Ever since the original Essential Phone debuted back in 2017, the company behind it has been dead silent in terms of future products and services. Essential has been consistent with software upgrades for the PH-1, but the same can’t be said when it comes to keeping up with competitors and new industry trends. That may change soon, however, as Essential’s founder has hinted at an upcoming announcement that could translate to a new device.
Droid-Life was first to discover a reply Andy Rubin made to a Twitter user where he states “We’ll make an announcement” and to “hang tight.” What kind of announcement he’s speaking about is unclear. It could be an Essential Phone 2, it could be a new smart home device, it could be new AI software. Quite frankly, it could be anything. Given the context of the conversation, however, I lean more to the smartphone side of things.
Rumors in the past have pointed to Essential developing a new phone. The company even confirmed it was working on a new “mobile product” when it discontinued the original PH-1. It might be focused on AI and infuse some of the technology used in the email client Newton Mail, and there’s a good chance it’ll share design similarities with the company’s first device. Right now, we don’t have any concrete details to share, but expect some type of news in the near future.
