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Essential Products – Andy Rubin’s new hardware company

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Re: Essential Products – Andy Rubin’s new hardware company

#91

Post by clouddrover »

apexalpha wrote: post #71

What is it with these companies putting the latest SnapDragon CPUs in their mobile devices? No one cares about CPU performance. I've got a SD820 now in my Axon 7, and I can tell you there is 0 difference with a SD625 in daily use. Except that the SD625 is cheaper and has an incredible battery life. The only company realising that people care about UX in stead of specs seems to be Xiaomi. Consistently choosing SD625 a…

> No one cares about CPU performance.

I think you'd care if you're running full Windows 10 for ARM on it. That would function as a laptop replacement and in the desktop usage scenario you'd care about performance.

Re: Essential Products – Andy Rubin’s new hardware company

#92

Post by pawadu »

canuckintime wrote: post #86
shubhamjain wrote: post #62

It doesn't seem premium Android phones have something spectacular to differentiate. Sure, you can spice up the camera, make the body more glossy, and add a beautiful screen. But the software is just another commodity that would be available for 1/3rd the price. That's why Google Pixel would always feel exorbitant even when the price is almost close to Apple iPhone. Seeing Essential's price tag, I have the same viscer…

> It doesn't seem premium Android phones have something spectacular to differentiate. Sure, you can spice up the camera, make the body more glossy, and add a beautiful screen. ... you so realize that your hot take is the minority opinion, right? The vast majority of customers consistently choose phones based on hardware features. > But the software is just another commodity that would be available for 1/3rd the price…

To add to that: Samsung high-end phones cost as much as iphones these days (if not more in some countries) and they seem to be doing great.

Also, what the hell does "the exclusivity of its experience that can only came at a price" mean? What is the cost of manufacturing the latest iphone? Or do you mean it feels exclusive because I paid a lot??

Re: Essential Products – Andy Rubin’s new hardware company

#93

Post by [deleted] »

whisdol wrote: post #36

They seem to avoid mentioning the version of Android they are running - the specs only say "Android". I'd like to be exited about this, but this uncertainty combined with the fact that their security personnel is a team of dogs[1] makes it quite hard for me. [1] https://www.essential.com/about

[deleted]

Re: Essential Products – Andy Rubin’s new hardware company

#94

Post by peeters »

pawadu wrote: post #88
vog wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Moreover, their whole website is not accessible when JavaScript is blocked, leaving the impression that security-minded people are not their target audience at all - which is really a pity!

Do you think the guy that designs their web site and the guy that works on phone security are even remotely related?

What does it matter? If a website for a new router only supported Internet Explorer, I definitely would know either I'm not their target market, or they know nothing about that market, or they don't care.

Re: Essential Products – Andy Rubin’s new hardware company

#95

Post by kalleboo »

jbg_ wrote: post #79
Shelnutt2 wrote: post #78

Interested to see if Sprint and Verizon will support this on their networks. The phone supports all the needed bands, it more a business decision on the CDMA carrier side to certify it. The rumors from a few months ago said Sprint was onboard, we'll see if that panes out.

What do you mean by "support"? Do they really get to tell you that you can't use a device even though it supports the standard their network uses? (I'm clueless of how things work with these carriers.)

AFAIK, Sprint and Verizon still require you to register your phone's serial number to access the legacy CDMA network (or have they finally implemented RUIM?). A SIM card should be fine for their LTE network though.

Re: Essential Products – Andy Rubin’s new hardware company

#96

Post by jjoonathan »

ericflo wrote: post #41
whisdol wrote: post #36

They seem to avoid mentioning the version of Android they are running - the specs only say "Android". I'd like to be exited about this, but this uncertainty combined with the fact that their security personnel is a team of dogs[1] makes it quite hard for me. [1] https://www.essential.com/about

I thought you were being unimaginably rude until I went to the page and saw that there were actual dogs listed.

Wow. For a platform that struggles with security, listing a security team entirely composed of dogs comes across as the equivalent of "I drive better drunk!". One has to wonder whether it was intended as a joke or as a dismissal, and in both cases it evidences an alarming attitude towards a very serious problem.

EDIT: If there were humans on that team in addition to the dogs, I'd not be nearly so upset.

Re: Essential Products – Andy Rubin’s new hardware company

#97

Post by skywhopper »

raesene6 wrote: post #39

I like the idea of tougher phones, but to me it misses the mark to talk about the titanium phone case surviving corner drop tests, it's the glass that's the problem. The number of people I've seen wandering around with cracked phone screens from drops is quite high, and is the reason I put a case which covers the front on every phone I buy. So having no phone case here just means you get the usual after market screen…

I thought the same thing, and you'll notice they don't show the glass side of the phone in the drop test video or in the "after" photo. Given the edge-to-edge design I would be very worried about that.

Re: Essential Products – Andy Rubin’s new hardware company

#98

Post by staeff »

sparkling wrote: post #17

Who cares if the casing is scratch resistant titantium? That case is not the limiting factor for hardware longevity, the non-removal non-user-servicable battery is.

Agreed. This was the first thing I checked.

For me it's just another expensive android phone with expensive addons. Is the "docking station" really nothing more than a quick charger?

Why do they call themselves essential?

Re: Essential Products – Andy Rubin’s new hardware company

#99

Post by slowmotiony »

pawadu wrote: post #88
vog wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Moreover, their whole website is not accessible when JavaScript is blocked, leaving the impression that security-minded people are not their target audience at all - which is really a pity!

Do you think the guy that designs their web site and the guy that works on phone security are even remotely related?

Do you think clients will be mapping out their whole corporate structure before making an assumption about their level of service?

Re: Essential Products – Andy Rubin’s new hardware company

#100

Post by BatFastard »

raesene6 wrote: post #39

I like the idea of tougher phones, but to me it misses the mark to talk about the titanium phone case surviving corner drop tests, it's the glass that's the problem. The number of people I've seen wandering around with cracked phone screens from drops is quite high, and is the reason I put a case which covers the front on every phone I buy. So having no phone case here just means you get the usual after market screen…

It uses Gorilla glass 5 which is the more resilient commercial glass ever made for a phone. And the titanium case gives it significant rigidity. So this should be one tough bastard!
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