And it’s edgeless.
Android co-founder Andy Rubin finally offered a glimpse into how his version of an iPhone and Pixel competitor looks like. The yet-to-be-named smartphone is being made for a company called Essential Products Inc that employs engineers who have previously worked for brands such as Apple, Samsung and Google. This week, Rubin posted a teaser image of the mysterious smartphone on Twitter, confirming few of the speculations such as an almost bezel-less compact display.
I’m really excited about how this is shaping up. Eager to get it in more people’s hands… pic.twitter.com/LRzQCFSKTm
— Andy Rubin (@Arubin) March 27, 2017
The teaser image gives out nothing other than the previously rumored edge-less display and a physical button on the right side of the smartphone. Interestingly, if you look closely, it does not appear if there is any front camera on the smartphone. As a hand covers most of the display, the front camera and sensors might be placed on top left instead of being spread out across the top panel in a linear fashion.
In January, a smartphone with model number Essential FIH-PM1 was spotted on Geekbench, hinting at Rubin’s upcoming handset. Based on the leaks, the purported smartphone runs Android 7.0 Nougat, keeping Rubin’s toil on the world’s most popular mobile OS intact. At the heart of the Essential FIH-PM1 will be a Qualcomm’s newest Snapdragon 835 octa-core processor clocked at 1.9GHz and paired with 4GB of RAM. The benchmark tests further reveal single-core score of 1,844 and a multi-core score of 5,426. ALSO READ: Android co-founder Andy Rubin to launch his own smartphone, features and specifications revealed
If one is to combine the previous leaks and the fresh peek into Rubin’s smartphone, the handset is quite likely to hold true to the claims of being an Apple iPhone 8 or Samsung Galaxy S8 competitor. Other than packing the most advanced Snapdragon 835 chipset, rumors indicate that the smartphone could feature a 5.5-inch display and come equipped with technology similar to Apple’s 3D Touch. Some reports also indicate that the smartphone will include a proprietary port that will offer some modular capabilities. There have been reports about Foxconn assembling the smartphone, which falls in line with the latest model number that includes FIH (which stands for Foxconn International Holdings).
With manufacturers focusing on embedding artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities in the smartphones, it is expected that Rubin’s own smartphone will also come equipped with such a technology making the purported smartphone an AI-based premium handset. Although there is no information as to when this edge-less smartphone will make it to the market, Rubin’s tweet hints at an imminent showcasing.