Essential shutting down after failing to launch ‘GEM’ smartphone
9to5google.com
9to5google.com
I wasn’t following the Gem but I sure wonder what the appeal of a skinny phone was supposed to be.
It’s like trying to make a two door minivan. All phones look the same just like how all cars look the same for a reason - we have converged on the most useful design that works for everyone.
I don't know if the novelty would be worth the other trade-offs, though.
edited for better link
It's a fine phone for some people. It runs the apps I need to run and is tiny, and timewaste apps are unattractive. BUT the battery lifetime.
https://rant.gulbrandsen.priv.no/jelly is verbiage about.
That's still pretty bad considering phones from as far back as 2014 are getting Android 9 through LineageOS (nightly builds, up to date Android security patch level).
Take the Moto G4 Play, for example. One of my daughters has one, so I care, and it's listed on the LineageOS site. How do I get an up to date Android security patch level for that?
Or the Redmi Note 3 or Sony Z5C, both also in the device list at lineageos.org. I don't care, those aren't in use, but how would I get new security patches?
>Warning: The Sony Xperia Z5 Compact is no longer maintained. A build guide is available for developers that would like to make private builds, or even restart official support.
However, if you look at this https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bx6RvTCEGn5zA06lW_uZ..., there are plenty of phones released in 2014 that are still actively maintained. Those phones tend to be flagships, which explains why the phones you've listed aren't being maintained.
Anyway, I think you're being facetious. Three or five years ago you couldn't say which phones would be supported today, and right now you have no idea which of this year's phones are going to have lineageos updates in 2025. Right?
I'm assuming you mean the Sony Z5 Compact? On the Z5 line, there's also Z5 and Z5 premium, which suggests that it's not really a flagship. That said, being a flagship doesn't mean automatic lineageos support. It's due to a multitude of factors, but one of the necessary factors appears to be flagship.
>Anyway, I think you're being facetious. Three or five years ago you couldn't say which phones would be supported today, and right now you have no idea which of this year's phones are going to have lineageos updates in 2025. Right?
You're right, it's impossible to know for sure, especially since it's a community supported project and all. However, you can look to the past and have some sense of what support might look like in the future. Oneplus phones for instance, has consistent support all the way back to their first phone (one).
In the context of this discussion though, my point still stands. If a bunch of hobbyists (most phones are maintained by a couple of people) can keep a phone phone updated to Android 9 with monthly security patches, a for-profit company being able to push out Android 8 updates every few months isn't special.
1. All smartphones that aren't phablets.
2. And all phablets that aren't the manufacturer's most expensive phablet.
3. And also the majority of the few phablets that remain.
Here's a t-shirt for you: https://www.google.com/search?hl=eo&q=t-shirt%20everything%2....
This is also a viable option for you: http://justine-haupt.com/rotarycellphone/
Real pity. I held the phone in my hands at a Best Buy and got incredibly close to buying it.
I ditched it for the Pixel 2 (and now 4) eventually; Sony's software got worse and slower with every update, and the phone would heat up for seemingly no reason. The camera was really good, but I couldn't install a custom ROM without crippling it due to DRM junk.
As much as the Pixels aren't perfect, and the physical size of them is not what I'd like (I'd really like something like a 4"-4.2" screen), they've at least been consistent in build and software quality (to the point where I haven't been motivated to flash a custom ROM), and the cameras have been wonderful.
I would have bought that phone if not for this issue. (I can’t remember why the stock OS was unacceptable, even before purchase)
Thankfully they stopped that bullshit , including on this very model in their Android Pie update.
https://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2018&fDisplay...
Nope. Literally seven phones, with the search just limited to sub 5" diagonal, Android 9 or 10, and a release in the last two years.
My phone now is an Xperia X Compact. Based on that list of seven the Xperia XZ2 Compact would be my next choice. Which actually looks like a fine phone, but not much of an upgrade versus what I already have. And it's from 2018 anyway, feels kind of silly to upgrade from a phone from 2017 to a phone from 2018 in 2020.
