While Essential’s first smartphone was impressive in many ways, what impressed no one was the quality of its camera. Though the company promises that the upcoming version of the device will change all this.

The Essential PH-1 was the creation of Andy Rubin, who has been credited with creating the Android operating system. It debuted in August of last year, and it features a ceramic and titanium edge-to-edge design. It further has the ability to connect to devices, such as a 360 camera, on its back.


Its design is different than anything that is available even now. It is not just sophisticated looking and sleek, but it is also very much a high-end device. Further setting it apart is that it has no logos or any other kind of branding on it. Linda Jiang, who is the head of industrial design for the company, has called it a phone “for an adult.”

But then there was its camera. The tech media has mercilessly attacked it. CNET said that it was “crummy,” while The Verge called it “terrible” and 9to5 Google said that it was “poor.” Perhaps Gizmodo gave the camera its best review when it said that it was “terribly inconsistent.”

After the phone was released, Essential issued a number of software updates to the phone to improve the camera’s performance, but it is still underwhelming in comparison to the cameras that accompany other high-end smartphones, such as the Google Pixel 2, the iPhone X and Samsung’s Galaxy S9.

Essential, though, plans to improve the camera greatly in the next release of the phone. Jiang insists that they have listened to criticism regarding the camera, point-by-point, and they are using it as input for crafting the next generation of their device. While the company has not issued a release date for the new phone, many believe that it will come out as early as this summer.

In addition to improvements to the camera, Jiang hinted that the new phone will have other changes. This includes making the phone — especially the black version of it — less prone to fingerprints and less slippery.

Jiang further said that the new phone will support all the accessories the first edition of the phone supported, including the pricey 360 phone. She said that once you buy an accessory for an an Essential phone you can expect to able to use it on all future Essential phones.