The Essential PH-1 has now become one of the first Android-powered smartphones to receive the November security patch in a new software update pushing the build version to “NMJ32F.” The official changelog on the official Reddit and Twitter accounts also mentions a fix for instabilities related with the fingerprint gestures function that was added in a recent update roughly one week ago. No other changes have been included and the OS version remains unaltered at Android 7.1.1 Nougat.
The update should now be rolling out to eligible Essential PH-1 smartphones in the wild, however as expected the unlocked models have priority over others while Sprint and Telus customers will have to wait for their respective carriers to approve the new software before it will be distributed over-the-air. As usual, Essential PH-1 owners should be greeted with an update notification inviting them to download the software package, and otherwise, users can attempt to trigger the update manually by accessing the ‘About Phone’ -> ‘System Update’ menus within the main Settings screen. As for those who may be waiting for the big Android Oreo update to land on the Essential PH-1, the company revealed back in September of 2017 that it is working on bringing Oreo to its flagship phone within the next couple of months. And in a couple of recent replies on Twitter, the company reaffirmed that the Android 8.0 Oreo beta is “coming very soon” while aiming to release the final Oreo build some time before the end of 2017.
Essential Products was founded in 2015 by Android co-founder Andy Rubin and the Essential PH-1 is the company’s first smartphone to hit the shelves. It was released in August 2017 and was picked up by Sprint in the United States. The device is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 chipset and 4GB of RAM, all the while offering 128GB of UFS 2.1 storage and a 3,040mAh battery. The back panel accommodates a 13-megapixel sensor coupled with a monochrome camera, whereas selfie enthusiasts rely on an 8-megapixel shooter. The full-screen display measures 5.71-inches in diagonal while carrying a total of 2560 x 1312 pixels, leading to a pixel density of roughly 504ppi and an unconventional 19:10 aspect ratio.
We're rolling out a software update (build NMJ32F) with the November security patch + a fix for fingerprint gesture related instabilities.
— Essential (@essential) November 7, 2017
That's our aim.
— Essential (@essential) November 8, 2017
Coming soon, my friend. Very soon. Appreciate your patience.
— Essential (@essential) November 7, 2017