Essential's new smartphone is the weirdest thing we've seen

If you've read our previous report about Essential's next device, then you know that the US company is already testing its unannounced smartphone. The only details revealed by a report from XDA Developers were related to the version of the OS and chipset inside. Starting today, we can attach a picture to all these reports regarding Essential's next smartphone. Well, we hope we can, as the device shown in these pictures can hardly be called a phone.

Andy Rubin has just tweeted a few images of Essential's new device and from what we're seeing this is by far the weirdest thing we've seen to date. Looking at how the device sits in one's hand, we can't help but wonder whether this is a phone or a remote.

Anyway, Rubin calls the device GEM, the same codename that popped up in a previous report. The GEM is supposedly equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 processor and should run Android 10 at launch.

Essential admitted earlier today that it's “been working on a new device that’s now in early testing with our team outside the lab. We look forward to sharing more in the near future.” Apparently, Rubin jumped the gun on the announcement and shared some photos of the device.


Some of the components that we're seeing in these pictures are the large camera on the back, which features a small LED flash in the upper left corner. Also, the fingerprint sensor is positioned below the camera. The very narrow display has a front-facing hole-punch camera in the top-left corner, and a small speaker grill sits on the top side.

Since Andy Rubin decided to get straight to the point and share these pictures, we imagine that it won't be long until Essential comes up with the announcement, so stay tuned for more on the subject.