[Essential Phone Questions & Answers] Ghost_1:
You can go to Essential Bi-Weekly Reddit AMA from 10/4/2017 and read the comments.

I think the highlights were (not in any order and if there is spelling or grammer errors sorry):

10/04/2017

Today's OTA NMI81C fixes some of the freezing issues that people were having

Fingerprint reader gestures are in progress and should be coming soon, possibly the next OTA

Night mode (blue light filter) will come probably around the Android O release for the phone, probably be out with Android O

Double tap to wake is not being worked on "right now"

360 Camera and skins don't like each other, see the Reddit link for further information

Lag/screen stuttering is an identified issue with Qualcomm and will be patched within one of the next OTA's

Essential Services app is an app that collect high-level statistics to improve the user experience

White is ready to be shipped but China is on holiday so shipping will be a little later, maybe a few days? Depends on the Chinese holiday/shipping.

Android O is in the early stages of testing at Essential, the hope is to have an Open Beta ready in a few weeks.

Samsung Gear issue, still not able to get it working because Essential cannot pinpoint the issue on Android N, however the early tests with Android O appear to fix the issue.

Kernal Source/System Image is still not available however Essential is working to get this to us ASAP...whatever that is worth...lol

All RMA's should be out by now so you should see something coming soon if you RMA'd

SnapChat issue is being worked on with the Devs

360 Camera live streaming is being worked on and is expected to be part of the Fall OTA, starting with testing going on right now with FB and Periscope

360 Camera doesn't support external audio input for recording

Android Auto issues with 2016 VW Jetta has been added to the list of reports of Android Auto issues

Working on adding compression level changing for the 360 Camera

Essential is planning on releasing the SDK for the rear connectors (the one for the 360 camera, dock, etc.) but no word on dates yet.

You can go toEssential Bi-Weekly Reddit AMA from 10/8/2017 and read the comments.

I think the highlights were (not in any order and if there is spelling or grammer errors sorry):

10/18/2017

New/RMA hardware variances are due to allowable tolerances, there is only one source for the Display. Essential is working on tightening tolerances for these sort of things.

Samsung Gear S3 will be coming with Oreo Release

Android O integration is going well and the team is still validating

October Security update, wifi patch (for KRACK), Scroll patch, and overall stability/performance improvements to the camera in the next OTA

Portrait mode is being worked on for a future OTA

While Essential is trying to improve video stabilization there is no solid “commitment” yet

USB C audio dongle support – Any Digital audio accessory should work. Some adaptors route analog audio over the side band USB pins.

No ETA on factory images but Essential is in the final stages of getting to release them. Keep an eye on social media/reddit

Oreo easter eggs will remain

No dev work for Calling Plus on Sprint or Sprint Visual Voicemail

Essential White phones from Amazon delivery logistics should be the same as if purchased from Essential

Battery Percentage is only accessible through UI tuner at the current time

Essential has been reaching out to larger developers to get their apps Whitelisted. Also Essential is in the “ending stages” of “working out an elegant solution for this that is scalable for all apps based on how 3rd party developers handle full screen. We will be sure to announce as soon as we have this finalized.” Microsoft’s Launcher was identified as one and has been added to Essential’s “list”

Sprint RMA issues, have been identified as a who is going to provide support. This has been figured out and Essential has configured logistics and they are working on getting Sprint RMA’s working better.

Verizon Visual Voicemail is not a feature supported by the Essential phone

Version 81C has the same bandwidth fixes [for India] as 81D, “D” denotes the “dogfood” version for internal testing

OK Google Detection issues, is now on the radar for Essential

No update on STELLAR GREY color but here’s a photo https://imgur.com/a/kJAs8

Update on phone dock/accessories – “Team members in Taiwan working on it now. Will post a photo as soon as I can. -Joe” and “The dock will take some time to complete. Team is in Taiwan now working on the Dock. -Joe”

Casting to display off center report … Essential was unaware of the issue but a user has brought it up with some information

Why some users have not received the 81C update, “…carrier approvals to release OTAs can vary depending on their own internal processes to insure best experience for their customers. This sometimes causes rollouts to take a little longer to certain network providers. – Marcus”

UK release timeframe – No updates or firm dates

You can go toEssential Bi-Weekly Reddit AMA from 11/1/2017 and read the comments.

