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Essential Phone + 360 Camera Bundle for USD $409 (~$537 AUD) Delivered from Amazon

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Essential Phone + 360 Camera Bundle for USD $409 (~$537 AUD) Delivered from AmazonAffiliate
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0zyt0zy on 27/11/2017 - 19:56 amazon.com (4024 clicks)
Last edited 27/11/2017 - 19:59 by 1 other user
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An absolute bargain from Amazon! The cheapest price so far for Phone + Camera bundle.

Description from site:

  • The Essential Phone is expertly crafted using titanium and ceramic, with an edge-to-edge Full Display and captures stunning images (even in low light) with the world's thinnest dual camera system ever built for a phone.
  • Beauty meets brawn - With a titanium body, a ceramic back and the attention to detail that went into building this device, you'll feel the craftsmanship from the moment you pick it up.
  • Edge-to-edge Full Display - With the stunning edge-to-edge Full Display on the Essential Phone there's finally a large-screen device that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand.
  • The world's thinnest dual camera system - The camera system consists of color and monochrome sensors to capture up to 200% more light than traditional phone cameras. This results in stunning images that are rich in color and detail, even in low light.
  • Accessories that simply click - With the phone's revolutionary magnetic connector, accessories can easily attach to your device so it's future-proof and always up-to-date.
Price History at C CamelCamelCamel.
Mobile Essential Products (electronics brand) Mobile Phone Android

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closed Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 27/11/2017 - 19:57
    -8

    No B28 🙁
    No wireless charging.

    Other than that reviews are pretty good. I'd love to play with one.

    Edit :

    This item does not ship to Australia.

    • alz on 27/11/2017 - 20:06
      +4

      It does have b28. Source: Their website.

    • 0zyt0zy on 27/11/2017 - 20:07
      +5

      It does ship to AUS!! I was able to load it into cart and the AUS price came up too!!

    • johnn on 27/11/2017 - 20:08
      +28

      No 3.5mm headphone jack is my biggest gripe. I'm simply not going to buy a phone without one.

      • C0mbat on 27/11/2017 - 21:36
        +4

        I always thought that I would say that to. Until I bought the Sony 1000XM2 headphones last week and listed my Audiofly AF180s on ebay this morning.

        • ellave on 27/11/2017 - 22:16
          +1

          Maybe but for some IEM's are really the only practical type for commuting & wireless IEM's are shite

          On a side note I have the AF180's they are amazing headphones & so comfortable, can wear them for hours. Someone buy this mans set you wont regret it

        • C0mbat on 27/11/2017 - 22:32
          +2

          @ellave: Ah, welcome to the Sony WF-1000X. I almost bought these until I read a lot of owners having issues with the right monitor dropping out frequently. I'll maybe check them out when they release the next version.

          https://www.whathifi.com/sony/wf-1000x/review

          Happy with my new purchase though as I'm spending a lot more time on the plane and noise cancellation is essential.

      • yktay2 on 27/11/2017 - 22:09
        -8

        I smashed my phone screen because of the cable of wired headphones. It would not have happened if it didn't have a headphone jack.

        • johnn on 27/11/2017 - 22:40
          +6

          Err you do know you can use bluetooth headphones regardless of whether the phone has a jack or not?

          It's about choice

        • Enjj0y on 27/11/2017 - 23:29
          +5

          You wouldn't have smashed screen if you wouldn't have phone!!

        • dufflover on 28/11/2017 - 00:00
          +2

          It wouldn't have happened if you were even remotely careful either

      • WinstonWithAY on 28/11/2017 - 01:34

        That's totally understandable. I would be willing to sacrifice that if it was much cheaper however

  • ChillBro on 27/11/2017 - 20:13
    +3

    Amazing price but the lack of waterproofing and the relatively small battery is stopping me from ordering. Here's hoping v2 will improve both aspects.

    • Draco on 27/11/2017 - 21:39
      +1

      Battery life is awesome and the single has a hardware dac

      • karkashian on 27/11/2017 - 21:52

        Agree battery is much better than s8 despite s8 having bigger battery

        • Draco on 27/11/2017 - 22:12

          Yep Oreo beta out now also

        • ChillBro on 27/11/2017 - 22:16

          s8 having bigger battery

          Actually, the S8 has 3000mah while the Essentials has 3040mah.

          battery is much better than s8

          Citation needed. Everything I've read indicates the Essentials lasts barely a day.

