Andy Rubin, the Danger Hiptop creator that eventually became the godfather of Android, is reportedly creating a new breed of high-end smartphone, along with an AI-based ecosystem for the smartphone to exist in. Essential Products Inc., Rubin’s own business venture, is reportedly going to consist of a number of devices running on an AI framework, with a smartphone he discussed at CES serving as the centerpiece. The smartphone in question is said to be a very high-end piece, made to compete with Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Pixel. It is also reported to boast a bezel-free screen, a ceramic back plating, and the ability to gain new hardware features later on. Sounding somewhat like a cross between a Xiaomi Mi Mix and Project Ara, the phone is supposed to be the brains of the operation, tying all of the devices in the ecosystem together.
Sources who are allegedly close to Andy Rubin broke the news that he is preparing to formally announce Essential Products Inc. to the pubic and give details of the company’s plans for the near future. For now, what is known is that Rubin will serve as the CEO of the company, and that the central focus is the Internet of Things, with a central AI controlling and tying together an entire ecosystem that will include the high-end smartphone being described. The smartphone could end up being manufactured by Foxconn, who is an investor in Rubin’s Playground, his personal moonshot factory.
When Rubin first went to the authorities in California back in 2015 to register Essential Products Inc., it wasn’t an incredibly public affair or a real blip on the radar of the mobile world due to a relative lack of detail revealed. Funding from Playground may come into play with the company’s early activities, but that is, at this stage, purely speculation. It is also unknown whether Rubin’s new smartphone will run on Android or a derivative thereof; Rubin’s optimistic stance on AI and the promise that it will serve as the glue for the ecosystem that Essential plans to create leaves the option open, though Google has already proven that Android can play quite well with deep, systemwide AI integration, as well as unorthodox modes of operation, such as the cloud integration seen on the Nextbit Robin. At this point, there is no official date for when Rubin may officially bring Essential into the public eye, so those who are curious what he’s up to will simply have to wait and see.