Customer Ratings & Reviews

Top specs, I liked the (almost) bezel-less display. The camera is not bad, especially after all of the new updates. I'd recommend!

Upgraded from Samsung and don't regret it! Also couldn't beat the price.

I have had this phone for a few weeks now and I must say, I am pleasantly surprised with it. TO start off with the obvious negatives. The camera APP is terrible. picture quality is mediocre at best. You can download Camera zoom, or even google camera and it will drastically improve you photo taking experience, but its not on par with S8 or note 8 or iphone8/x etc vibration almost seems..TINNY...very weird...like an old school phone when vibration first came out.. I don't know why, but its just strange feeling to me. button placement is odd. the power button is right below the volume down button, and its kinda pain in the butt. You get used to it quickly, but if you switch to any other phone it will be a pain that's really the only bad things I can think of The build quality is AMAZING. while its heavy, it feels solid and very premium screen is amazing, love the huge display even with the annoying camera cutout at the top. I have had no issues seeing the screen at night (of course) and in direct sunlight. sound is very good even for a mono speaker. fingerprint sensor is nicely located on the back (better than the s8) and very fast. barely tap it and you are signed in, just like on the pixel, newer LG lines. not sure why other people have problems with it but I have had NO touch sensor issues, no lag WHAT SO EVER, and it has not frozen or restarted on me having said that be ready for about 10 updates soon as you get the phone LOL. I would advice a screen protector as well as at least a skin for the back. considering there are not too many options out there for the phone yet, amazon is your best bet. it still looks amazing so you don't want fingerprints all over the ceramic back the phone is pure android which I love and it really really does function like a pixel. if you put this screen on pixels phone I would never want another phone again. it is just too perfect to pass up I am truly happy with this phone despite its flaws and for an ulocked phone $200+ lower than the original price, it is a force to be reckoned with

Wanted phone forever, great pure android. Phone had huge price drop due to camera problems at launch. I rarely use camera but Problems were fixed. Great built and hardwear is awesome with snapdragon 835 and 128 storage and 4K display.

I like the phone when is on sale which is 450$. I am happy with it.

This is the high end performance phone in the market with snapdragon 835 4gb ram. It is comparable with googlw pixel 2, samsung galaxy s8, s8+, note 8. It has pure android, performance is good to use. Hardware, build quality is good. But systemwise, it is sometimes unstable, such as freezing, lack of software features. If you search for info and enjoy customize your phone, it will be good, but you are light user of smart phone, go with major brand smartphone.

Craftmanship is outstanding. I feel that the design is as good as iPhone, if not better. Phone of this quality at a price that is only a small fraction of iPhone or Samsung is tough to beat. Love the ability to upgrade to Oreo. No bloatware. Compatible with all major network. The only downside is the lack of good phone case but this has noting with the phone.

I wanted to drop a star. Why? I purchased in November when they were running holiday deals, I could not pass it up for the price and including the 360 Camera. Well, I got bait and switched. Without informing me, my order was changed to only the phone at the price of the package deal. When I received the box at my house, I was confused as to why the camera was not included in the box. In my haste, I couldn't wait to play with the phone. I opened it and got it loaded. While waiting for the latest patches to apply I took a better look at the receipt. No mention of the camera. When I called BB customer support I was informed "they" ran out of the cameras and they were not being sent later. I was furious, but decided to play with the phone while the fantastic customer support rep dug deeper. My lord the phone felt fantastic in hand. I loved the screen, the premium feel and the responsiveness. The phone felt almost perfect. I have owned Nexus, Pixel, etc. on the Android side. I usually gravitate to the unskinned phones. I have also been forced to use a i-device at work. They all pale in comparision to the feel of this phone. I decided to keep the phone, even though I was screwed out of the camera. The phone was too good to give up. Customer support did the best they could to make things right, but I still wonder how good the 360 cam would have been. If you read reviews online, the pros all complain about the camera. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the camera. The app was lacking at first, but this is Android. Loading another camera app fixed anything there was to complain about with the camera. I feel like the pros just have to find something to nitpick on. The camera is quite good. I would recommend this phone today and twice tomorrow. Updates have been fast and furious. The beta program keeps the phone close to Pixel update schedules. Great phone.

Good phone. This phone will do anything you will need it to do. It is very basic, or not feature rich. Hardware wise it is great. Battery life is good.

Has everything I need and relatively nothing I dont. Zero carrier crapware; basic, capable Android so 100+ GB of storage. Drag & drop files, music, videos with laptop. Fast, smooth operation due to 8-core processor, very good battery life. Big screen + tiny bezel = excellent size. Attention to detail - even the charger & cables are custom designs. Works on all carriers (GSM & CDMA), all countries. Great conversation piece, until cost is mentioned. Then they go cold with jealousy. Sad that there won't be another from them, but that'll save me from wishing I'd waited.

So I had been eyeing this phone for some time. Not being thrilled with the way the S8 & Pixel 2 XL looked with the body of the phone, I gave In and purchased the Essential Phone. Coming from a pixel XL, this is great! First, the body of the phone is amazing. Very sleek and feels great in the hand. The display is very nice. Crisp and Clear, no not an amoled, but pretty close. You have a small notch where the front camera is, but I don’t mind it at all. I am not an apple user what so ever, but love the way the iPhone X screen looks. This comes close to that same look with the edge to edge display. This phone had its bumps in the road when first released. When I powered it on, it had 3 software updates. I went on the Essential.com website and joined their beta program (Just like google does with it’s Pixel and Nexus line). Received the Android 8.1 Beta update. WOW. All the features you get with that update are the same as on the pixel! One thing I loved about Google Nexus and Pixel phones was the pure android experience and the little extras google added. Well you get all that with this. The only thing Essential has in the software that they have added is their camera app. Which they finally have perfected! The phone takes great photos. Both rear and front cameras. Battery last super long. The phone charges quick, I used it heavily for two hours last night, when I was done I checked my battery level and it went from 100% to 92%. This phone is finally to a point where it is a solid device. I have read great rumors about the next model to come from Essential. I think this will be a new line I stick with. Try this phone out! For the price, it is great! You get all the same features of a stock Google Pixel, for a lot less of the price! You won’t be disappointed!

Great phone. Software updates have made this an amazing deal.

This phone had so much potential. I enjoyed the build quality and all it had to offer with its stock android. My only complaint was the company closing their doors. They had a good product on their hands but I guess we will never know what could've been.

Great hardware. No issues with camera so far. Feels good to use this phone

With latest update this is the best. The photos are so much better and stock Android is blazing fast.

This phone is great. Very good hardware, solid build, feels like a premium phone the second you pick it up and the edge to edge screen is beautiful. It runs bare bones Android so you can't get any better than that!

great developer phone. fast, no bloatware. android updates the day they are released.

I bought the pure white PH-1 and I have loved it since I opened it. Very fast Android experience.

You will not find a phone with these features at this price range ANYWHERE. Able to be activated on all US networks and works great for me on Boost Mobile. Terrific camera quality and regularly updated with software updates and security patches. All around great device.

This phone is amazing. The hardware is, in my opinion, the best currently out there.