NOTE: This AMA was with the Design team at Essential and sorry to get a little quotee with this one, it was really hard to follow this one. Cheers!

I think the highlights were (not in any order and if there is spelling or grammar errors sorry):

11/1/2017

The Dock is being worked on to get it ready for production, keep an eye on social networks for updates.

What about the magnetic connection strength of the dock for vertical mounting?

"...we're taking a different approach here: easy in, easy out. We've made the magnetic connection for the dock quite light and designed custom power pins that glide easily into place. The dock has a gentle slope to it that guides the phone into place and easily ramps out when you want to grab & go. The magnet it just strong enough to keep it secure and make it feel intentional, reliable, and engaged. It's super graceful and intuitive, but it's definitely not a wall / car / helmet mount. -- Dave"

Design wise the idea was to keep things “pure” and to enhance the tech inside the device would shine not fancy decorations.

The question was, “From a material perspective how do you make the finish matte while still keeping it sealed so it doesn't absorb skin oils or other substances?”

This was Essential’s response, “The engineering team worked closely with our manufacturing partners and the industrial designers to get just the right feel and look for a micro texture on the ceramic. In the end we use a custom polishing process with a ultra-fine media blast to get the depth and uniformity of the texture just right, all while keeping the part insanely flat. The final process in ceramic manufacturing is to deposit an anti-fingerprint coating onto the part. This nanometer thick coating helps to seal the surface from skin oils and other contaminants.”

(Shortened) If the phone uses Ceramic why are there signal issues? The ceramic wasn’t done to help with signal rather to keep the back of the device one solid piece lie the flagship phones using glass backs. The phone meets the RF (radio frequency) capabilities of the carrier’

ETA for next color? Stellar Grey is the next to come out, Ocean Depths still has some issues that do not meet Essential’s standards but they aren’t quitting on it.

Why is the back of the phone so easy to scratch with the 360 Camera? Ceramic isn’t perfect but more than likely it’s the coating over the ceramic that is scratching not the ceramic itself.

IP-67 difficulties during design/production – The borders of the phone would have been much larger

"To achieve IP67 or IP68 on this device unfortunately would have required some significant design trade-offs that were unpalatable for our first device: larger display borders, a thicker product, much larger receiver opening, to name a few... . To make a phone more waterproof + repairable takes space for sealing solutions. IP67 has been a resounding request from our customers. The good thing is, this give me more fuel to push on Linda for the next phone. -Will"

The chin on the device is where the LED touch drivers are.

The status bar being a little below the front camera was so that it would seem like it was a part of the status bar instead of cutting it in two

Why two black devices? “We wanted one polished black model that feels like a monolithic gem, and another matte & sand-blasted model that feels more muted and textural. This way we can balance the spectrum of personalities out there. -Linda”

Why no first party cases (for things like the 360 Camera)? The Essential team decided to focus on the device itself and allow the 3rd parties create accessories.

Why is the PH-1 so difficult to fix, as shown on iFixit? “The phone was designed to be assembled and disassembled with a different process than what iFixit attempted. We use a fairly standard hot-melt glue to bond the display glass to the chassis of the phone. By heating up the perimeter of the display to ~85C the glue softens and the display can easily be pulled off (using a suction cup) and the glue removed, ready for a new display to be installed. It's important to only heat up the perimeter and not the center of the display to prevent damage to the LCD panel. The battery is also pretty easy to remove and replace if done properly. After disconnecting the battery from the circuit board there are two pull-tabs for the standard stretch-release adhesive. Just like the stretch-release adhesive hangars you can use to hold stuff on your wall, you just grab the pull tab and pull straight up. Working with modern Li batteries is dangerous, however, so make sure you have the right safety equipment on-hand in case a mistake is made. We currently don't sell parts to consumers but do offer a competitive extended warranty plan. My team and I are always hoping to make our devices as easily repairable as possible while trading off the sleek and elegant design aesthetic. -Will”

Side bar to the last item… :D “…we mostly want you all to be super happy with your devices and all the attendant realities of real-world use. If telling 3rd parties how to properly repair our device leads to happier users then we're all about it. (Also, get a little whiskey into Will and then ask him about iFixit. You'll get an ear full...) – Dave”

Question, “-portrait mode. Any idea when the release is? Let's start taking advantage of the dual camera!” Answer, “…Portrait mode, as the competition expresses it, is not really something we set out to do. There are two categories of dual-camera designs: wide+tele & RGB+BW. We implemented the latter.

