My husband using it and he is really happy with this phone

My husband using it and he is really happy with this phone  Read Less

Love the design & materials, underwhelmed by the camera

Love the design & materials, underwhelmed by the camera  Read Less

One of the best features about the Essential phone is that it runs stock Android, and gets timely updates; more than a year aft...  Read More

One of the best features about the Essential phone is that it runs stock Android, and gets timely updates; more than a year after release, updates still roll in very shortly after Google announces and/or releases them. As of writing this review, you can expect to have a message prompting you to update to Android 9.0 (Pie) a minute or two after initial set-up. The phone is also reasonably well-specced in the hardware department. However, the phone does come with its share of drawbacks, and I aim to cover the pros and cons well enough to support the ratings in my title. I am also upgrading from a Galaxy S7, so I might miss some performance bugs.Obviously, early adopters of the phone were disappointed with the camera, as well as the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack and expandable memory. The body itself is also extremely slick, to the point it will slide all over without a case on, and is a massive fingerprint magnet. In fact, I've nearly dropped it a few times when I use it without its case on simply because it slid off the surface I placed it on firmly. For the most part, these problems still remain. Updates have improved the camera but it's still not as good as most other phones it's competing with. Buyers will also have to adjust to using a USB-C - 3.5mm converter, and only having 128GB of onboard storage.The hardware still performs relatively well; a SnapDragon 835, and 4GB of RAM are more than enough to handle most mobile tasks. The modules you can connect, like the 360 camera are interesting, and a great way to add increased functionality to the phone for users who want that kind of thing. While you can't expand storage, a default of 128GB is pretty great, especially when competing phones will have you pay a premium above the 32/64 GB base option. The design is also beautiful. The bezel to bezel display; the heft of the titanium and ceramic; and the lack of branding make for a very attractive phone.Overall though, this phone works best when it's undercutting the price of competing phones, which is why I think it's good value at sub $400 in Nov 2018. Under $400, the Essential Phone is anywhere from $200-600 cheaper than competing phones who cannot offer extra performance to compensate for the price difference. Once the price of the Essential Phone goes north of $550, the pricing is too close to better phones like the Pixel 2 and Galaxy S8, and you're better off putting in $100-200 for those instead.  Read Less

The battery life on this is amazing, the processor is quick and the phone overall has a very high end feel to it.

The battery life on this is amazing, the processor is quick and the phone overall has a very high end feel to it.  Read Less