Amazon will sell the Essential Phone too, launch date to be announced next week

Essential Products, the company behind Andy Rubin's new smartphone, has just announced it has gained new strategic investors that poured no less than $300 million into its business. Among the most important partners Essential Products confirmed today, there are names like Foxconn, Amazon's Alexa Fund, as well as Chinese company Tencent Holdings.

Furthermore, the US-based company confirmed that Best Buy and Amazon would be its primary retailer partners in the country, while Sprint will be the only carrier to offer the Essential Phone.

Best Buy has been known as one of the retailers to sell the Essential Phone for quite some time, but Amazon is a new name. Unfortunately, Andy Rubin's company hasn't yet announced when exactly the $699 smartphone will hit the shelves.

Essential's president Niccolo De Masi told WSJ that he would be able to offer an exact release date for the Essential Phone in about a week. It's exactly what Andy Rubin promised last month and failed to fulfill.

De Masi also reiterated the fact that the Essential Phone is not meant to be a mass-market device, which is why it plans to sell single digit millions in the first year. Apparently, the distribution will be limited initially, so if you're looking to buy the Essential Phone, then you'll have to keep your eyes peeled for next week's announcement that might never come.