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Oh dear. \u201cFrom \u201cessential\u201d to inconsequential in one partnership\u201d, as one of my colleagues put it when told the news that Andy Rubin\u2019s much hyped Essential smartphone is only going to be ranged by fourth largest US network, Sprint. \u201clol good luck\u201d was another\u2019s even more concise hottake.<\/p>\n
US Today<\/a>\u00a0quotes Essential president Niccolo de Masi spinning like a fidget spinner the revelation that Rubin\u2019s hardware upstart \u2014 which, only last week, we heard had apparently raised $300 million<\/a> in order to bring its smartphone to the masses \u2014 has in fact failed to secure the kind of widespread carrier distribution that is, dare I say it, essential for bringing smartphones to the masses.<\/p>\n \u201cWe like to bet with where we think the market is going as opposed to where the market was,\u201d quoth de Masi. \u201cI feel like we are a new brand and a new consumer electronics company and we are partnering with the network of the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Feelings are great. It\u2019s just that reality isn\u2019t always very kind to them.<\/p>\n The Essential phone was unveiled<\/a>\u00a0at the end of last month, with a $699 price-tag. And while consumers will still be able to fork that bundle of dollars out to get an unlocked version of the device, that\u2019s not how mainstream smartphone marketshare is won. Just ask Google re: its Nexus smartphones.<\/p>\n Carrier distribution is a key make-or-break fact for hitting serious volume with U.S. released smartphones, as another colleague previously\u00a0pointed out<\/a>. Ergo, the Essential Phone is fast looking like little more than a very expensive vanity project.<\/p>\n Although, to be fair to Rubin, his head of product architecture, Jason Keats, did tell Wired<\/a>\u00a0the startup is not in a position to mass produce the phone \u2014 given that in Rubin\u2019s overarching quest to address the \u201csea of products<\/a>\u201d infesting the tech space by, er, building more tech products, they apparently found themselves making purposefully obtuse design<\/a>, engineering and manufacturing decisions because of the \u2018mission impossible\u2019 they are setting themselves (i.e. locating an iota of relevance in an entirely saturated smartphone market).<\/p>\n The phone itself is made from a blend of\u00a0titanium and ceramic \u2014 we\u2019re told on strength grounds \u2014 and has a screen sweet-spot<\/a>-sized 5.6-inch display which also follows the bezel-squeezing trend; an 8MP front-facing camera which can record 4K video, and a 13MP rear lens with a second\u00a0monochrome sensor to help boost low-light shots; while, under the hood, there\u2019s a Qualcomm 835 processor, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of on-device storage.<\/p>\n Perhaps the most notable addition is a clip-on accessory that adds a 360 degree camera for people who want more \u2018environmental bezel\u2019 with their selfies. Though Essential is also working on a second product, a smart home hub<\/a>, so its connected hardware ambitions do range beyond phones.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve gone after technologies and methods of manufacturing that aren\u2019t designed to support 50 million devices,\u201d Keats told Wired magazine at the end of last month. \u201cWe\u2019re not for everybody. You know it\u2019s going to be a little exclusive.\u201d<\/p>\n Being ranged by one of the smallest carriers in the US \u2014 Sprint has been adding subscriber numbers in recent quarters but still lags Verizon*, AT&T and T-Mobile \u2014 does indeed sound like a \u201clittle exclusive\u201d.<\/p>\n Sprint\u2019s owner, SoftBank, previously dropped plans to invest $100M in Essential \u2014\u00a0reportedly due<\/a> in part to the Japanese firm\u2019s investment with Apple, via its $93BN Vision Fund<\/a>. But US Today says Rubin is an advisor to SoftBank\u2019s fund \u2014 and, according to de Masi, friendly with\u00a0CEO Masayoshi Son \u2014 so the pair of hardware lovers have evidently found a way to work together on Essential after all, despite competitive conflicts.<\/p>\n Even so, it seems unlikely Apple CEO Tim Cook will be losing much sleep over this partnership. Or indeed, much profit from the premium portion of the smartphone market that the iPhone has cornered.<\/p>\n * NB: TechCrunch\u2019s parent AOL\u2019s parent company is Verizon<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/05\/essential-phone1.jpg?w=680\")
Oh dear. “From “essential” to inconsequential in one partnership”, as one of my colleagues put it when told the news that Andy Rubin’s much hyped Essential smartphone is only going to be ranged by fourth largest US network, Sprint. Read More<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/img><\/a>
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