Customer Ratings & Reviews

I did tons of research before buying the PH-1 and I was a little worried about some of the negative feedback on the device. Happy to say that 5 days in I have not experienced any of the issues people have mentioned. I was really missing my Nexus 6 with its smooth, pure Android experience and fast updates to software which usually feel like a free upgrade when they come. I had a free phone from work, a Galaxy S7 but the Samsung experience just isn't for me. When Samsung was unlocked and I could slap a ROM on top of the hardware that was fine but my GS7 was to jittery, slow and buggy for my tastes. I turned to the Essential for the return to Pure Android but without the massive heft of the Nexus 6 (Which we still use for a business phone, and it works great). So far I am extremely impressed with the PH-1. As widely reported, the hardware is simply the best. Everyone that sees the phone is immediately impressed and it is just great to hold and behold. It is a slippery bugger however and it will slide and fall off of just about anything FYI. The display is fantastic to my eyes with gorgeous, vibrant colors at every turn. The fingerprint scanner is outstanding, a massive improvement over the GS7. I had basically abandoned the GS7 fingerprint sensor due to the failure rate. I also had to set up several prints of the same finger for the GS7 in the hopes of recognition. With the PH-1, I set up 3 different fingers so that I can grab the phone from either hand in different positions and still unlock right away. Setup was fast and accurate as is the sensor in action. Just lift the device and notifications and activity pop up right away. A quick swipe of the finger and you are unlocked and ready to go. It also functions as a notification slider during normal use. Nice touch. The software is extremely minimal, just basic Android nothing extra at all. The phone comes with about a dozen apps installed, the rest is up to you which is fine. Make the device yours, add what you need. There is an app for about anything you could ever want including any Samsung feature you could think of so don't worry about missing any bells and whistles you may have been used to. So far I have yet to experience a stutter, lag or crash. This has been by far the smoothest device that I have ever used. Perfection. And Oreo is in Beta, coming soon. The speaker is surprisingly loud and clear. I had to turn down the notification volume, it was obnoxious. A good problem to have. Bluetooth seems to be working flawlessly as well with clearly better quality streaming music to my vehicle than the GS7. The USB C to 3.5 adapter seems to produce quality sound as well although the output is a bit low and bass lean for my tastes. The GS7 definitely had more power and bass although the PH-1 has more refinement and a cleaner sound. I plan on getting some high quality earbuds and there are audio enhancing apps for USB C that should get me where I need to be with the USB C audio out volume and bass. Or the device could be rooted and Viper for Android installed but I am not sure if I will go that route. Expert reviews state that the USB C DAC that was included is a quality unit capable of producing well above average sound. Such units tend to require higher end components attached to take advantage, hence my need for upgraded ear buds. I am a lifelong musician so I am actually looking forward to the excuse of upgrading anyway. Another big point of contention on this phone are the cameras. So far I can't complain. As good as the best out there? Definitely not. But I have already received an update that added some functionality to the camera app and it is a snap to install the Pixel camera app which I have already done in case the stock app falters. The camera launches quite quickly using the double press of the power button. The images I have captured so far have been clear and detailed and hold up pretty well under zoom. The GS7 is the clear winner here but the PH-1 is brand new. Samsung has had many years to refine their camera game. The front camera also takes detailed, clear shots. I will say that color reproductions does seem a hair off in some situations on the PH-1. The most important thing for me is that I can launch and quickly capture a good photo whenever I want to. Essential does seem committed to improving the experience as well with Portrait Mode included with a recent update. OS and Camera app updates have been frequent and effective from what I understand. Worth mentioning is the added function of modularity. The 360 Camera is available (I will be receiving one shortly). Hopefully if Essential succeeds more mods will come in the future. A cool concept that Motorola is doing now. One thing that has been a bit hard to get used to is having the volume up and down and power buttons all on the same side of the phone and the power button on the bottom. I find that array a bit odd and sometimes I miss the mark. Adjust volume when I don't want to etc. Another complaint is that the package includes a charger and quality charging cable however that cable is USB C to USB C, leaving you with no cable to transfer files from your PC to the generous 128GB of storage on the device. I had to order cables from Amazon for that purpose. Not cool. Not expensive, but not cool. Also no earbuds included which most phones do come with. At the price the phone is now selling for it is hard to complain but at the original $700 price tag, hard to swallow. I had 1 interaction with Essential support so far and I received a same day reply to a failure message that I saw for the Essential audio driver. I received a detailed, logical explanation. The problem has not resurfaced. Another complaint I had heard about was signal strength and various issues with the Verizon network. I have not had any of these problems. Actually yesterday, I was doing remote tech support work for a customer. I was on the phone on an HD call, using the phone as a Hotspot to run my laptop connected to the customers network through a VPN and running various tasks in their servers. File transfer was not possible with that connection but otherwise I had no issues and the laptop was moving faster than I would have imagined. Battery life compared to my GS7 is radically better, and supposedly that is not a strength of the PH-1. I am easily making it through a full day with no issues. This is with streaming music, GPS usage, Web searches, emails, texts, videos,phone calls etc. So far so good. In summary, buy this device if you want a very fast,silky smooth experience on a beautiful piece of hardware that gives you a huge screen in a small form factor. I am choosing to support Essential. The big guys need this kind of competition and so far I am a big fan. And as always, excellent service from Best Buy on this transaction.

