Only one month ago, Essential announced that it was shutting down.
The company became famous thanks to its Essential Phone (also known as the PH-1) and its ability to quickly and efficiently implement security patches and other Android updates.
Kevin Hoffman, a former designer of the company, has revealed a couple of photos of the PH-3 and PH-2. Unfortunately, neither of the two will ever hit the market even though they were under development at the company.
The Images
The images of the Essential PH-2 reveal that it was a direct successor of the PH-1. It shared a similar design language that was slightly improved. The pictures show a backside made out of glass, 2.5D cover glass at the front, smooth metal frames. The device was even going to feature IP68 certification, therefore being both dust and water-resistant.
We can observe that Essential was not aiming to build a radically different smartphone.
An Unfortunate Demise
The PH-2 was nearing its estimate launching period. Andy Rubin, the company’s founder, killed the the device during the second round of EVT testing.
The PH-2 was killed in favor of the Essential Home product lineup.
However, Essential hasn’t managed to release the lineup of smart home products either.
The PH-3
Work on the PH-3 began earlier this year. It was built with a low cost of parts and manufacturing in mind. It was supposed to feature a bead-blasted aluminum body and a respectable OLED display.
The rear side of the phone featured a square camera setup, similar to the one of the iPhone 11 Pro and Pixel 4 smartphones.
However, the PH-3 would have had a completely flat frame, as an homage to the original PH-1.
Pictures of the PH-3’s renders reveal that it was in an early stage of development.
