Exclusive: This is the Essential Phone - The Verge

Also see The father of Android says it has ‘forced us to fight’ with technology (The Verge), The Father of Android Is Back, and He’s Built the Anti-iPhone (Wired), and Essential Home is an Amazon Echo competitor that puts privacy first (The Verge)

"The Essential Phone, brought to us by the person who created Android, is finally ready for the spotlight. It’s an incredibly audacious and ambitious project, with an outlandish screen and the beginnings of a modular ecosystem.

First, the Android phone basics. The Essential Phone costs $699 with top-of-the-line specs and features. As you can see above, it prominently features an edge-to-edge display that one-ups even the Samsung Galaxy S8 by bringing it all the way to the the top of the phone, wrapping around the front-facing selfie camera.

It’s a unique take on a big screen that makes the phone stand out — and it’s smart too. Often, the status bar at the top of an Android phone doesn’t fill that middle space with icons, so it’s efficient. The screen does leave some bezel at the bottom of the phone, but nevertheless it’s as close to the whole front of a phone being display as I’ve seen."

Exclusive: This is the Essential Phone - The Verge