I am impressed that even after all the drama surrounding the company, it still is supporting the PH-1 with prompt updates

The recent updates have been great

If you can get the Google camera app on it, you will most certainly have an excellent flagship device that gets good updates and you don't have to worry about any "hidden" back door government influence on it as you would say probably on ANY phone from

This built quality is best of its kind..really liked the phone..android updates are on par with pixel devices..happy for this purchase..really recommend it!!

However, when I received the phone, 3 updates were immediately available so the low light issues and slow shutter speed challenges never appeared.

The Essential PH-1 will get hardware abstraction layers (HALs) for much easier and faster updates (Project Treble)

PROS:-Premium build materials.-Stock android.-Fast updates and decent outreach to the community.-Good bezel to display ration.-Good Specs (on paper)Neutral:-Washed out colors on

weightHowever, the ultra fast Android update, the quality of build and amazing price way overrides the shortcomings

I paid $750 for the 6S Plus, and I wanted to end my life 6 months later when Apple confirmed that they were in fact, deprecating anything that wasn't an 8 or an X with their malicious iOS updates

Good quality camera and the developers do a great job updating it constantly.

This has gotten better with software updates and the latest update has brought further improvements to the overall usability of the phone

Also updates come in very frequently and the updates on the camera software have made it improve a lot

Just like any other reviews online, this thing is buttery smooth, running on a nearly stock android with timely updates despite the company status

I'm hoping the upcoming update to 8.1 fixes these issues.

The camera was performing great for me, but the latest update

This seemed to be a common issue with the early batches (I purchased the phone in October 2017).Otherwise, aside from the touch latency and the slow camera (at the time; updates seemed to have improved the performance), the phone was solid.

Super fast updates

It's small things like this that make the Essential phone truly enjoyable to use.+The Camera - While this phone started off with terrible camera performance, the many updates to the camera app have caused me to truly enjoy taking pictures

It gets onto wifi fine and downloads updates, but it will not connect to my mobile service for web-browsing, I can however make calls

If Essential ultimately provides timely updates for a longer horizon than their competitors that would be a HUGE incentive to buy into their ecosystem

runs stock android with fast updates

Good cheap phone and fast software update.

PHONE- gorgeous screen (great black levels and punchy colors even though it's not OLED)- great user experience and latest software / extremely fast updates

I really loved the phone besides those two problems, screens great, the speed, and I love the updates along with the feel of the phone

Many updates are nice

Hopefully this leads to timely updates and an edge on Samsung, HTC, OnePlus and LG phones.

I guess the updates cleared up all the camera issues

Hoping the next update gets that glitch ironed

Good cheap phone and fast software update.

Pie is a great update with a ton of cool features

The manufacturer also has great update support (I've been on Android 8 for over a month) and the manufacturer also seems quite honest and dedicated to making a tough phone with the essentials on it

BEWARE ***The new update Android P disables the full screen feature

I was also very happy to see that aside from a Google pixel device essential is right up there when it comes to releasing timely software updates and security patches

Excellent phone with stock Android and fast updates

the updates made the phone experience so lovely.

All updates on both phones went smooth as silk, just as the Android 9 Pie update went yesterday.

Fast updates for

Fast and constant software updates with actual improvements make me feel like the company (Essential) actaully cares about me

Speedy updates from the developers

Google's timely updates do sound very tempting, but I'm very happy that Essential has just rolled out their Oreo beta a week ago, with the final build coming this year

So far the phone has been great, current updates and tech support response is fast

Extremely fast updates

However, I did not bother since both data and voice was fairly usable and with the 'hope' that future updates will fix the reception issues

Android updates make it better each moth.

Essential continues to release consistent updates, especially to the camera app which has had some amazing improvements lately--including a portrait mode that rivals that on the iPhone and Pixel

Very prompt software updates; this is basically the only phone that isn't called a Nexus or Pixel guaranteed to receive Google's monthly software updates

Although both phones will get Android 8, only the PH-1 will support Google's Project Treble which will allow for faster Android updates longer into the future

I tried about five different camera apps and none were materially better than the Essential version, which after getting two updates ran pretty well

fast and constant updates, works flawlessly on

fast and constant updates, works flawlessly on

No bloatware, superfast, great usability updates, hdr mode of cam is near perfect

The best thing about the essential is the fast updates and patches.

