The Essential Phone is now available from Sprint, Best Buy and Essential directly
After a long wait, the Essential Phone is now available for purchase.
Andy Rubin's Essential Phone was announced back in May, with the company planning for a June release date. June came and went, and we heard near the end of July that part of the delay was due to complications in the certification process.
It is now August, and the Essential Phone is finally available to purchase. The phone can be purchased from Essential, Sprint and Best Buy. The device will also be available in Sprint and Best Buy's physical retail locations. While the Sprint version is locked to that carrier, the model sold on Essential's site is SIM unlocked and will work with all of the big four carriers.
With a retail price of $699, the Essential Phone certainly isn't cheap, but there are some deals to be had. For a limited time, Sprint is offering the device for $14.58 per month for an 18 month lease, totaling $262 (at which point you need to upgrade to a new phone or continue to pay out the remaining 6 months). The carrier is also offering the Essential 360-degree camera for $16.67 per month for 12 months, totaling $200. Essential if offering its own bundle by pairing the phone and 360-degree camera for only $749, a savings of $150.
The Essential Phone features a 5.7-inch bezel-less display covered in Gorilla Glass 5, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of non-expandable storage, dual 13MP rear camera with f/1.85 lenses, recording at up to 4K at 30fps and laser autofocus, a 8MP, f/2.2 front camera with recording up to 4K at 30fps, a 3,040 mAh battery, USB-C charging and data transfer, no IP dust and water resistance rating and no headphone jack.
Are you picking up the first Essential phone today? Sound off in the comments!
