longer receive updates. The security update from earlier this month will be the last update from the team. “Your PH-1 will continue to work but we will not be providing any additional updates or customer support.” Also, since Essential purchased Newton Mail, that service will also shut down, but not until April 30, 2020.
RIP.
Source: Essential
The post Essential shuts down: No more PH-1 updates, No GEM phone appeared first on xda-developers.
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