I love receiving timely updates

Some photos are a little darker than usual but it sounds like they have sent out updates to the camera to make it better

I have found it to be every bit as good (and possibly better in some cases) as my girlfriend's iPhone X camera, so, the updates likely fixed the camera issues

and I appreciate the regular Android updates

In short, this phone was pretty bad when I got it in February of 2018 but now runs much better thanks to consistent software updates

The updates have dramatically improved its performance, but it still doesn't do great in lower light and most of the time pictures come out undersaturated

Android updates cannot be faster than this

Best Android experience and faster updates than even Google's own phones

Occasionally, the phone does have some glitches but the developers are regularly putting out updates to improve performance

Secure, clean, fast and up-to-date OS with timely security updates and firmware updates as needed

The developers have promised quick updates and have delivered so far

Although update to Oreo 8.0 beta 2, it's has a little problem , but I like it.

Mitigating that is that fast updates

But fast forward a few months, and the price has dropped to $499 (sometimes even less) and the updates have made it pretty solid

Although update to Oreo 8.0 beta 2, it's has a little problem , but I like it.

Beautiful, crisp shots like nothing you've seen.-Frequent updates and a team aggressively working to fix bugs.-Price point

No amount of factory resetting or installing all available updates would get the phone to work properly.

Loves the regular updates, which is non-existent with other phones, except for the Pixel...Great bargain!

Update - updated phone to Android 8, very easy and available to all now, and the improvements are noticeable.

In fact, a significant software update came just two nights ago, fixing the speed with which the app combines the color and black and white images

Been using it a few months updating whenever available - which has been surprisingly consistent monthly.

Fast updates

What I don't like update: will NOT support Essential products again

Heck, if I knew that they'd support Android updates until the hardware simply can't handle them, I'd say that all other caveats aside, this IS the phone to get

with minimal damage (basically a small chip on the housing (barely noticeable)!update 1-31-2018the phone freezes / hangs twice a day.

Build quality is fantastic, design is beautiful, updates are plentiful.

This phone had its problem at launch but the company kept (and continues to keep) its promise of prompt updates and listening to user feedback

8.1 update made the camera much better

I appreciate the lack of bloatware and the quick software updates that are often either on par with or faster than the "name brands"

, camera won't work if an update is available and you haven't installed it ( who does that ??? ).

The updates make the camera much better

The latest update fixed some touch issues that some people were having (I didn't) and introduced a few gestures to the fingerprint sensor, like those on the Pixel phone

It just works as

Regarding the negative:[-] Delay in saving the picture when using the default camera app (this don't bother me too much as I didn't take photo that

I have never broken a

It worked as good as on my Nexus 5x

but it lacks some of the features that the rear facing camera includes those features being portrait mode, 120 frames per second slow motion, monochrome video and monochrome photo, as well as we don't have a front-facing flash on this device

and it may not be as smooth as a

Screen is clear and bright (IPS In Plane Switching), but it's not OLED, so if you use in bed at night, the screen doesn't dim down as much as I'd like (compared to my old Nexus 6 OLED screen).

just works as it should for me.

Updates are available at least as fast as on Google's own phones, if not sooner

A couple of my installed Apps are not working as yet, but they will be updated soon.

I did a couple weeks of reading and research on it as well as the OnePlus 5t and thought what the heck I'd give it a shot

n’t have signal in most of house and I missed a lot of phone calls, but the phone is great build and overall a great product except if you have low signal in your house it will compromise your call quality up to having missed calls

I still recommend the One Plus 5T over this if you have the extra money or have a CDMA carrier

3T has a mediocre camera and it blows this phone away

Arguably the 5T is better than the Essential, stats-wise, but the elegant design and stock Android won out in the end.