Andy Rubin’s Modular Essential Phone Delayed, Will Launch "In A Few Weeks"

Andy Rubin has a lot riding on his Essential Phone. First announced at the end of May, it was promised that the flagship smartphone would be shipping within 30 days. Well, June has come and gone, and we’re nearly finished with July and the phone still hasn’t shipped. What’s going on?

Well, Rubin is giving an update of sorts on the Essential Phone through emails being sent to all of those that preordered the device. According to the email, there are some certification hurdles with regards to domestic (U.S.) and international carriers that is slowing down the release of the smartphone. Rubin goes on to say that the Essential Phone will begin shipping “in a few weeks”.

At this point, it looks as though it may be well into August before customers first begin receiving their $699 smartphones.

The Essential Phone is constructed of titanium and ceramic, which Rubin says is a lot more durable than the aluminum used in most of today’s flagships. Besides being strong and lightweight, it also means that the Essential Phone should be able to survive drops that would otherwise cause serious damage to a Samsung Galaxy S8 or even a LG G6.

When it comes to specs, the Essential Phone features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB RAM, 5.7-inch 19:10 ratio display with a resolution of 2560x1312, dual 13 cameras, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, and a 3,040 mAh battery. The most interesting aspect of the Essential Phone, however, is a proprietary port on the back of the device that allows you to connect to modular accessories like a 360-degree camera module and a charging dock.

You can read the full email from Andy Rubin below:

I personally wanted to thank you for putting your name down for our first phone. We’ve been hard at work getting everything ready and the good news is that we’re now going through certification and testing with multiple US and international carriers.

You might be getting impatient to get your hands on your new Essential Phone (and I’m also impatient to get it to you!) but rest assured that you will have a device in your hands in a few weeks.

In the meantime, give us a shout out using #thisisessential to show the team that sweating the details and working long hours to get this device shipped is worth it.

Andy