Calls got dropped very frequently. Wouldn't recommend to anyone

The PH-1 is probably the best value for a current premium phone on the market. Has basically the same core specs as a Pixel 2 for a third less. The build is very premium, being made of titanium and ceramic, with the latest Gorilla Glass for the display. My favorite aspect of the phone is having a 5.7 inch screen in a small form factor, so it doesn't feel like a phablet and actually fits in your pocket. Having pure Android is the other best aspect about this phone, it comes bloat-free and doesn't have a terrible skin running on top of the OS like most Android phones do. The camera is probably the most debated feature, since it was apparently less than competent initially. However, there have been several updates since then and it operates much more like a premium phone camera now. The black version is a fingerprint magnet to be sure, but getting a case or skin will remedy that problem easily. And if you're worried about the notch, it quickly fades away when you start using the phone; it's a non-issue for me. Bottom line, if you want a high-end phone without the price to match, especially in this age of $1K and higher prices, look no further.

I tried this phone because it's rugged. But like many others, the metal body blocked signal. I struggled with connection on calls, connection to Bluetooth that worked on 5 other phones was difficult and glitchy. The screen was slow to react and I was always frustrated.

This has got to be the worst cell phone i have ever owned. The customer service during the launch was either overwhelmed or they just sucked.Its supposed to be indestrucible but it isn't... i promise. I would sell mine right now for 1/2 the cost ..;

After doing lots of research on this phone I was hesitant on purchasing it after reviewers stated the camera wasn't good and the phone wasn't worth the price. After the price drop however and playing with the pixel 2 and galaxy s8+ I can honestly say this phone is awesome! Don't expect a lot of camera features but I'm a simple point and shoot kind of guy so that didn't bother me. The phone is fast and built like a tank! With the updates essential launched the camera has gotten a lot better! Battery life is good so far. And you can't beat the processor , RAM and ROM you get for $500. Best bang for your buck. And I made the switch from the iPhone 7 plus.

Where to start? I've done a lot of research and watched countless number of videos all of which are old. Yes, when the phone first launched it was plagued with issues. But I can say that after 72 hours of use I have not come across one problem!!! This is an amazing Phone and the size is perfect and looks/feels like a premium phone, which it is. Only thing that I can say is if your looking for a phone that takes amazing pictures. I'd look elsewhere, I'm not saying the camera quality is poor it's just a bit above average. Which for myself is fine because I don't take a lot of pictures with my phone. Battery - 9/10 Display - 9/10 Build - 10/10 Software - 10/10 Camera - 7/10 Audio - 8/10 Call quality - 10/10 In closing, this phone is amazing. Right after activating received several updates and upgraded OS to Android 8.1 beta.

