Long-Delayed Hands-On with Essential’s Skinny Android Phone
A Unique Device
An individual recently got their hands on Essential’s unreleased smartphone, known as the PH-2 or “Project Gem.” This device takes the “candy bar” style phone to the extreme, resembling what you’d get by splitting an already tall Sony Xperia 1 in half. The phone’s design evokes memories of memes from the slightly taller 4-inch iPhone 5 screen, humorously speculating on phones getting taller instead of wider.
How It Was Acquired
Rob Wainwright, a software engineer for Nova Launcher, purchased the phone on eBay. In his video, he demonstrates the mostly operational PH-2, featuring card-style widgets for apps like Spotify and Uber, and a smartwatch-style clock at the top.
Why It Never Released
The first Essential phone, released in 2017, reportedly sold only about 150,000 units. Before a follow-up could be launched, disturbing reports from The Information and The New York Times emerged about sexual misconduct claims involving company founder Andy Rubin’s departure from Google. These issues led to the cancellation of the second phone’s plans. In early 2020, Essential shut down, stating it had “no clear path to deliver” the device to customers.
Features and Design
The PH-2 boasts a tall 5.7-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2,160 by 560 pixels and a hole-punch camera on the front. The rear features a protruding camera and a non-functional fingerprint reader. Much like its predecessor, the PH-1, this phone is a fingerprint magnet.
User Interface
The video showcases a custom Android launcher with swipe-up gestures from the bottom corners for navigation. The homescreen features many card-style widgets that are essentially web apps. However, these web apps look awkward when opened, with elements like YouTube videos appearing as tiny postage stamps on the top half of the screen, while the rest is filled with descriptions, comments, and other suggested videos.
Despite its intriguing design, Essential’s PH-2 remains an interesting piece of tech history, illustrating what could have been had the company not faced its challenges.
