Essential may cancel its second phone amid a rumored company sale according to a recent report from Bloomberg that cites unnamed sources, which detail that Essential is trying to shop a sale of the entire company including its complete portfolio of products, and that it’s contracted Credit Suisse AG Group to advise on the matter with one potential interested buyer already considering the acquisition. Essential’s founder and CEO who was also the creator of the Android operating system, Andy Rubin, hasn’t given any confirmation about the sale of the company or the Essential Phone 2 being cancelled, he does however appear to skirt the rumor while seemingly hinting that Essential won’t be making a second phone to replace the PH-1, stating on Twitter that the company is always working with “multiple products in development” and that it may choose to cancel some products in favor of others.
This doesn’t give any conclusive information about Essential’s exact plans moving forward, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t telling. The rest of the tweet mentions that if Essential feels something may be a bigger hit than another product, it may choose to cancel something, suggesting that there wouldn’t be enough time or resources to complete everything it had in the works. Rubin also mentions that he and the company are putting all efforts into the company’s future products, which are referred to as “game-changing,” and that they will include mobile products as well as products that are designed for the home.
The rumored sale is not final though “private” talks are said to currently be in progress, with the possibility of Essential’s hired talent being a part of the deal should an agreement be made and if the sale moves forward. Taking this into consideration along with Rubin’s tweet, it’s possible that Essential may be considering a sale while simultaneously working to develop whatever hardware products it has in the pipeline. This sort of strategy would allow it to have something on the table to announce and push to market in the future if it ends up deciding not to sell, and Rubin himself does note that the company has plans for future hardware products. Having products that further along in the development process would also potentially allow a sale of Essential to be more valuable. Whether or not Essential sells, and whether or not it produces any more hardware is unclear, but if a sale does happen and everything would be included, Essential could still be tagged to the devices should the potential buyer choose to move forward with development and production.