Librem... if you're listening... I'll pay extra for a phone that's under a 5" diagonal. You can quote me on that and call it a pre-order.
I don't have market research to back it up, but I do hear more and more people basically saying they haven't bought a new phone in years because they're all too big. Do they not include people who wear women's clothing in their market testing?
I agree that's not an important filter per se, but it does filter out the stuff that's got sub-par hardware or tons of manufacturer installed apps or vendors that don't provide quick updates. At least somewhat. I'd be nervous getting that phone, though it looks really great other than the battery... and reviews...
I'll just wait until it exists again, it's inevitable. Until then, I hope my phone stays healthy.
Edit: That same site has these tables, which show that there really are zero phones in that form factor on the market https://phonesized.com/charts/
The 3A is nearly an inch taller than the original Moto X: https://www.phonearena.com/phones/compare/Motorola-Moto-X,Go...
As you say, that makes it awkward to use the phone one-handed. I'd definitely buy something more the Moto X size if it were otherwise equivalent.
I wish notifications and controls where down to like they are in my KDE.
I think my sweet spot was the old Nexus 4.
In the end, we decided to find a phone that was at least not too wide, so it could still be used one-handed. We ended up buying Motorola One Visions for us both, since my Moto X Play was getting rather long in the tooth.
While it is a 6.3" screen, the bezels are rather small and it has a 21:9 aspect ratio, so it doesn't feel clunky at all, it falls naturally in my average-sized hands.
Overall we are both very pleased. It's afforable, plenty fast (especially now with Android 10) and it's on the Android One program, so you get stock Android with a few Motorola features on top, no bloat and great battery life. It's a damn good midrange phone.
If it was iPhone 5 length that would be another matter entirely.
If you compare with the largest phablets, those with > 6 inch screen sizes, modern phones are like an inch smaller in both dimensions.
Now compare that with the iphone SE: https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=9896&idPhone2... With modern narrow bezels it could easily carry a 5 inch screen.
If they could make that form factor lighter with aN edge to edge screen it’d be me ideal phone.
The only device right now that comes a bit close is the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact. But it's very expensive for what it offers. At least, they have great kernel & AOSP suppport.
I've no particular desire to go back given current phone sizes for anything with decent oomph.
Unlocked Palm is a standalone device that works as a normal phone with supported carriers.
However, Palm is also enjoyed by many users as a secondary device.Instead, just use italics, perhaps with ">" prefixes:
> Unlocked Palm is a standalone device that works as a normal phone with supported carriers.
> However, Palm is also enjoyed by many users as a secondary device.
You can use it with any old SIM but you’ll want to adb uninstall Verizon apps.
I think they wanted the Verizon exclusivity money but know that the tinkerer type is more of their market.
I did try this phone for a while and it was far too much of a toy. Even for the intended purpose the battery life isn’t enough to take away dead phone anxiety.
The screen was sharp and surprisingly readable. Text was very, very hard to input.
It’d truly be a good device if it was literally the size of the iPhone 4 instead of something smaller.
At the time I couldn’t find any sort of convenient way to root the phone.
My biggest complaint was the battery, It has much too little battery to be used as a primary phone, and the "secondary phone" idea is just a stupid one.
Also, as far as features I do use my phone for, camera is important for me personally. And the palm palm camera is much to bad to be useful.
I'm ok with how small it is, but I'd be happy with something quite a bit bigger, but Battery and Camera would be essential for me to use it.
It gets better reviews than the Palm. From what I can tell, Unihertz’s previous model (the jelly pro) was smaller, with battery problems similar to the Palm.
Probably a business opportunity there.
Rugged, 4 day battery, repairable, stripped down OS/app store for << $100
Kinda been enjoying using the prototype as a daily driver over my iPhone
Who were you thinking for the end point partner (which retails/delivers the devices)? Possibly with governments or NGOs or local marketplaces?
