Way back in 2017, Andy Rubin’s start-up company called Essential announced its first-ever smartphone named Essential PH-1. The handset tried to bring a full screen with a small notch and was quite popular for its snap-on accessories.
Well, even though Andy Rubin made efforts to offer something different, the device sales was very poor. Also, it received mixed reviews from both consumers as well as critics. And now, just when we were all expecting anothe smartphone, Essential announced that it is shutting down.
Essential: Consumers Unable To Gets Products
In October 2019, Andy Rubin teased his next creation with color-shifting back and unique form factor. The device was going by the codename ‘Project Gem’. As per the new announcement, there wad no clear path for the company to deliver the new device to its consumers. In fact, it is shutting down. Apart from the next device, Essential was also supposed to be working on its smart home assistant along with a new operating system.
At first, the second device drew hype and investment but later on everything went downhill. Furthermore, the company will stop issuing out any software updates to its only smartphone. In case you don’t, Essential was one of the few brands that managed to issue software updates regularly and timely to its consumers. It is worth mentioning that the Essential PH-1 has already received the latest February security update. Unfortunately, that will be the last one.
For all the developers out there, the company will host a prebuilt vendor image of the device on GitHub. This means that the we might see some custom software development or updates in the future.
Newton Mail Also Shuts Down
It does not end there, Essential is also shutting down its Newton Mail service which was acquired by the company back in 2018. The current Newton Mail subscribers are given till April 30, 2020 before the shut down. With that said, the new development will have no impact on Playground Global that shares the same office space.