        • karkashian on 27/11/2017 - 22:43

          @ChillBro:

          Reddit.com/essential

          And s8+ soz

        • ChillBro on 27/11/2017 - 22:51
          +2

          @beeman:
          The essential phone subreddit might be just a tad biased…

        • karkashian on 27/11/2017 - 23:05
          -1

          @ChillBro:

          Or factual

        • ChillBro on 28/11/2017 - 00:02

          @beeman: I didn't neg you obviously but could you share some hard evidence? Saying it beats the s8+, a phone with a battery almost 20% larger, seems a bit of a stretch.

      • Diji1 on 27/11/2017 - 23:17
        +2

        a hardware dac

        With no headphone socket? Wut?

        • Draco on 29/11/2017 - 09:10

          Yeah built into the dongle thing

  • stan-C on 27/11/2017 - 20:27
    -1

    1+5t kills it

    • duodeta on 27/11/2017 - 20:27

      By OPPO

    • shrewduser on 27/11/2017 - 22:44
      +3

      I wouldn't say kills it, they're both in the same league, anyway i chose the essential phone because one plus aren't adding treble support to the OP5T. That and they potentially spy on users.

  • xyron on 27/11/2017 - 20:31
    +6

    if only this had a headphone jack it'd be a real ripper of a phone.

    • Agret on 28/11/2017 - 00:37

      No image stabilisation on the camera either

  • gaz090 on 27/11/2017 - 20:48
    +1

    399USD for the phone AND 360 camera??! Insane deal… I was so proud of myself resisting the sales all weekend too. I caved and bought the white one XD

  • bbourizk on 27/11/2017 - 21:04
    +2

    Bought this phone for $499.
    Phone is very well made and has a nice feel in the hand.
    It's decent, a few little issues with scrolling lag and the touch screen not responding to touch. Nothing major but are noticeable.

    For me coming from a mi mix I just couldn't get used to the phone size. I guess I prefer a larger screen.

    I returned mine to Amazon after a week and bought the mix 2.
    If they can iron out the software bugs and maybe make a bigger phone in version 2 then I'd look at it again.

    For this price if your happy with this size screen then it's a good buy.

    • 0zyt0zy on 27/11/2017 - 21:07

      you could be of some help for me..
      I bought this phone few weeks ago and now want to return it and get this better deal.
      Now, how did the return process go? do we wait for the box or just retun it thru AUS POST with the label supplied? will amazon repay me the postage cost?

      • bbourizk on 27/11/2017 - 21:56
        +5

        G'day mate.
        I went into my order on Amazon and click on return item. You can choose a reason. I chose faulty because of the two reasons mentioned above.
        I printed out the return labels and sent it back through Australia Post.
        Cost was $42 for signature on delivery.
        While doing the return process a note was displayed saying they will refund up to $15US in shipping.
        Now there's a thread on whirlpool saying that you can email [email protected] after they have received the phone with your shipping receipt and they will refund the whole amount. Even if you includes insurance.

        • 0zyt0zy on 28/11/2017 - 06:31

          Thanks alot

      • BluFlu on 27/11/2017 - 22:21
        +1

        Hi how you all doing, i can confirm that when you do return the device, Amazon does refund you the $15 for shipping. My refund was processed today, also if you were curious my device arrived faulty, the speaker would constantly drop and you would barely be able to have a conversation. (White Essential Ph-1)

    • snvl on 27/11/2017 - 21:11
      +2

      I returned mine to Amazon after a week

      Interested to know how is the return process

      • bbourizk on 27/11/2017 - 21:56
        +1

        See my response above mate.

        • snvl on 27/11/2017 - 22:00

          Thanks appreciated

  • Elijha on 27/11/2017 - 21:10
    +1

    Received this last week. Really really happy with it, as a switcher from iOS (though I have a Nexus10 tablet) I have a little learning to do but my main issue is its large enough to be a two hand device for common use.

  • mg_k on 27/11/2017 - 21:12

    I watched a few reviews and they say the camera is pretty bad?

    Has recent firmware updates fixed that?