Maybe you could help finance it with a western version of a stripped down smartphone. But that seems to be a significant shift from what your vision/offering is. It's best to do one thing at a time.
Hopefully GSM isn't going the way of AMPS anytime soon.
In the EU, however, it looks like Vodafone intends to provide 2G through at least 2025.
https://www.multitech.com/documents/publications/marketing-g...
I don't care about having a super responsive phone, or a thin one. Just a utility. Something like the ulephone armor series but without the sketchy bloatware.
Phones are thin! The case makes them reasonably sized. Treat a naked phone the same as you would a naked human: unsuitable and unprepared to go outside.
In some ways, the best design is still my old Motorola Milestone. Rubberized steel, and indestructible. No case needed. Small, better looking than anything in a case, and it had a sliding keyboard to boot. I still miss that.
This was pre-iPhone days, so it didn't have a full app ecosystem, but it took photos and little videos and was a great little device. I wish I could remember what it was called so I could look it up and buy one.
Edit: Found it! LG KE820: https://www.gsmarena.com/lg_ke820-1761.php
SMS, e-mail, MP3 player, Bluetooth, photos, video. The only thing missing is GPS, but my car has that.
Honestly I have considered more than once in the past year just ditching smartphones altogether and carrying a feature phone with wifi+gps... But it's still a big headache in terms of missing features and applications.
Am I the only one that would pay $100’s more for that package with a decent camera? (And AGPS, since some seem to be GPS-only)
I want my phone for music, driving directions, calls, a pocket camera, and occasional texts. I do not need or want my phone to be my primary media device. I have an ipad for that.
It might be partly that I have big hands, so despite smaller phones being more comfortable to hold, big phones aren't that bothersome for me.
Maybe because of that, I would never buy a tablet. My phone can do more than a tablet can, so getting a tablet would just be paying twice for no reason. If my phone doesn't suffice for something, that's where my laptop comes in. With a phone and a laptop in hand, a tablet is very much useless to me.
Switching to a laptop wouldn't do well for me either, typing notes has never helped me learn or remember anything, and I can't draw on it. With a Surface/Yoga/similar you get the option to draw on it, but I used to have a Surface Pro and it's frankly not a very good tablet.
Even if you have a stylus with a big phone, it's more of an equivalent to a moleskine style notebook. Certainly has its uses, but it's not a replacement for a full size pad of paper.
I have a tablet, so I would never buy a big phone. If I want a device so big that it requires two hands to operate effectively, I might as well get my iPad out.
Touché. I don't need to do that, but I can agree that it's a good use-case for a tablet.
> typing notes has never helped me learn or remember anything, and I can't draw on it.
For me, the main benefit of typed notes is that you can search them better. I don't imagine you can search for hand-written text among all sketches on your tablet.
Also, if I ever needed to take notes on a classroom setting, typing also brings the benefit of being able to do it without having to look down. Or at least, it's easier and faster to type blindfolded than to hand-write blindfolded. You can keep your attention to the front of the room that way.
> With a Surface/Yoga/similar you get the option to draw on it, but I used to have a Surface Pro and it's frankly not a very good tablet.
Probably not as ergonomic, I suppose. If I ever needed to draw sketches electronically, I would prefer to do it on my convertible laptop simply because the ergonomics of a tablet are not enough to outweigh all other benefits that a laptop bring. Realistically speaking though, when I (rarely) need to sketch or hand-write, I use a paper notebook. Different people have different needs.
You'd be surprised! OneNote's handwriting recognition is a killer feature for this.
As an example, searching for "rotation" finds all my notes about matrix transformations https://imgur.com/a/dJ4hTSZ
> Also, if I ever needed to take notes on a classroom setting, typing also brings the benefit of being able to do it without having to look down. Or at least, it's easier and faster to type blindfolded than to hand-write blindfolded. You can keep your attention to the front of the room that way.
It's true that you can keep your attention off the computer while touch typing, but my experience is that I'll just zone into typing what I hear without processing it, and end up not internalizing anything as a result. I don't think I'm alone in that:
https://www.npr.org/2016/04/17/474525392/attention-students-...
