The Essential phone popped up on the radar a couple of months ago.
It's being headed by the creator of Android, Andy Rubin.
It's Modular (Still a better bet than embedded for now.) Motorola's moto-mods and it's moto-mod projector did quite well.
From STUFF -- more at the source
More than a mere startup, Essential is headed by Android creator Andy Rubin – a man who presumably knows what goes into making a great smartphone.
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The Essential Phone won't be arriving on its lonesome - it'll be joined by a whole host of modular accessories that (according to company head honcho Andy Rubin) "keep your phone cord-free, future-proof, and always up-to-date".
Right now, this includes a minature 360° camera capable of 4K video recording at 30fps, and the Essential Phone Dock for wireless charging.
It's all thanks to the Click cordless connector, which sits on the back of the phone so you don't have to mess around with powering down just to switch out accessories - like you did on the LG G5.
Other accessories are still a mystery, but clearly Essential reckons it'll be a major reason to pick up a phone come launch day. With no headphone jack on board (just a dongle in the box), maybe that should be high on the list of modular upgrades.
New something to watch.
The most likely place to see real innovation is with people who have already been innovative.
If you're wondering who might be taking this guy seriously?
This is a picture of him with Masayoshi Son... And Son was reportedly going to put in 100 million... a pretty good relationship. They apparently lost the investment over an Apple conflict.
Andy Rubin, a co-creator of Android, lost out on a $100 million investment from SoftBank as Apple deepened ties with the Japanese investor, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.
CNBC
The father of Android, Andy Rubin, is currently kicking the tires on a new smartphone company named Essential. Rubin teased the company's first device on Monday, posting an image to Twitter and noting that he's "really excited about how this is shaping up" and is "eager to get it in more people's hands."
Rubin's tweet suggests that the company is nearing a final unveiling and, likely shortly thereafter, a major launch. Rubin would be wise to get this out the door after the Galaxy S8 hits the market sometime in April and before Apple introduces the iPhone 8 in September.
Foxconn is investor
Patently Apple
To kick off 2017 we learned that Foxconn was a known investor in Andy Rubin's new smartphone venture. Google's Eric Schmidt sat on Apple's board during the crucial years prior to the iPhone's launch wherein Schmidt was privy to developments of the iPhone while at the same time Google was backing Andy Rubin's Android OS to compete with Apple's revolutionary iPhone. Wasn't that a direct conflict of Interest that Schmidt should have told Steve Jobs about? Yes, of course but he didn't. Schmidt played Judas to Jobs. So Andy Rubin's new smartphone company called "Essential Products Inc" is no friend to Apple. The "Essential" smartphone is rumored to be ready to launch prior to Apple's World Wide Developer Conference. Foxconn is backing this company and is likely to manufacture the new smartphone.