    • 0zyt0zy on 27/11/2017 - 21:17

      The stock camera is pretty average. A lot of people sideload the Google Camera app and the difference in image quality is day and night!!!

    • MrSammyMcG on 27/11/2017 - 21:18

      Somewhat but i think using Google Camera APK for Snapdragon devices has helped massively apparently. It must be more of a software issue then.

    • shrewduser on 27/11/2017 - 22:58
      +1

      well this deal comes with the camera attachment, so that's worth noting.

      apparently the camera hardware in the phone itself is good, but the software isn't… maybe that will change? can't say.

      • MrSammyMcG on 27/11/2017 - 23:58

        Yeah thats what i meant the software was letting it down hence why changing that give you better shots.

    • Joshman5k on 28/11/2017 - 08:16

      I'd also add the black and white photos it takes is amazing (I think this is because one of the cameras is b&w).

  • MrSammyMcG on 27/11/2017 - 21:27

    General quesiton here, but what are the solutions people use for devices with out headphone jacks (asking for advice from owners of these devices primarily)

    • karkashian on 27/11/2017 - 22:00
      +1

      I have one good Sennheiser corded headphones that I just leave the dongle plugged in on. It makes absolutely no difference to me

      • MrSammyMcG on 27/11/2017 - 22:10

        OKay fair enough thanks for that but what about when youre charging and its just the Type C to 3.5mm jack adapter youre using?

        • karkashian on 27/11/2017 - 22:46

          Never needed to - actually, I don't think I've ever once ever charged a phone the same time as having headphones in. I also have Bose over ear Bluetooth for gym.

        • MrSammyMcG on 27/11/2017 - 23:55

          @beeman: Okay well I do it a bit so it may be an issue for me but ill just buy a splitter. Thanks.

        • karkashian on 27/11/2017 - 23:57

          @MrSammyMcG: as essential don't make them I'd recommend perhaps a pixel 2 google branded one

        • MrSammyMcG on 27/11/2017 - 23:59

          @beeman: Ill just get a generic one from ebay or something if i do. Unlikely to buy a phone without a headphone jack for the moment.

        • xyron on 28/11/2017 - 07:44
          +1

          @MrSammyMcG: the problem is that USB C - 3.5mm adaptors also contain the DAC hardware in them, so they aren't all made equal and a cheapy off eBay might not be the best solution. One of the many reasons why an inbuilt 3.5mm jack is still so important (and as someone enjoying the Quad-DAC in his LG G6, especially so).

        • MrSammyMcG on 28/11/2017 - 10:30

          @xyron: righto so what happens if you get one without the converter or a poor converter? Bad audio?

  • kalakaar on 27/11/2017 - 21:29

    have a friends and family code from previous buy but cant use it on amazon :(

    • eug on 28/11/2017 - 15:34

      have a friends and family code from previous buy but cant use it on amazon :(

      Won't it be cheaper if you used the friends and family code (making it US$299) along with a shipping forwarder? Total price would probably be … maybe US$340?

      edit: oh, you won't get the 360 camera though. You probably won't use it anyway. :)

  • mavis30551 on 27/11/2017 - 21:31

    Does anyone think its worth holding out for a Phone only deal, maybe $50 cheaper?

    • bunnybash on 27/11/2017 - 21:49
      +2

      Nope not in the immediate future

      • mavis30551 on 28/11/2017 - 09:59

        :( This close to christmas im a bit short on cash and like a true ozbargainer I dont want to over stretch my budget.

        What about after xmas, think it will drop again?

        • bunnybash on 28/11/2017 - 12:39

          It's going to stay pretty low from here on out, but what the Aussie dollar does is anyone's guess, though most are saying it's going to drop again.

          I would say that it's a great phone for the price.

  • MrSammyMcG on 27/11/2017 - 21:32

    As nice as this phone looks it seems to be missing a lot of features that many would dub 'essential'; namely the headphone jack, removeable/expandable storage (SD Card), waterproofing, a better camera (even with its Google Camera improvements..), more RAM (4GB is midrange these days with devices like the Razer Phone having 8GB), a much larger battery (3040mah isnt much when my Note 3 from 2013 had 3400 then) and maybe some better software exclusive features to make the device a little less transparent in the market.

