The Essential PH-1 managed to leave quite an impression when it launched at the end of last month, and a new report just surfaced, sharing some more info regarding its availability. We already knew that the phone will be available directly from the company’s website for US consumers, and according to a new report by USA Today, the device will also be available from Sprint. Now, it seems like Sprint will actually be an exclusive carrier to offer the Essential PH-1 smartphone in the US.
Now, the device will become available in Sprint’s stores, and this US-based carrier is actually planning to provide a ‘premium space to showcase’ the Essential PH-1 smartphone. In other words, the device will have a ‘very prominent’ place in Sprint’s stores, according to the report, and the Essential PH-1 will not come with Sprint’s logo on its body, as it does not even carry Essential’s branding, which is quite interesting. It seems like Andy Rubin’s close relationship with SoftBank’s CEO, Masayoshi Son, played some sort of a role in this partnership. In any case, Sprint still did not release any information when it comes to Essential PH-1’s availability nor pricing, so we’ll have to wait a bit longer in order to get all the necessary details. On the other hand, Essential is already taking reservations for its first smartphone, all you have to do is visit the company’s website and you can get the phone for $699, it’s unlocked by the way, and you can also get the company’s 360-degree camera for extra $50. Do keep in mind that the phone will not ship immediately, though, Andy Rubin did say that the company will start shipping the Essential PH-1 devices by the end of June, but that time has not come just yet.
The Essential PH-1 sure is an interesting phone, it’s made out of titanium and ceramic, and it comes with a really interesting design, with minimum bezels. The Essential PH-1 sports a 5.71-inch 2560 x 1312 display, along with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of non-expandable storage. The device is fueled by the Snapdragon 835 64-bit octa-core SoC, and it packs in a 3,040mAh non-removable battery. There are two 13-megapixel snappers on the back of this smartphone, and Android Nougat comes pre-installed on the device. If you’d like to know more about the device and its specs, click here.