The Essential PH-1 received an update to Android 8.1 Oreo last month. Before then it was still on Android Nougat. Yesterday, it got a new update which brings April’s security patch and Bluetooth 5.0.
The update is 127MB in size and updates your security patch to that of April. There are other changes and fixes too but the biggest is that Bluetooth 5.0 has now been certified.
Bluetooth 5.0 is the latest version of the wireless technology and it comes with a number of new features. First, it lets you pair your phone to more than one speaker or wireless headphone at a time. So you can stream audio to two speakers or even stream different audio sources (music and video) to two speakers/headphones. However, they must be Bluetooth 5.0 devices too for you to get the feature.
Another update to Bluetooth 5.0 is the support for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for audio devices. BLE was only available to smartwatches, fitness trackers and other low-power devices. Bluetooth 5.0 also has an increased range and speed. Supported distance is now 240 meters and speed is now 2Mbps.
READ MORE: Patent Reveals The Next Essential Phone May Come With A Pop-up Camera
Essential also says the update brings modem stability fixes, improves performance, and also proper handling of external game controllers.
(Source)
