Essential Phone Can Be Had For $299 With Newly Activated Friends And Family Codes

The cost of an Essential Phone just keep getting cheaper. About a week ago, Andy Rubin and company slashed $200 off the price of the Essential Phone, knocking it down to $499. The price cut made it one of the more affordable flagships phones on the market, but on top of that, Rubin's outfit is running a promotion that saves buyers an additional $200 off the handset, bringing the cost down to $299.

At $299, the Essential Phone can now be had for more than half off its original $699 price tag just a short while ago. Of course, there is a caveat. The additional discount is part of a friends and family promotion that Essential is running, and it requires a code that can only be obtained from having already purchased the Essential Phone prior to October 22, or by knowing someone that has. The code can then be used to shave $200 off a new Essential Phone purchase, or an Essential 360 Camera (which would make it free).

Essential Phone

That is not as tantalizing as a straight-up discount, but it is a nice way to score a discount if you know someone that already purchased the handset, or want to share with a friend or family member if you were the one that already bought the phone. It could also come in handy for buying a second device, say for a spouse.

To receive the code, there is a form on Essential's website that needs to be filled out. It asks for an email address, place of purchase, the phone's serial number (Settings > About Phone > Status, or look on the retail box the phone came in), and the IMEI number (Settings > About Phone > Status > IMEI information).

The Essential Phone is a high-hand handset featuring a 5.7-inch display with a 2560x1312 resolution. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC and 4GB of RAM, and has 128GB of built-in storage, an 8MP front-facing camera, a 13MP rear-facing camera, and a 3,040 mAh battery with fast charging via USB. It rusns