    Other than that it is a beautifully designed phone in regards to the physical hardware design but Ill give it a pass and get the original Xiaomi Mi Mix, since the Mix 2 doesnt have a headphone jack and has a smaller battery too.

    • karkashian on 27/11/2017 - 21:48

      No phones have headphone jacks anymore and it comes with a dongle

      It is water resistant which is fine unless you are gonna take it swimming

      The battery is better than my s8 lasts much longer

      What would you even need that much ram for? People that go on about ram really don't have a clue

      • MrSammyMcG on 27/11/2017 - 22:05
        +4

        No phones have headphone jacks anymore and it comes with a dongle

        A lot of them dont but we are still at the point where its generally fairly controversial (died down from last year but still bad)

        It is water resistant which is fine unless you are gonna take it swimming

        No IP rating

        The battery is better than my s8 lasts much longer

        Thats very subjective and for many 3040mah is average at best. It's okay for now but in about 12 months+ with the usual software updates and having a million apps with unnecessary wakelocks on them, that wont be enough (for myself at least and I imagine for many others)

        What would you even need that much ram for? People that go on about ram really don't have a clue

        Future proofing, I use a Nexus 5 as my daily driver and generally speaking it handles most general tasks pretty decently but the lack of RAM (only 2GB) and insufficient nonremovable storage are the biggest bottlenecks, I have a fairly decent clue thanks and as many reviewers have pointed out most of the specs on this device are pretty average at best. Competitiveness is essential to avoid obsolescence.

        • Diji1 on 27/11/2017 - 23:24

          No IP rating

          So what? "IP rating" doesn't actually mean anything. It's certification is passing tests the manufacturer designs.

        • MrSammyMcG on 27/11/2017 - 23:57
          +3

          @Diji1: It means its durable or X-proof to a certain standard, so it means it should withhold or withstand the elements to a certain specification. If it meant nothing it wouldnt exist.

        • eug on 28/11/2017 - 15:36

          No IP rating

          https://www.essential.com/#specifications

          Water and Dust Resistant
          IP54

          Fine for splashes, not for swimming.

        • MrSammyMcG on 28/11/2017 - 16:40

          @eug: ah okay thanks I couldn't find it. Still its not 68 like everyone would like.

        • eug on 28/11/2017 - 16:42

          @MrSammyMcG: I don't actually mind IP54. I had an IP68 S8 and never once submerged it underwater. It's really just accidental splashes from rain or a tipped glass that I worry about. My friends have gone past the happy-birthday-throw-you-in-the-pool phase too, so that's not a worry any more either. :)

        • MrSammyMcG on 28/11/2017 - 16:44

          @eug: yeah fair enough I getcha its probably not as essential as some of the other features but i think it certainly can't hurt especially when a lot of other phones at the initial price point were that much.

      • mickeyjuiceman on 29/11/2017 - 19:33

        What would you even need that much ram for?

        Bigger numbers means betterer!!!

        • karkashian on 30/11/2017 - 01:21

          Yes so fools would think

  • karkashian on 27/11/2017 - 21:46
    +4

    Have this phone as my daily, it's fkn awesome! I paid around $700 a month ago :-(

    One last tip for buyers, the us wall plug, gently swivel the straight prongs to make them angled to fit in au wall.

    Recommend recommend

  • DEvok on 27/11/2017 - 21:55
    +2

    Way better than the over hyped iPhone X with its issues.
    Just wished they promoted this baby more as it would be this years killer phone. To bad apple fanboys don’t understand this phone, and yes I’m a iPhone user atm.

    • MrSammyMcG on 27/11/2017 - 22:09

      Its certainly a nice phone and much better than the iPhone X in my opinion but it has too many flaws to be this years killer phone that why I havent bought it.

      • cheng2008 on 28/11/2017 - 00:56

        I agree that it looks like an excellent phone at this price, but I don't think anyone would be brave enough to make the claim that it's much better than the iPhone X. It's still a gen one product, and they need a few generations before they can compete with apple.

        • Trishool on 28/11/2017 - 10:27
          +1

          And on the flip side, you'd also need to be brave to say that the iPhone X is 3 times as good as this phone as you're paying 3X the price.

        • DEvok on 28/11/2017 - 16:35

          @Trishool:

          Well to many the iPhone is way over priced, should be around the $1000 mark like a few years back remember when it was $999?