You've heard it all ... So, I'll summarize. The phones today are expensive, loaded with carrier bloatware. I got this gem of a phone on a best buy deal for $399. It's smaller with no bezels, premium quality build, stock android, has Oreo 8.1 with April's android security patch (they update every month without fail), a 2k screen, 128gb storage with 4gb RAM, QC SD 835, Bluetooth 5.0 now, and a much better camera then when it was released...but, let's be realistic about that. It's still not great in dim/low-light conditions. In normal lighting, it does a pretty dang good job (see my photo attached). No big deal, side load the Google Camera app and you'll learn to just use and appreciate the Essential Camera for portrait mode, and for B&W photos - both of which do a great job. Even at $500, it's only real competition is the OnePlus. I had it, and it's great too I can't lie. But at $400 I couldn't pass this up for the very few flaws it has ... like every other phone that carries a much higher price tag. I'd say, if you're on the fence - give it a go. If you really need a top camera, maybe consider a higher priced phone with OIS. Because, besides that minor setback this phone is money. Period.

You're getting premium phone for less! The feel and look of this phone compare to none! Pure Android!! No bloat Wear!! Camera is still the only downside.. updates are fixing it little by little. You really can't go wrong with this purchase. It's a no brainier!!! And if the camera doesn't bother you...GET IT!!

HOW TACTLESS ARE KNOWING I DIDN'T RECEIVE PRODUCT AND THEM YOU ASK ME TO REVIEW HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE WOW APPALD

Andy Rubin nearly hit the mark. But the PH-1 is missing some key features that would make the Essential the number one phone out there. As others have stated, it's nearly perfect... But as close as it is, they mysteriously ditched the wireless charging. Just to be clear: I am not a huge fan of inductive charging. It creates a lot of heat, meaning wasted energy and potential damage to the battery through extra temperature cycling. However, Essential did try to bring back the pogo pin feature, which we saw on the original Nexus 7. The problem is that it's reserved for a camera accessory which most people aren't even concerned with. It can't provide fast charging access, which is a shame. There's no charging dock to take advantage of any pogo pin charging function anyway. Then there's the 3.5mm headphone jack. Others have done away with the TRRS ports with mixed feedback, but the way I see it there's no reason to exclude the option. If you don't like it, don't use it. Other companies can get good IPS ratings with the 3.5mm plug, so why can't Essential (or anyone else) follow suit? It makes no sense to me. Finally, size: I understand that they've shoved a lot of screen into the phone and kept the size down for such a large display. But do we really need such a large display? Going from the HTC One M8 to the 2016 Google Pixel XL, I honestly don't think they extra size helps with my typing whatsoever. If anything, it's worse. So there's a large phone in my pocket taking up tons of space and it's relatively easy to bend. A smaller phone, under 5", would be ab welcome return in my mind. One last thing to note: This phone is built for Essential by Foxconn. Given the flack that they received over labor practices (we're talking iPhones here) I'm surprised that anyone would consider them as a partner. Frankly I think we ought to be making these things in the U.S., given all the talk about domestic manufacturing over the past decade. Sure, at $400 it's a super deal, but the wireless charging is a deal breaker for my wife and the headphone jack thing makes me reconsider. And size is still an issue for me. I'd like to see someone bring back the 4" form factor, in something other than an iPhone SE. As tempting as this price is, I think I'll pass yet again.

Great really cool. Yes you should get it. Five stars

I have tried many smartphones throughout the years and never been satisfied other than a few times with phones like the Nexus 5 and even the Nexus 6P. The Essential PH-1(Essential PH-ONE) is an amazing device even with the model number. From the moment you lay your eyes on the device, you can notice is not made like the rest. Once you pick it up is when that feeling becomes a reality, and this phone feels great in hand. From the boxy design which gives it a good fit in your hands to the slightly curved edges which shows up that edge to edge display. The phone screams attention when handled in public, and you notice that as soon as you power the device for the first time. The phone is built using titanium which will help with the drops I won't give it a try I will take them at their word. The software is stock android so no fancy features here like you can find on an LG, Samsung or HTC device. But with that being said you can download any app you need to obtain some of those features you want to have. The phone software is speedy, and with the latest two updates, I see no lag like it has been reported with the early reviews on youtube, etc. If you want a unique device with amazing built quality and speedy stock Android this is your device. I call this phone the Tesla of smartphones. Yes, it has/had its problems in the beginning but anyone trying to innovate will meet those obstacles.

I've had this phone and the 360 Cam for just over a week and I can tell you that some parts are better then I thought, while other are worse. The quality of the hardware is fantastic, the Phone feels great in Hand and the screen is as awesome has you can expect (eye catching Phone.) Also, thanks to bare bones Android, this phone is zippy and great battery life. The Flaws I mentioned earlier show themselves in the Camera, speaker, Lack of 3.5mm jack and lack of water resistance. You would expect some of these to be better for a $700 phone. But if those 4 features aren't the most important things for you, you'll probably love this phone.

