This is certainly not good times for Essential phone and its founder Andy Rubin. The startup is already enmeshed in low patronage for its first flagship model which launched for $699 just 3 months back but is now sold for $449. As if that isn’t enough, Andy Rubins has now taken a leave of absence from the company he found. Wonder why? Here’s why.

Turns out that Andy Rubin may have been embroiled in a sexual misconduct case while at Google and this may have necessitated his exit from the tech giant. Recall that Andy Rubin was a co-founder at Android and also a Senior Vice-President of Mobile for Google, piloting the development of the Android operating system for years until he abruptly left in 2014. Details have now emerged that Rubin left Google after an investigation was carried out over complaints that he had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a female colleague. Not that he was accused of harassment but there is a policy against such relationships between supervisors and subordinates at Google. Now, the issue resurfaced recently and the bid to avoid a scandal may have resulted in the sudden leave of absence by Rubin from Essential Phone at this time.

Related: Essential Phone Gets Yet Another Price Cut, Available For $449.99

It has not been disclosed when Mr Rubin will return back from his sudden leave but that shouldn’t be too long. Perhaps, he’ll lie low until the dust being generated by an issue which should be dead by now, settles.

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When Android co-founder Andy Rubins hinted that his company- Essential will be launching its first smartphone, hopes were high that the device would be a spectacular one. Indeed, when the Essential Phone 1 was announced in May, the design and specs looked promising. But two months after the announcement, the phone is yet to go up on sale. Instead, the company seems to have been dogged by one controversy or the other.

One aspect of the design which has generated discussions is the cutout for the selfie camera which encroaches into the display at the top. We have now got the first screenshot of the Essential phone’s interface showing the status bar and the notification bar which will be by the side of the cutout. What catches our attention the most, is the tall status bar which is said to be 160 pixels long. The length is due to the selfie camera encroachment which has to be made up for since it cuts into the display. The aspect ratio of the device doesn’t make the length of the staus bar look so obvious on the display, anyway.

Related: Essential Phone’s 13 MP RGB + Mono Dual Camera System and its Camera Samples Explained

The screenshot doesn’t look too beautiful but the design, especially the home button looks similar to the Google Pixel design. The not-so-inspiring look of the user interface may not be unconnected with why the Head of UX at Essential threw in the towel recently. The last couple of weeks have seen a number of high profile departures from Essential as well, so it may not be connected. We really can’t make a sound judgement if the UI will be nice or awful until the device is officially launched and we get to see and navigate through the interface live. The device will likely be made available for sale very soon and we are certain it still has interesting potentials, like its own new virtual assistant.

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Android co-founder Andy Rubin has officially taken the wraps off the Essential Phone which has been in development by his company for a while now. The Essential Phone obviously fits into the high-end market but it is left to be seen if the phone will be able to break through the ranks of Samsung and Apple who both have a stronghold on the high-end market. 

The Essential Phone is the first smartphone from Andy Rubin’s company, Essential and we had brought you news last week that it would be unveiled on May 30. Rightly, the phone was unveiled today alongside a new operating system called Ambient and a gadget that looks like Amazon Echo.

Design & Specifications

Design wise, the Essential Phone comes with an innovative design which gives it the potential to be able to compete with the likes of Apple and Samsung in the U.S. and elsewhere. The phone comes with an impressive edge-to-edge design with ultra-thin bezels at the edges. The design looks very minimalistic even lacking any logo but is beautiful. The phone sports a 5.6-inch display and has a high screen-to-body ratio with just the space meant for the selfie camera at the top. This screen isn’t made from glass but is made from a combination of Titanium and ceramic which the company claims make it stronger than those offered by Samsung and Apple.There is no physical button at the front but there is enough space to house a virtual button under the display.

The smartphone also looks beautiful when viewed from the back. The device has a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and comes with a dual camera setup at the rear.  The device will come with a 360-degree camera that can be clipped on the device to enable a whole different kind of phone-based photography.

The Essential Phone comes with a high price tag of $699 and will be available in Pure White, Black Moon, Stellar Grey and Ocean Depth colors. There is no word yet on its availability but the phone is expected to become available in the U.S. first.

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