>Probably not as ergonomic, I suppose. If I ever needed to draw sketches electronically, I would prefer to do it on my convertible laptop simply because the ergonomics of a tablet are not enough to outweigh all other benefits that a laptop bring. Realistically speaking though, when I (rarely) need to sketch or hand-write, I use a paper notebook. Different people have different needs.
I use paper a lot too, but the iPad strikes a great middle ground for supporting memory better, being able to search back through things, keeping everything organized and accessible across years worth of data, and giving me more free-form input than I have with a keyboard (for diagrams, graphs, tables, etc).
You also get great apps that support things you can't realistically do with paper, like Procreate's perspective assist tools. It's like working at a full size drafting desk with a big straightedge packed into something that you can toss in a backpack.
Like computers, it has more potential for distractions than paper, but when I really want to focus on something I'll just put it on airplane mode.
But recently I got a used 32GB Kindle Paperwhite for $100. I was deciding between it and an iPad Mini ($400) but then saw a review saying that the PW was purpose built for reading, which is exactly what I wanted it for. Now I download PDFs of docs, decks, papers and check out e-books. It is purpose built as a reader and rocks at that.
So now the SE is even less likely to be replaced by a mega-phone.
Wasn't the Gem supposed to be a statement against the trend of making phones media consumption devices?
We have not 'converged on the most useful design'. Equilibrium points are often just the lowest common denominator as a technology matures enough to become commodified. Then you start to see a variety of alternatives optimised for different use cases and market entry becomes more affordable to smaller players.
Do people really think there is no variance in the world? That if they don't want it, no one will?
McDonalds and similar fast food businesses shift a lot of units, so it probably makes good business sense to keep doing that. Doesn't mean it's universally appealing.
Of course diversity is by definition the opposite of mass market.
I was saddened by the recent BlackBerry news too. There aren't many phones out there for those who find physical keyboards more accessible.
But there is also small population of users (me, anybody else?) who don't. I use a phone to make rare calls, read text messages, play music on the train and occasionally for location. It is perhaps because I have my laptop at hand for most of the time.
Recently I have lost large smartphone and had been using iPhone 5S and it is so small, sturdy and lightweight. I can put it in my pocket and I can replace it for $75. Perfect.
So now I am in a market for a smallish smartphone.
The powertrains aren't even similar: there's electric and internal combustion, gasoline and diesel, 2/3/4/5/6 cylinders, inline and flat and V, longitudinal and transverse mounting, turbocharged and naturally aspirated, automatic and manual transmissions, front/rear/all wheel drive, etc. (I know someone who even had a rotary engine, but he sold it a few years ago.)
(And that's just the last <10 vehicles I've been in!)
I'm not seeing a lot of "convergence" yet. Vehicles are diverse because our needs are diverse. It's a shame our phones aren't. Where is the truck smartphone, for people who need something tough to carry their digital 4x8 plywood sheets, or the motorcycle smartphone, for people who want something sleek and fast? All I see is the "crossover SUV" smartphone: tries to do everything, and ends up not being the best at any of them.
Everyone I know seems to complain that phones aren't good at the one area they care about, so they keep buying the next new phone that's marginally better at everything, and inevitably worse at a few of the things they care about. We're not post-convergence, we're pre-divergence.
https://www.wired.com/story/andy-rubins-essential-gem-google...
This man could not keep himself out the company ink and it's pretty clear he failed because of it.
I understand (phone) aesthetics are not universal, and usually (and probably rightly) considered secondary to more practical, functional considerations, but man, it was nice having a company that carried that standard. Don't think any of the other angles they were trying to pursue made much sense, but thanks for making something beautiful, even if it ended up being only briefly.
If essential had done something truly revolutionary that deserved the high price tag, that would have been one thing, but it's nice to see consumers reject the idea that a company can charge apple-level prices with no real justification for it.