I love this phone ! The look - style - fit and finish are just amazing and very high end. It feels amazing in your hand and you really get a lot of attention with this phone. Everyone wants to know what it is and how can they get one. The screen is bright - big and beautiful yet the size of the phone is small and compact and very pocketable. Sound is very loud and clear and the clean interface is very fast and responsive. The camera is great and it takes pretty nice pictures and videos. I don't have any problems with it. You can use the stock photo app or one of several other more feature rich camera apps available in the app store. The two magnetic pins on the back allow you to attach accessory items to the phone and the magnets are strong. The two pins provide power to the devices and data transfer takes place wirelessly at high speed. The first accessory is the 360 degree camera - next is a charging dock and many more to come. What's cool is that when the Essential Phone 2 comes out next year and the 3 the next year all your accessories will still work on each model of the Essential Phone. The phone also has no ugly or intrusive branding on the beautiful case. This is PURE Android - pure and beautiful - no ugly shells or launchers to slow things down and gum things up. A BIG BIG plus !! Why would you need to have your cell phone waterproof ? Do you need to take it in the bath tub with you like it's a yellow rubber duck. Maybe we will see water proofing on the Essential Phone 2 next year but I don't bathe with my phone so I don't see this as an essential feature. I don't swim with my phone either so this is a non issue. No headphone jack - this is a big plus - it's 2017 guys - with hundreds of bluetooth headphone choices out there why on earth would anyone still be using old wired headphones from the 1980's. I love that this phone has no headphone jack. Great job essential. Bottom line is that this is a really really nice phone that works great - looks great and draws you a lot of attention. Get one ! This phone is absolutely essential !

The only thing holding me back from giving this phone a 5-star rating is the camera app. The latest update has improved it a lot. I just used Open Camera in its' place until the last camera update. Now the Stocked Camera app is usable. The fit and finish of the phone are amazing. It feels great in your hand and the ceramic back creates friction with your hand. This phone does not feel slippery at all.The Software is very polished after yesterdays Firmware update. I was using S7+ and then an iPhone 7+ which both are much larger with a smaller screen and slippery phones. The PH-1 screen is completely usable in sunlight. It is a very nice display! The fingerprint button works much better than the iPhone. My headphones are Bluetooth so I don't care about a missing headphone jack. There is an audio adapter included in the box but I don't use it all. I am a die hard Windows Mobile fan and have finally found a comparable phone and OS in my opinion. The Microsoft software integrates great with this phone. Cortana is my default Assistant and she communicates with my PC to keep me productive. The frequency of updates from the Essential team is outstanding! Keep them coming. The 360 Camera will come in useful for my job. It's weird to me that the 360 Camera when attached has always worked great from the minute that I took the phone out of the box. The weird part is that the embedded camera's software wasn't usable at launch. The 360 Camera stays in focus the entire time and the audio that is captured is great. The file sizes are large. Uploading to YouTube works great and a 360view is seen by the user. I prefer to not use a case or screen protectors for my phones for personal reasons. I always carry a phone face first in my front pocket of my pants.I've had the phone for a week+ and there are 2 small scratches on the back and one was a diamond in a ring. That not bad at all in my opinion.

