Essential Phone[1] and the Essential Home, two new products by Andy Rubin, are the latest entrants in the the smartphone and smart speaker categories respectively, and the amount of attention the products have got is no surprise. Rubin of course is the co-creator of Android – software that is used by billions of users across the world today – so it's safe to say that very few people have caused as giant a ripple effect as Andy Rubin has. After launching Essential Phone smartphone[2] and the 'Home' mart speaker[3] on Tuesday, Rubin took centre stage at the Code conference to reveal more details about the smartphone's shipments, its AI assistant, the new Ambient OS, and much more.
Essential Phone price and release date
In his interview[4] with Walt Mossberg at the conference, Rubin revealed that the Essential Phone will start shipping next month i.e., within 30 days. For now, the company is taking pre-orders with the price starting at $699 (roughly Rs. 45,200). He also said that the Essential Phone and Essential Home will have their own AI assistants – something that’s been a trend these days. However, he noted that he was open to integrate third-party assistants like Google Assistant, Cortana, Alexa, and even Siri, provided the companies agree to make them compatible to Ambient OS for its smart speaker Essential Home.
‘Father of Android’ Launches Modular Smartphone With Dual Cameras[5]
Rubin also confirmed, that just like Android, Ambient OS would also be open source. While this worked in the favour of Android to become a dominant force in running on many smartphones today, it could leave Ambient OS as fragmented as Android, with the fall out being missed ‘vital upgrades’ for many users. However, Rubin countered that rolling out an...