Essential Products Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryTechnology
FoundedNovember 9, 2015; 8 years ago (2015-11-09)
Founders
DefunctFebruary 12, 2020; 4 years ago (2020-02-12)
Headquarters380 Portage Avenue,
Palo Alto, CA 94306
,
US[3]
Key people
Niccolo De Masi (president and chief operating officer)[4]
ProductsEssential Phone
Essential Home
Number of employees
~100[4]
ParentNothing (company)
Websitewww.essential.com

Essential Products (marketed as Essential) was an American technology company and manufacturer founded on November 9, 2015, by Andy Rubin and based in Palo Alto. The company developed, manufactured, and sold Essential Phone and accessories for it, including 360 Camera for Essential Phone. The company closed on February 12, 2020, stating that it was developing a new handset, but that there was "no clear path to deliver it to customers".[5][6]

History

Andy Rubin, the founder of Essential

The company was established in Palo Alto on November 9, 2015, by Android co-founder Andy Rubin, with funding from Playground Global.[2][3] In December 2016, Brian Wallace, who left his occupation as chief marketing officer for Magic Leap a month prior, was reportedly working with Rubin. Trademarks with the 'Essential' brand name were also filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office that same month.[7]

In January 2017, it was reported that the new company was planning to unofficially reveal a smartphone.[8] In March, Rubin released an image that teased the unannounced smartphone on his Twitter account.[9] On May 25, the company teased a second image of the smartphone on its Twitter account.[10] On May 30, the company announced both the smartphone, dubbed the Essential Phone, and its smart speaker, Essential Home.[11]

In August 2017, it was reported that Amazon, Tencent and Foxconn have invested in Essential Products.[12][13]

In August 2017, the company was valued as a unicorn.[14]

On May 25, 2018, the company cancelled its next flagship and was reported to be for sale.[15][16]

In December 2018, Essential acquired CloudMagic, owner of the mobile email app Newton.[17]

In October 2019, Essential teased an upcoming replacement for the PH-1 called the 'Gem'. This device would have a much more slender form factor than its predecessor, would rely mostly on voice control, and would utilize advanced AI for processing the voice control input.[18]

But, the new product never hit the market, as on February 12, 2020, the company announced that it was ceasing operations because there was "no clear way to deliver ['Gem'] to customers".[5][6]

On February 17, 2021, the brand was bought by Carl Pei's Nothing Start up.[19]

Products

Essential Phone

Main article: Essential Phone
The Essential Phone in "ocean depths" colour

The Essential Phone is a phone introduced in 2017. The device is upgradable to Android 10, and was only sold in the United States and Canada. The device will not receive any software updates, including security patches, after February 3, 2020, due to the company going out of business.[6]

Newton Mail

Main article: Newton (app)

In early 2019 Essential Products acquired CloudMagic, Inc., developers of the Newton Mail app, which shut down in September 2018. Newton Mail restored services shortly after being acquired. Newton shut down on April 30, 2020.[20]

Undelivered Products

Project GEM was a prototype of a second phone developed by Essential Products Inc. It was announced in a company blog post on October 9, 2019[21] and cancelled three months later, on February 12, 2020, in coincidence with the shutdown of Essential.[5][6]

Essential Home was a planned smart speaker and smart home hub running an Essential-designed operating system, named "Ambient OS".[22][23] The device launch was planned for late 2017,[24][25][26][27][28] however it never arrived on the market.

References

  1. ^ Gurman, Mark; Bergen, Mark (January 13, 2017). "Andy Rubin Nears His Comeback, Complete With an 'Essential' Phone". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on January 13, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Essential | About Us". Essential. Archived from the original on May 31, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Results Detail". businessfilings.sos.ca.gov. February 11, 2016. Archived from the original on May 30, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  4. ^ a b Balakrishnan, Anita (May 30, 2017). "Essential phone: Interview with Niccolo De Masi". CNBC. Archived from the original on July 21, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c Wakabayashi, Daisuke; Griffith, Erin (February 12, 2020). "Andy Rubin's Start-Up, Essential Products, Shuts Down". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d "An Update from Essential". Essential. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  7. ^ Welch, Chris (January 13, 2017). "Android's co-founder is building a new company and a new kind of smartphone". The Verge. Archived from the original on June 12, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  8. ^ Gurman, Mike; Bergen, Mike (January 13, 2017). "Andy Rubin Nears His Comeback, Complete With an 'Essential' Phone". Bloomberg Technology. Archived from the original on July 29, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  9. ^ Andy Rubin [@Arubin] (March 27, 2017). "I'm really excited about how this is shaping up. Eager to get it in more people's hands..." (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 28, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ Essential [@essential] (May 25, 2017). "We heard you @renan_batista - here's something to hold you over until next week:" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ Lee, Seung (May 30, 2017). "Andy Rubin announces his new Essential smartphone to compete with the iPhone". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on May 30, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  12. ^ "Essential Phones Get $300 Million Boost from Amazon, Tencent Holdings - TechStory". TechStory. August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  13. ^ Lynch, Doug (August 10, 2017). "Essential Products Receives Funding from Amazon and Tencent". xda-developers. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  14. ^ "Andy Rubin's Essential is now valued at over a billion dollars without shipping a single phone". The Verge. Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  15. ^ Android Creator Puts Essential Up for Sale, Cancels Next Phone - Bloomberg
  16. ^ Windsor, Richard (June 17, 2018). "Essential Phone On Amazon Is Another Signal That End Is Close For Essential Products Inc". Forbes. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  17. ^ Liao, Shannon (December 7, 2018). "Instead of making a new phone, Essential has bought a defunct email app". The Verge. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  18. ^ @essential (October 9, 2019). "We've been working on a new device to..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ Seifert, Dan (February 15, 2021). "Nothing now has one thing". The Verge. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  20. ^ "Breaking: Essential is dead, and so are updates to Essential Phone". Android Police. February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  21. ^ "Introducing Project GEM". Essential. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  22. ^ "Android inventor's Echo competitor will choreograph your home". CNET. CBS Interactive. May 30, 2017. Archived from the original on May 30, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  23. ^ Patel, Nilay (May 30, 2017). "This is the new Ambient OS, Essential's big bet to control your home". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on May 30, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  24. ^ Haselton, Todd (May 30, 2017). "The inventor of Android is launching an Amazon Echo competitor". CNBC. NBCUniversal. Archived from the original on May 30, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  25. ^ Lobo, Freia (May 30, 2017). "Andy Rubin's new smart assistant wants to control your home". Mashable. Archived from the original on June 9, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  26. ^ Heater, Brian (May 30, 2017). "Will Essential Home be more than another dumb smart home hub?". TechCrunch. AOL. Archived from the original on May 31, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  27. ^ Patel, Nilay (May 30, 2017). "This is the new Ambient OS, Essential's big bet to control your home". The Verge. Archived from the original on May 30, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  28. ^ "Andy Rubin, creator of Android, debuts his new Essential Phone | Code 2017". Recode. Hosted by Walt Mossberg. Archived from the original on May 31, 2017.((cite web)): CS1 maint: others (link)
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