But the super-weird keyboard means typing (like replying to texts and e-mails) takes a ton of getting used to... and the narrowness means you can't really browse the web. Even reading a basic news article becomes frustrating with only three words to a line. (Or five lines to a screen in landscape mode.)
And given that most people spend way more time texting and reading the news on their phone than making calls... it's crazy to me they ever had user research indicating this ever had a chance of succeeding in the first place.
I don't want the temptation of the web and apps when I'm getting ready to go to sleep, but I do want basic functions like phone, controlling my lights and music, etc. For this use case, the candybar form factor is excellent.
Although for me specifically, the order would be text, phone, email, camera.
At this point in time, texting+phone parts of the phone are pretty good and uniform across all devices, so it isn't a differentiating factor that people care about anymore imo. The only "texting" part of the modern phones that is still somewhat of a differentiator is iMessages, but that's about it.
And my concern seems to be validated by the outcome - they failed to build and ship the phone. They have a really shiny website, nice renderings and concepts, good market awareness...but no product.
It seems self-evident to me that it's impossible for a company to function on only administration and no product. You have to have engineers to actually ship a product, if you have none and ship nothing, the company is guaranteed to fail. However, if you have only engineering and no administration, yeah, things will be a mess, marketing will be basic word-of-mouth, and the design will be fragmented, but if the product works, exists, and is able to be purchased the company can hobble along and fix the rest later.
That's gotta hurt.
If you're a reasonably talented product & engineering person don't work for a hardware startup. Startups are lottos already as is but hardware is so unforgiving. I think Ring's acquisition by Amazon was the last one I can think that was a true success.
Let's not rush to judgement. Sexual harassment is wrong, yes, but that doesn't mean anyone who has associated with the man is irredeemably guilty.
If the employee joins the company after the transgressions have been make public, yes. There are enough companies and jobs in the tech industry we get to choose who we work for. If you choose to work for someone with a reputation for sexual assault then you have to live with that choice, and all the things that go along with it. That includes people writing off your hard work based on the founders bad reputation.
Most people are not willing to overlook someone's previous transgressions so joining them in a company is a stupid idea.
It’s hard to say that the final product was the vision he bought into when joining early on. I’m sure it was very hypey too.
Sometimes it's good to acknowledge that your foresight can be wrong. I think engineers in particular can be overly pessimistic.
Why not occasionally take a risk on someone else's gut feeling? You won't always win, but "losing" means enjoying a cushy, well-paid office job for 2-3 years before moving on the next thing. It's hardly the end of the earth.
Even if this rationalization was true Juicero was only solving a problem they created by enforcing the use of these prepackaged bags in the first place.
> "they didn't even use fruit"
Huh? We are both talking about Juicero, yes?
The QR code was validated against a web service and included a lot more than just the date. It used a unique code for each pack and you couldn't squeeze packs that Juicero didn't like. If all that was needed was expiration date validation that could have happened entirely offline with a much simpler QR code.
It was DRM.
Or.. maybe there were so many insurmountable problems like this which caused them to shutter the project.
I can also say Im not surprised at a the company is shutting down - - their strategic decisions were downright idiotic after the essential phone's initial release. They should have just made a great second iteration instead of getting distracted with shiny toys.
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-24/andy-rubi...
I can't think of any good business decisions that the company made.
From TFA:
“As part of the company wind down, the security update for PH-1 released on February 3 is the last update from the Essential software team. Your PH-1 will continue to work but we will not be providing any additional updates or customer support. Current Newton Mail users will have access to the service through April 30, 2020. For developer fans, a prebuilt of our vendor image and everything else needed to keep hacking on PH-1 will be hosted on our github.”
When these companies go belly up the perfectly functional devices we own shouldn't become effectively unservicable.
I can recommend p≡p (K-9 fork) [1] and FairEmail [2]. Both FOSS. FairEmail Pro features cost a one time fee of, I don't remember, less than 10 EUR (hence I don't remember). Supporting FOSS like that felt great.
