The Essential PH-1 was an interesting phone, a phone which helped bring the notch trend to the world, and it seems like its successor may be even more interesting, at least based on the leaked info. If the source’s information is to be believed, the Essential PH-1 may actually sport a front-facing camera behind the display, which is something basically nobody expects, as the technology doesn’t seem to be there just yet.
Needless to say, if Essential manages to pull this off, that will mean that the phone will not include a notch or a display hole, which means we’re in for yet another sleek-looking design from the company. So, many of you are probably wondering how is Essential planning to pull this off, well, read on.
The source claims that it managed to get ahold of some drawings (which were not shared by the source) of the upcoming Essential PH-2 (or whatever the phone ends up being called), and that those drawings claim that at least on camera and one light sensor will be hidden behind the display. In theory, once you fire up the camera and switch to the front-facing camera, that part of the display where the camera is would become transparent. It is still unclear whether Essential plans to utilize an OLED or an LCD panel, but it’s probably the former.
That’s not all, though, the source also claims that the company plans to include an in-display fingerprint scanner in the device, which is not exactly surprising as many companies do it these days. So, all in all, including an under-display camera and fingerprint scanner would basically allow Essential to remove bezels (almost) entirely. The device may ship with a really thin “chin” or something of the sort, if the provided info is accurate, but it will become a phone with the highest screen-to-body ratio, or at least close to it.
Now, if you take a look at the image down below, you will see a sketch from Essential’s recent patent. This patent is for the in-display fingerprint scanner, and it does show a camera which is centered at the top of the display, but that patent did not mention anything about the camera being located below the display, so this is definitely not one of the drawings that the source initially mentioned.
Another trend-setter?
The Essential PH-1 was one of the first devices to sport a display notch, and at the same time one of the devices with the smallest notch out there. The phone was made out of titanium and glass, and it was actually quite compact, unlike many other phones that arrived around the time it was announced.
Speaking of which, the phone was announced back in May 2017, and its sales, to date, were not all that great. The Essential PH-1 is actually the first device from the “Essential” company which was founded by the father of Android, Andy Rubin. The device was quite expensive when it launched, its accessories were delayed quite a bit, and the company was not exactly well-known, which harmed its sales.
Essential will need to come up with a new approach for the Essential PH-2, but if the rumored info ends up being true, it will be a rather interesting smartphone. There’s still no word on when it may launch, nor what specs it will sport, but if Essential is planning to release it in mid-2019, two years after the Essential PH-1. then some info will probably leak soon.