[Essential Phone Real Life Review] Lakino:
Hi. I'm new to Essential PH-1.

I came from 1+1 / 1+3 / LG X Charge / iPhone 7+

Having had some experience with IOS now, I can definitely say I personally strongly dislike IOS. Apple's actual hardware is fine -- e.g. the cameras in iPhones are some of the absolutely bests of all phones and iPhone's CPU chips are blazing FAST! -- but all of that is moot when IOS is so limiting. Apple's need to completely shutdown user configuration for some of the most basic things of the UI is completely unacceptable for me. So I needed a top end Android phone to replace my daily 1+1 driver. I really like 1+ phones but recently having switched over to Xfinity Mobile -- who uses Verizon as their backbone carrier -- I can no longer use 1+ phones. Otherwise I most likely would have opted for the 1+5T.

Anyway, I'm digressing. I picked the Essential PH-1 because of its use of titanium. My understanding is that it's the first phone to use titanium in a substantial manner for the frame of the phone. Regardless of how good or bad the phone is, I wanted one to keep given the fact that it's the first phone to use titanium. That's pure awesomeness in and itself. ;)

I purchased my PH-1 also from Amazon's Black Friday deal when it was $399 which included the phone and the 360 degree camera. I returned the 360 camera as I find no use for it and got a $109 refund -- which makes my net price for the PH-1 itself only $290 + sales tax. While this deal can't beat Sprint's deal if one is willing to go through Sprint's hoopla, it's definitely an awesome deal in my book. For $290, I am more than satisfied with the Essential PH-1.

It's not a perfect phone. Despite the fixes that Essential has released for its camera, the images it produces certainly wouldn't -- and shouldn't -- meet the expectations of someone who paid $699 for the phone, but for someone who paid $290, it's adequate enough. I normally like 5.5" phones -- e.g. 1+1, 1+3, iPhone 7+ are all 5.5" 1080p phones -- but I'm starting to like the smaller size of the PH-1.

There are a few things I wish Essential included for the PH-1:

1) SD expansion slot

2) Replaceable Battery

3) 3.5 mm headphone jack

4) all metal -- like all titanium -- housing. I do NOT like the ceramic back. I like glass even less.

5) bigger battery capacity -- e.g. 3500 mah

6) to a lesser extent, it would have been nice to see an OLED screen on a $699 phone, but for $290, I certainly won't demand an OLED screen.

I had a Google Nexus 4 which had a glass back. I dropped it on the first day I got that phone and the drop left horrible cracks on the back. From that experience, I've always hated glass backs.

I also don't care about wireless charging. The Nexus 4 was one of the first phones to offer QI wireless charging all the way back in Nov of 2012. It was a novelty at the time and if you're concerned with protecting the life of your battery, you'll want to stay away from wireless charging. It causes excessive heat while charging and will shorten the total life of the phone's battery. I hope this fad of wireless charging will go away -- like 3D TVs -- again. Likewise, wired FAST CHARGING also causes excessive heat during charging and will shorten the total life of your rechargeable battery. If you don't absolutely need to fast charge, I suggest you slow charge your phone to help prolong the total battery life, especially the PH1 as it's nearly impossible to open up the phone to replace the internal battery. Once the battery is used up in a few years, basically it becomes a completely useless phone.

But for now, I'm very much enjoying my glossy white PH-1. I really hope more people buy it and we get some XDA developers/modders who will start releasing roms for this awesome phone. For the new price of $499 or lower, I think the PH-1 is a serious contender if photos are not your #1 priority. If photos are your #1 priority then you may need to look elsewhere.