    • Diji1 on 27/11/2017 - 23:25
      +1

      Even Android fanbois don't think this is a "killer phone" though.

      • MrSammyMcG on 28/11/2017 - 00:02

        Yeah it isnt sadly. Very well could have been though. Id say [and im hoping] that the essential PH-2 will fix most if not all of these issues anyway. Its not like budget is a concern considering Essential was a Unicorn before actually shipping anything.

  • plasmapuff on 27/11/2017 - 22:25
    +30

    So I've given it a good run (10 days) but have made up my mind to return the phone back to Amazon.

    There are definitely some pros and cons to the phone and overall despite me returning it, I would still recommend it to others with some caveats. I'm a bit of a gadget and phone nerd so YMMV. For reference I previously had a Pixel XL followed by an S7 edge and have been using an S8+ for the past 6 months. I also had access to the pixel 2 XL for comparison which became the ultimate device I moved on to.

    Pros:

    Form factor and pocketability – has about the same size screen as an s7 edge in a much smaller body. A definite win in comparison to the at times unwieldy S8+ I came from.
    Build quality – ceramic felt great and it had a nice solid heft akin to the iPhone 4. Screen was still very susceptible to drops though as per YouTube drop test videos. White model hid the fingerprints very well. Feels like a more sturdy glass back.
    Lcd screen – one of the sharpest I've seen. No complaints coming from arguably the industry leading s8+ Samsung panel. Yes, you don't get true blacks etc but it seriously does a great job. Not as bright as the s8+ out doors in overdrive mode but still very usable.
    Developer support – has LineageOS already and with the price drops should attract a decent community on XDA.
    Essential's frequent updates – aside from the pixel, nexus and Nokia, there aren't many phones rocking the latest November security patches. My s8+ is still on the August patch… Also will get Android P and possibly beyond with developer support.
    Price – not much here which is this good and complete as a package in this $650 price range. Rivals would include the OP5/T, LG G6.
    Battery life – nearly as good as the pixel. My record was 7hrs screen on time with 20hrs stand by time on wifi with 5% left. Charges in about 80 mins too to full with the included charger.
    Stock android – although the jankiness despite this was very disappointing. Flagship specs with stock android should be fluid. More on this later…
    Good call and speaker quality – no issues with reception on the Vodafone network in metro Brisbane.
    128gb storage as default – should be the default given the negligible manufacturing costs between less storage in the modern age (read that it was like $20 more for 64gb vs 128gb ufs storage). The fact that manufacturers charge $150+ for additional storage is a tragedy.
    Loud mono speaker – a bit harsh at higher volumes but it gets pretty loud
    Amazon returns – 30 day returns no questions asked with reimbursements for postage. There's not much better than that.
    Cons:

    UI responsiveness – There are 3 big issues I had with the device which I was extremely disappointed with given stock android and flagship specs.
    1) Poor screen touch sensitivity – I was getting a lot of missed touches with the device, particularly near the edges, but not always. I'm not sure if this was over aggressive palm rejection or something else. I updated to the latest firmwares, factory reset, used touch recognition apps to exclude a hardware problem, but I just couldn't get rid of it. It was inconsistent and just really annoying leading me to second guess myself with the device. I hadn't had such issues since the resistive screen days. I tried flashing lineage OS which reduced this, but it was still happening. I'm not the only one – on reddit its a common complaint.
    2) Scrolling jankiness: It was objectively less smooth than the S8+ I was coming from even though it had touchwiz (so that's saying something). A good video of it here: https://phandroid.com/2017/11/14/essential-phone-touch-scree…
    Is it horrible? No. But after using the S8+ and pixel it was definitely something noticeable and hard to un-see.
    3) Random hangs and force closes – Again not consistently reproducible and improved with updates but still prevalent requiring me to restart the phone or close all apps.
    I think a lot of these issues are software based. They have been acknowledged by Essential and it may have something to do with the display driver supplied by qualcomm. They tried to fix it in a software update by doing an dodgy interpolation hack but it was still there. The fact that its still present despite their "night and day improvement" fix doesn't inspire me with confidence that they'll ever get to the bottom of it. At the end of the day its a very small team and they're using a custom screen which no-one else is using.

