Essential recently confirmed that a new device was in early testing stages, with the successor to the unique Essential Phone expected soon. This was, after all, the first smartphone to feature the infamous notch in the market, and it appears that the new Essential Phone will also look pretty unconventional.
And now, Android co-founder and Essential CEO, Andy Rubin, has tweeted a series of images of the new Essential Phone—and it looks pretty weird. At first glance, it looks a little like the front of the Samsung Galaxy Fold, and the screen looks long and narrow.
Rubin shows off a “new UI for a radically different form-factor” in the images, with what appears to be navigation buttons at the of the device, along with the Android navigation pill at the top-right side of the display. You can also see a small speaker grill at the top of the device, while bezels look decently thin as well.
At the rear of the device, there’s a large single-camera module on the phone, along with a strange recessed circular… thing. We’re not sure what that could be—it might be a fingerprint-scanner, or simply something help with ergonomics.
Something else that catches the eye is the “GEM Colorshift material” of the Essential Phone. They look highly-reflective, and the colour hues appear to change depending on the angle (refer to video above). The shiny material also looks like it could be a magnet for fingerprints, but regardless: it looks pretty good.
We’re certainly interested to see the new Essential Phone, although there hasn’t been any concrete news as to official availability and pricing details. Besides the look and feel of such an unorthodox form-factor, it’s also worth noting that a new UI such as the one previewed on the Essential Phone could take awhile when it comes to app integration.