In very broad strokes, Wide+Tele lenses allow for "zooming" and more distinction between near and far objects, and thus are better suited for portrait modes. RGB+BW sensors are designed to optimize sharpness and performance in mixed lighting, but do not give any depth data.

So mostly we set out to create the world's thinnest dual-camera setup while retaining image clarity and quality, hence RGB+BW. So we're not really setup to do portrait modes excepting through purely computation methods. Which is all to say "I don't know, I still make the stuff not the software" :)…”

Ceramic was used, “…because it's a beautiful, premium material that is also is RF transparent.”

Will Wide angle Lens or telephot be used instead of B/W sensors in future designs? It’s possible.

What is the material around the display that isn’t titanium? “…that is a glass fiber reinforced plastic around the display. It serves two jobs:

a. to create a non-metal gap between the perimeter enclosure antennae and the display panel, and

b. to help protect the edge of the display glass during impacts like drops.

Thanks for the tactile feedback on the plastic frame. Linda and I will take that into consideration with our next phone. :)

-Will”

3.5 mm audio attachment update (this one is for you and me [MENTION=4512126]flakko86[/MENTION]…lol): “We got test boards in this week and it sounds super good. Crazy loud for high-impedance headphones, crystalline sound quality even through low-impedance earphones, impressive soundscape. I mean, it's really good.

What that means for progress is that the core architecture is locking this week, enclosure design can be tightened up, and we can start moving towards form-factor prototypes and then EVT...

Not that I'm putting hard timelines on any of this, but the hard part (sound!) is basically done. :: Dave”

PH-2 and other color updates?

“We are definitely already plugging away at PH-2. No time to waste. 1. PH-1 will actually be available in "Stellar Grey" very soon. This color-way will feature a blasted Titanium frame and matte finish ceramic. 2. It was discussed...then dismissed due to the thickness and optical clarity disadvantages that come with shatter-proof displays. We are working on improving our display/glass durability as much as possible in next gen. -Linda”

“Ocean Depths is more blue than green, the website render is definitely greener than it really is. How about this, the color of a recent batch is CIELAB 35.3 -15.7 -11. – Dave”

Was OLED planned?

"We actually planned on using LCD from day one because we had exclusivity to a new LCD display technology. This is what allowed us to get the smallest borders and actually cut into the display for the front facing camera.

Andy loves and appreciates great industrial design. He was involved in every part of the process :D linda"

You can go toEssential Bi-Weekly Reddit AMA from 11/15/2017 and read the comments.

This AMA was focused on the OREO Beta release, this AMA was particularly fun as it seems that the crew at Essential aren’t all “business” ?

I think the highlights were (not in any order and if there is spelling or grammar errors sorry):

11/15/2017

Oreo Public build is planned for release by end of year

The Kernel Source was not released due to trying to get the OREO BETA out, while not guaranteed it is an action item for Essential.

Full release history is a goal but nothing is promised yet

Testing of lower compression for photos is currently being done internally, which will increase file size of photos. Release 83 of camera app will be “releasing very soon”

Portrait mode is in dev right now but the goal is to release this feature before the holidays.

No new information, but Essential is still on the case, for the micro stuttering issue

AptX support is being worked on but it’s a “business and paperwork problem rather than a technical one”

Essential is only planning on BETA build but it might be looked at again as the BETA goes on

Future BETA builds will need to be sideloaded, however future incarnations of the sideloaded BETA thereafter will be OTA (not sure if I understood this correctly though, so take it with a grain of salt)

Google’s Camera will not be coming to Essentials phone but Essential is still working to improve camera performance

Silent call issue where the callers cannot hear eachother after phone app is not used for a while – Essential is aware and looking into the issue right now.