Let me start off by saying that I am a person who obsesses over perfection for what I spend my money on. Whether it is going out to eat or a cell phone. I expect to get what I put my money into. . With cell phones I expect a few things for the money that I am paying. First off it needs to be durable. Most people, myself included need to know that this device can last over a two year contract without a accident setting us back. I know it is unreasonable for a small device that is held in pockets, purses, and going everywhere with accident prone beings is difficult. Second the hardware needs to perform well for a few years. 3rd my phone is mine. I am paying hundreds of hard earned dollars for a device I should have what I want on it when I want and how I want. I do not like bloatware, adds I did not ask for, or any other company plugging and smearing their face all over that device. Finally a phone that software continues to update, improve, and make my device feel like new (or as close as it can with how fast technology rolls) for at a minimum 2 years if not more. No, this is not a perfect phone. But I have never held a device so close to it. The build quality on this is second to none. I have purposely dropped this phone from a height of 20 feet on its corner and there was not a scratch, dent, or any glass out of place. The ceramic back, titanium sides, and Gorilla Glass 5 help up perfectly. I did many more drop tests on this device from lower heights and various angles and it still looks perfect and everything functions as it should. Yes the full front side display and almost 0 bevel is cool. You can read that review anywhere. But this thing can take a beating and with no case to add to it. Making it perfect for those people whos life involves a durable device that can go through a lot of rough times. The only part with durability that I have not liked is the lack of water proofing/resistance. However as much of a bummer as that is I am sure a waterproof or water resistant case will come by way of a 3rd party soon enough if they don't already have one. The hardware seems really nice one this. The processor has no lag even when I have numerous apps going at once. I tried heavy games and streamed movies and music or anything to bog it down and I couldn't. I had about 20 things downloading, movies going, and apps going at once and it was like greased lightning. So now to the elephant in the room. The camera. Yes before the update it seemed like a camera from a year or two ago. However, since they updated it the camera preforms just fine, even in low light. My buddy has a Pixel XL and yes on his screen they looked better. But when we uploaded them to a pc and compared ours side to side they were almost identical. Most of what I wanted to fix was due to software which can be updated by 3rd party apps. Nothing big at all. As for the whole phone being "mine" this phone was PERFECT! It was such a bare bones phone with so much space I have been able to put what I want how I want with absolutely no issues. It was honestly the first time I got a device that did this, and all of my family, friends, and co workers were shocked by it. As for the software again it is as bare bones as they come. But I get updates that aren't intrusive to what I want to do to the device. It just improves it without intruding. This is the one and only time I or anyone I know have not been annoyed by updates. This phone does have some flaws like any device out there. It is not quite perfect by any means. The waterproofing needs to be fixed and yes the proper software to get the most out of the camera should have been out of the box. But since this is the first device Essential made it is nothing short of amazing. Yes, I want perfection in high end devices. Will I ever get it, probably not. But this one nailed most aspects on its first try and I cannot wait to see what the future holds. I can honestly say that this device feels like it can go for a long time without feeling out of date and you will definitely get your money's worth.

Study yet beutiful phone with a great price. I just to be a Nexus user, so I love the version of stock Android.

I've owned my Essential PH-1 phone for six weeks and I love it. Its a really solid smartphone. You can feel the quality in your hand. The LCD screen is beautiful with a nice color balance. Color saturation is just right too. The notch is pretty cool and it isn't bothersome to me in any way. The sometimes maligned camera is not bad. The hardware (lens etc.) is actually very good. The camera software has\had been the problem. Updates have made it pretty darn good. However, I ported a few different Google Cam software files from XDA Forums to try and WOW what a difference! With this software I'm getting beautiful, clear, sharp colorful photos. Overall, the speed and function of the Essential phone is very good too. Of course, having no installed bloatware is a big plus. It has been confirmed that this phone will get Android P in the future. That and 3 years of Google\Android security patches, two of which I've already received after initial setup. I expect that I'll receive the June security patch soon. I use Nova Launcher and that with the Oreo 8.1 OS is a terrific combination. I'm on the T-Mobile network in South Jersey and I've had good reception without a problem. I bought this on sale at BestBuy for $399 which is well worth this price and then some for sure. I heartily recommend the PH-1 to anyone interested in really well made, exceptional smartphone. I also look forward to the next smartphone, the PH-2, from Andy Rubin and company. Well done... really well done! Keep producing great products like this and you'll have me as a life-long customer.

Everyone that owns this phone is a beta tester. I haven't had a phone this unstable since the Droid X2, and I've owned most flagship phones because I like to jump around. The phone is slowly getting better (some of the time, other times they break something worse), but it still has staggering problems regularly. Latest is that for the past few days my navigation hasn't been working. I emailed essential support, and they told me to turn off enhanced 4G. The camera is still extremely slow to respond, and often takes blurry pictures. Apps crash frequently, and the phone seems to reboot at times after locking up for 20 to 30 seconds. My bluetooth is now shutting off multiple times per day, I have no idea why. I have been complaining about these issues for over 2 months to their customer support, they keep pushing updates, and the updates occasionally slightly improve one problem, then often cause more things to break.