    Poor utilisation of screen space – no option to go full screen for videos/games (black bars to avoid the notch). Even with the latest firmware which whitelists every app, the notch at the top with the thick colour coded notification bar is still wasted space. Ideally, I'd want something like google maps, which displays content underneath the notification bar, but apparently this is something that needs to be implemented from the app developer and there is nothing the end user can do. Again with the niche appeal, I can't see many apps incorporating a fix to ever improve this.
    Poor haptic feedback motor – you hear it rather than feel it. Not a huge issue for me given my smart watch but definitely a noticeable step down in comparison to anything in the past 2 years.
    Cameras – definitely not flagship level. With the ported google pixel camera its acceptable and is similar to something like a galaxy S5/S6. The stock camera app is ok in good lighting but really bombs in low light. Compression artifacts, noise, poor detail and under/over exposure predominates. They still haven't fixed relatively simple things like the compression ratio of their images. In the stock app, images are ~1mb or smaller. With the Google camera app, they're 3-5mb. Good enough for social media still. However, with the pixel 2 XL, I'm finding it replacing my RX100 when I'm feeling lazy for casual outings. I don't think this is something they're ever going to fix either. Again a small team from a start up will not have the established software algorithms of a larger company. Also the monochrome secondary camera merging technique is a qualcomm reference design that sounds good in theory from a hardware perspective, but no one has really run with it from the software POV. Huawei uses it on a couple of their phones and again it works ok but not amazing. I think the main reason why other manufacturers don't use this set up is that it doesn't work particularly well, and as Google is showing, you can get better pictures with just one lens and good software algorithms.
    Warranty – need to ship back to Essential and then back again via a mail forwarder. Postage not covered. Only 12 months warranty. That's approximately $130 for shipping costs.
    Slipperiness in the hand – needs a case or a skin.
    Price- Surprisingly with the price drops, the s8+ can be had for about $100 more which in my mind is worth it for a more complete package. Due to its niche market appeal, it'll also be hard to sell, so something to keep in mind if you swap gadgets a lot as I do.
    In between:

    Lower level of water proofing (splash proof) – not a huge deal. Water ingress is never covered by warranty even if you have an IP68 device. I would never risk using my device as an underwater camera etc. As long as its protected from rain/spilt drinks that's good enough for me.
    No wireless charging – Not something I care about with USB C fast charging (faster, less fiddly to find the hotspot, less heat and thus battery wear)
    No headphone jack – a trend that will continue for better or worse. Apparently Essential could have put a jack in at the cost of a 10% smaller battery. Dongle works fine. Scenario of needing to charge and play music at the same time is super rare for me.
    Finger print scanner – works. Faster than S8+, slower than Pixel.
    No VR as its LCD – Meh
    Proprietary wireless USB dongle accessory system – really can't see this taking off. It'll probably be the first thing to go if they continue to have struggles with getting market penetration. Unless you get a universal standard adopted by multiple large manufacturers, modularity is still an expensive dead end.
    Summary:
    Overall it does a lot right and for the price I'd still recommend it. Particularly if you're after a smaller form factor phone and are a fan of stock android and timely software and security updates. On paper it sounds awesome – 85% screen to bezel ratio (amongst highest ever), ceramic and titanium, flagship specs, stock android, but in reality its still very much a WIP beta experience and was a bit of a let down for me. This is probably because I've been spoilt by other flagships like the S8+ and Pixel 2 XL. If you were upgrading from a phone 2-3 years old, it'd probably be more acceptable and feel like more of an upgrade. Fortunately most of the issues are software, so if you're patient or willing to flash something from XDA, it could maybe get better one day. However, with the small team and niche hardware, it might be beyond the team's best efforts and this is as good as it gets.

    The price drops make it something we'd actually consider vs. something everyone ignored, but in the scheme of things its still not THAT cheap at $650. You can get a grey import S8/S8+ for the high $600-700 mark, which isn't that much more money for a more rounded device, especially if you don't mind the slower updates – which to be honest aside from android and tech geeks, it's something that the average consumer doesn't really care about. A grey Pixel/Pixel XL from last year even with its older specs is around the same price and provides a much smoother experience with a better camera to boot. If you don't mind the larger form factor/cheaper hardware (large bezels, no band 28, SD625) – the Xiaomi M1A1 provides a similar stock experience with guaranteed updates for $250-300.

