Updated : Jun 05, 2025, 7:27 AM

Essential Phone

Full Specifications

Released · Aug 17, 2017

5.7-inch · 2560x1312px

Dual camera

3040 mAh

4GB · 128GB

Qualcomm Snapdragon 835

Android 7.1 Nougat

This device is also known as Essential PH-1

4.0

Read Essential Phone Review

9.3

Read All User Reviews (16)

I want it 17 users

I have it 14 users

I had it 18 users

Deals

$949

Popular Comparisons

The Essential Phone is most commonly compared with these phones:

Design
Dimensions	5.57 x 2.80 x 0.31 inches 141.5 x 71.1 x 7.8 mm
Weight	6.53 oz (185.0 g)
Materials	Back: Ceramic Frame: Titanium
Resistance	Splash, Dust; IP54
Biometrics	Fingerprint (touch)
Features	Notification light
Keys	Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key
Colors	Black, Gray, Blue, White

Display
Size	5.7-inch
Resolution	2560x1312px, 504 PPI
Technology	IPS LCD
Screen-to-body	84.85 %
Features	Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 5), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

Hardware
System chip	Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 MSM8998 (10 nm)
Processor	Octa-core Kryo 280
GPU	Adreno 540
RAM	4GB (LPDDR4)
Internal storage	128GB
OS	Android (7.1 Nougat)

Battery
Capacity	3040 mAh
Type	Li - Ion
Charging	USB Power Delivery

Camera
Rear	Dual camera
Main camera	13 MP (Laser and PDAF) Aperture size: F1.9 Sensor size: 1/3.09"
Second camera	13 MP (Black and White, Laser and PDAF) Aperture size: F1.9 Sensor size: 1/3.09"
Flash	Dual LED
Video recording	3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (120 fps) Video calling, Video sharing
Front	8 MP, Video capture: 3840x2160 (4K UHD)

Connectivity & Features
Bluetooth	5.0
Wi-Fi	802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
USB	Type-C
Location	GPS, A-GPS, Glonass
Sensors	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer
Other	NFC, VoIP, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync

Multimedia
Headphones	No 3.5mm jack
Speakers	Earpiece, Loudspeaker
Features	aptX-HD
Screen mirroring	Wireless screen share
Additional microphone(s)	Noise cancellation

Cellular
4G (FDD)	Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 13(700 c), 17(700 b), 20(800 DD), 21(1500 Upper), 25(1900+), 26(850+), 28(700 APT), 29(700 d), 30(2300 WCS)
4G (TDD)	Bands 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300), 41(2600+)
3G	Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 8(900)
Data Speed	LTE-A Pro Cat 16 (1000/150 Mbit/s)
SIM type	Nano SIM

Regulatory Approval
FCC approval	Date approved: Jun 26, 2017 FCC ID value: 2ALBB-A11
Measured SAR	Head: 0.28 W/kg Body: 0.76 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 0.92 W/kg Wireless Router: 0.70 W/kg

Buyers information
MSRP	$ 700

Availability
Officially announced	May 30, 2017

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News

Four months ago Essential surprised us, and the world, with a brand-new device codenamed GEM. It was a very narrow-sized smartphone that was supposedly equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 processor and should have run Android 10 at launch.Unfortu...

Essential shutting down after not being able to finish Project GEM

According to some Reddit users, those running the Android Q beta on the Essential Phone have a leg up on other Android users testing the next build of Google's open-source OS. That's because they are the first to see the Android Q Easter Egg. For the...

The Android Q Easter Egg has been found by Essential Phone users

Essential has just announced that its only smartphone has just received a new update that brings the March security patch and one feature that was initially exclusively available to Pixel smartphone owners – Digital Wellbeing.Digital Wellbeing ...

Essential Phone update brings support for a former Pixel-exclusive feature

What started as a guess proved to be 100% accurate, as Essential announced it will not adding any new Essential Phone inventory going forward. But that's not the only thing that Essential revealed to its fans, as the statement mentions plans to anoth...

The Essential Phone may have been discontinued, but a sequel is already in the works

Links

Essential Phone Review

Overall User Rating

(16 reviews)

9.3

Build quality

9.6

Camera quality

7.7

Performance

9.4

Display

9.6

Battery life and charging

8.8

PaulMH1

Arena Apprentice

Essential Service Sucks

Posted: Jun 26, 2019, 6:03 AM

Phone owned for more than a year

I purchased the PH-1 right after it first
Was introduced. I have ha two and the second one has issues that it has gone on for weeks and is not resolved. I am giving up and buying from a different manufacturer

Andluv

8.5

Essential PH-1 is Worthy even 2019

Edited: May 17, 2019, 1:18 AM

Phone owned for less than a year

I use it for 10 months and I love it. It's very sleek and attractive with 4gb/ 128gb storage which is pretty good and it's getting latest Android update Android 10 beta 3 2019... So what do I want in this price.

Willrann

Essential phone PH-1

Posted: Oct 05, 2018, 10:42 AM

Phone owned for less than a month

Great phone!!!! I have had the phone for a week and a half and had three updates already and has only Gottingen better. I would of got phone sooner but the battery being 3040 mah I didn't think it would last as long as it has. Great for games watching YouTube. Just an all around great phone. I hope the make a PH-2.