SPRINT texting delay – Essential is working with Sprint right now to find out the who/what/where and when of the issue & “Support has notified us that you are not alone. We are working very closely with Sprint to troubleshoot but it is not clear to us yet if the issue is Network related or SW related. The issue does appear to be isolated to Sprint customers under specific circumstances. We are however engaged with Sprint daily on this issue and partnering to create a consistent repo environment so we can resolve. Please know this is a top priority for the Software team. – Marcus”

Scrolling issue is still being looked at to be improved

LED not working issue – Essential is aware and tracking this bug

Easter Egg removal – Essential stated Oversight but are “confident it’ll reappear eventually”

Some HALs will still be passthrough because getting to full binderized HALs will take a while for Essential

When using wifi the cell radio is turned off, after leaving wifi the cell radio doesn’t come back on. Only fix is to power cycle and airplane mode toggling doesn’t work. – Essential answered, “What carrier? We are working on issues related to handover between wifi and mobile data so hopefully we'll have some improvements. As a workaround there's a setting in developer options called "Mobile data always active" you can try on Oreo. -Rebecca”

Is portrait mode going to come with OREO Production release? No, it will be done via an update to the app in the Play store so while they won’t happen around the same time it is hoped they are.

Android Auto issue specifically with 2017 Hyundai (updates) – “Yes, we have a handful of bugs with Android auto we are looking into in a fix in Oreo. We even have bugs filed and device logs specificially against the 2017 Hyundai. If it can be fixed in our software, we will do it.

-Marcus”

Is Android 8.1 planned - YES

Swiping issues especially with calls – “We're working on this particular issue with swipes but fyi if you start the swipe in the middle of the screen instead of right on the phone icon it works way better.

This issue is caused by the fact that our in-cell touch panel only reports data during the display blanking period. This is something we're tuning for specifically but it's especially challenging for short swipes like the one to dismiss a call. With fewer data points the system has a hard time detecting it as a swipe. We can overfit for that, but issues pop up elsewhere. This is something we will continue to improve in SW so stay tuned. -Rebecca”

OREO Bluetooth issues – “As we mentioned in our release notes for the Oreo beta we have a handful of Bluetooth issues we are trying to address that beta users will encounter. The bulk of our remaining Oreo opens for public release are in BT stability, connectivity and audio. We will check everyones submitted feedback to make sure all reported issues are prioritized accordingly.

-Marcus” & “Yes we are aware of the BT issues. Bulk of our opens to resolve before we release official Oreo build are in this area

-Marcus”

General issues with overlays and in specific Pokemon GO, “Per Adithya, he is one of our Software Engineers here working on the Android Framework.

"To be compliant with compatibility requirements for Android O, we need to letterbox apps that haven't declared support for tall aspect ratio screens. Pokemon Go doesn't support tall screens. You will see taller navigation bar when running Pokemon Go on Pixel 2 XL for the same reason. Developer can fix it by following guidelines at https://developer.android.com/guide/practices/screens_support.html#MaxAspectRatio."

Hope that helps, and yeah, I kind of miss that too :(“

General connectivity for cellular reception – “…I'm going to do the best I can to give you an answer. This is super complex and depends on not only the network you are on, but the specific bands, distance to towers and even the specific network equipment your carrier uses in your geography. Also on exactly what features are enabled on your account, exactly how your carrier handles open market devices etc. We're doing the best we can to continue to improve RF/service issues. The data we've collected so far shows a lot of issues coming from having advanced network features enabled on accounts that don't support them, so we are working on switching around how we handle that. We have done a bunch of work verifying our settings match what the operators expect for your device. We are working on issues related to handover between wifi and mobile data. We are working on some improvements to the time it takes to camp on your network coming in and out of service. Our oreo build has lot and lots of modem fixes and more will be coming when we do a full rollout to improve overall modem stability. We are continuously growing our modem engineering and test teams to get better and better at this over time. We're also getting better and better at using both lab and field tests to find and fix issues. I wish there was low hanging fruit I could promise you we were going to pluck but instead it's going to be lots of small continuous improvements.

-Rebecca”

Wifi Aware? – Essential will check and get back to the user who asked.

Dynamic Calendar icon – “You and me both :D. We'll have to do some custom work here but I'll add it to our feature backlog for future consideration.

-Marcus”

NOTE: I don't think I saw anything abour signal strength issues, if someone else did please let me know and I'll add it to the listing for this week.

Note to the MODS if this is in the wrong place please move if needed. Thank you!