    If I wanted a secondary device or was 100% in love with the hardware and I was patient/didn't mind tinkering with XDA, then I probably would have kept it. However, I managed to buy a new Pixel 2 XL for $1050 (ebay 20% sale + TRS) and for me it's a night and day improvement over the essential phone in generally all aspects. Is it close to being a $400 better phone though? For the first time in a long time I'm actually very satisfied with it and can see it lasting me 2 years. If that happens to be the case then, yes it is for me. Whereas with the essential phone I was always looking at doing something or comparing with another device to try to optimise the experience. YMMV.

    I still have a brand new unopened Tudia "Spigen Rugged armor" case to get rid of. If you're in Brisbane PM me …;) ;)

    Just my 2c :)

    Edit: A lot of the flaws become more acceptable with this price drop and its probably the best phone in the price range. However, the pixel 2 XL and the S8+ are still superior phones imo if you can sump up the extra $.

    • alwaysupforabargain on 27/11/2017 - 22:48
      +6

      Damn dude, nice write up! But I reckon you got screwed if all you got for that post was 2 cents! :P

      • plasmapuff on 28/11/2017 - 00:14
        +2

        Haha thanks. I'll post it on reddit to see if I can get some reddit gold lol.

    • Jonski on 27/11/2017 - 23:11

      let us know how the pixel goes mate

      • plasmapuff on 27/11/2017 - 23:27
        +5

        Loving it so far. Super fluid and camera is awesome. Yes if you look for the screen flaws they're there, but in day to day use you don't notice them. On holidays at the moment and it became my primary camera during some muddy and wet mountain treks.
        Snapped this beauty: https://imgur.com/a/TXLpz

        Great battery life as well and using the included USB OTG, I can upload the dslr pics onto google photos at full resolution without compression via the phone.

        Yes it's $500 more than the essential phone. Whether it's worth it or not is up to the individual.

        • safwanc on 27/11/2017 - 23:31

          Holy crap! I can't believe that photo was taken with a phone.

        • plasmapuff on 27/11/2017 - 23:40
          +3

          @safwanc:
          Thanks! I really also liked this one. Clarity and dynamic range are on point.
          https://i.imgur.com/wMWcuyi.jpg

        • Jonski on 28/11/2017 - 00:18

          1@plasmapuff: woah amazing photos man! where is this at? and cute kids, are they yours?

        • safwanc on 28/11/2017 - 00:27

          @plasmapuff:

          Really amazing. This is without any editing or anything? I was really turned off by the screen (not fussed about blue tint but the screen just overall looked so much worse than my S8) but this camera is really tempting me to get one haha.

        • plasmapuff on 28/11/2017 - 00:43
          +2

          @Jonski:
          Trekking in Vietnam in the Sapa region. Nope just random village kids.

        • plasmapuff on 28/11/2017 - 00:46
          +1

          @safwanc:
          Auto fix in Google photos only. Blue tint only noticeable on pure white backgrounds. If there is any text or colour you don't notice it.

        • safwanc on 28/11/2017 - 00:48

          @plasmapuff:

          Blue tint wasn't a big deal for me as I don't really look at my phone off angle often. However, the overall quality of the screen was just so poor to me compared to my S8+ from when I played around with it in jb

    • Diji1 on 27/11/2017 - 23:28
      +1

      Sorry but how in (profanity) are you recommending this phone after points 1 and 3 that you raised.

      It sounds like it's annoying to just use the device as a normal thing.

      • plasmapuff on 27/11/2017 - 23:35
        +1

        It's continually improving. I believe it's better but not fixed in the latest Oreo beta.

        Coming from the s8+ and pixel I noticed the jankiness and missed touches a lot and its what led me to return the device. However my mate coming from a Nexus 5 barely noticed it and thought it was fine. For the price ($500+ less than pixel 2 XL, $200 less than s8+), it makes it more acceptable, particularly if you're patient and are willing to wait/hope for updates to fix it.

    • Zviar on 28/11/2017 - 10:18

      This is way more than 2c! Very detailed review.

  • karkashian on 27/11/2017 - 22:49
    -3

    I'd actually just recommend everybody who is considering this phone to check out the essential subreddit. Don't listen to the (mostly) shitposts on here

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