This is really sad news for me to hear.
I currently use the ph-1 as my android developer device and am really disappointed that we are not getting a successor.
Any recommendations for a new android device that has a clean non bloated android build, as well as long term android updates?
Drive it like you stole it.. and there's always LineageOS[0], so you can keep updating it basically forever, and since it was a flagship, the specs are still pretty solid, even compared to mid-tier phones.
It's pretty hard to find a phone that has the stock Android experience, no bloatware, and beautiful, powerful hardware for this kind of price ($150 on Ebay for grade-A used), let alone one that has an awesome 360 camera and can run nightly android builds.
I'm almost OK with doing that, but I think it's a tall order my partner (non-technical) who has been using an Essential.
EDIT: Ok so I've searched a bit on XDA and stumbled upon this: https://www.celsoazevedo.com/files/android/google-camera/dev...
The latest beta doesn't work but the one before it does work.
Even GCam 5 and 6 perform better
I'm not sure exactly why it failed. I remember showing a friend a picture on my phone once. His eyes opened wide and said, "That phone is all screen!" He was amazed by it, in an era when most phones still had big bezels.
Maybe it also shows that just having smart people isn’t enough for a company/product to succeed.
This could be an awesome compromise between lite phones that offer no everyday utility and large phones that entirely consume your attention.
I would love to know more about Essential + the development process around the PH1. Shipping such a product with a relatively small team must have been challenging in many interesting ways.
Are they hoping for a last minute buyer?
Andy Rubin has never acknowledged his behaviour was wrong. He’s never apologised, and maintains it is a “smear campaign”.
Andy Rubin has continued to deny all the allegations that Google HR internally confirmed , and WSJ reports Larry Page directly asked Andy to resign.
That’s pretty damning to me, and the lack of apology or even admission throughout the years is not a good reflection on his character.
I'd bet almost everything you use has an asshole behind it somewhere, you would need to live in a cave with this mindset.
Second, I simply do not feel it is my place as a consumer to punish a person for his behavior. The legal system is in place to deal with this, and that should be more than sufficient, and it's important that is the system used to deal with the issue, because everyone has rights. The legal system is designed to allow both parties to exercise their rights. Cowboy boycotts by consumers are emotionally driven mobs. That's not justice.
Finally, we as a society used to believe in second chances. Once someone commits an offense, usually they pay some price (maybe losing a job, going to jail, paying a fine etc) and then we give them a chance to participate in our society again. They don't always get all their previous privledges back. If you commit a felony, you won't be able to own a firearm for example. But you do get a another chance to be productive.
Anyone working at this company is smart enough to get a job anywhere else with relative ease. I'm hardly worried about highly skilled people "losing their job" - at this point the ones that choose to stay are doing so for some reason, not because they just need any random job.
I just don't feel like you're being morally consistent here. Sure I get having empathy for the guys victim(s) (i have no idea what the details of the situation here are). But there's two sides to the coin that are worth considering.
This is someone who I do not want to support.
Look, I don't want to see the man's head on a pike, but as near as I can tell he's not only paid absolutely nothing for what he's done, he hasn't even admitted he did anything wrong. (And, sure, it's possible that he didn't actually do anything wrong and this is an elaborate smear campaign, but Google has a history of what the NYT dryly called a "permissive workplace culture," which included giving executives accused of sexual harassment very soft landings.)
I don't know how "as a society" we should handle cases like this. As individuals, though, I think it's okay for (some of) us to believe that Rubin hasn't acted in a very ethical manner, that he's compounded the issue by not apologizing (or presenting a very credible defense of his actions), and finally, that as an employee, your perception of the ethics of your company's culture -- including the behavior of your executive team -- should factor into your decision about whether to seek other employment or, in fact, take the job at all. There are companies I certainly wouldn't work for on such grounds.
If anyone can suggest a better URL, we can change it again. I just picked the first item from some search results.
> Given this, we have made the difficult decision to cease operations and shutdown Essential.