[Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion] Glenn Quagmire:
I'm lucky to have missed those problems and regret

I ordered my PH-1 at the very beginning of April 2018 and took advantage of a steep discount from Amazon. $429 instead of $499 that Essentials web site was selling it for.

It immediately took several updates including the Oreo 8.1 update. As I read about other's experiences, I realized that they had fixed a lot of problems that previous owners had experienced before the updates were rolled out. The camera is great. It shoots almost identical photos to my Canon Rebel XT SLR. Lowlight is good, color is good. It does not do burst mode very well in low light at all. That okay. I'm not a narcissistic chick shooting selfies all day. It has not locked up or been jittery as I have read.

I do suggest buying a case. My phone got a crack in the lower right-hand corner of the chin rest and Essential does not cover the glass on the limited warranty. They also do not sell their extended warranty except at the time of purchase when you buy it from them. Square Trade has good reviews on their extended phone warranties which you can purchase on Amazon. Visa also covers you for an extra year beyond the limited warranty and covers drops, accidents, etc. if you purchase it with their credit card (not a debit card). I chose not to replace it at this time.

The weak point of the phone is the glass as it protrudes with convex edges around the bezels of the phone and despite being Corning Gorilla glass 5.0 does not handle a drop well if it is the primary point of contact on a drop, especially on ceramic tile. I purchased the white ceramic-backed phone which does not show fingerprints and oily smudges like the black ones purportedly do. So, I dodged that bullet. The feel and look is awesome and you would be tempted to run around without a case on it. I highly recommend the clear case sold by Essential and can also be found on Amazon here: www .amazon. com/gp/product/B076H16TWP/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 . The price varies on Amazon a lot and Essential was out of stock on them when I bought mine after the glass cracked. Since the crack was only on the chin rest, a bit of cyanoacrylate patched it from further spreading and I am waiting on the tempered glass covers I ordered. These particular glass protectors are black on the chin rest part so it should cover the cosmetic damage. I found them here on Amazon here: www .amazon. com/gp/product/B076BNV9M8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 . They also make some back covers if you really want to protect the heck out of your phone. I did switch to AT&T prepaid from MetroPCS/T-mobile because Tmobile's coverage and the signal are not as good as I would like in Dallas. I am happy with my current coverage now.

Here is why I love the phone, was excited about its announcement in June 2017, and why I bought it. It is user-centric. It put me back in control. It has all the latest specs except IP-68. It comes unlocked and works with any carrier. I can switch carriers an time I want. It does not come with bloatware and I add only what I want and I can even remove some of the Google apps I will never use keeping the phone fast. I am not bound by the manufacturer (unlike Apple products), nor the carrier, and I have choices with no real need to be hacking or modding the phone. To me, this is the phones niche experience as well as the great engineering that went behind their maiden product. By waiting (lack of funs mostly), I got the benefit of having most if not all of the initial complaints about the phone addressed and patched before I became the proud owner of one. The "notch" where the front camera lens sits doesn't bother me one bit. I don't even notice it so to me, it is a non-issue. USB-C is fine, It is not a music device often and I go wireless anyway, so I don't miss the headphone jack I almost never used anyway. The only time I use it is on flights when I bring my Bose noise canceling headphones with me to keep people from talking to me in the first place. So, I don't mind the adapter.

This is my experience and my 2 cents. Yours may differ as may your priorities and the way you use a phone. Right now I am laughing at all the Samsung S9 users who are experiencing camera issues waiting for the updates to fix those just like the Essential users experienced. Have you noticed how the professional reviewers gloss over that fact on the Samsung S9 /S9+ but pounced hard on that issue with the Essential? To me, it shows the bias that comes with the advertising dollars.

Sorry the URLS have a space in them, but new users cannot hotlink during their first 10 posts. I can understand why, but it is annoying.