Android co-founder Andy Rubin unveils the stunning Essential Phone; priced at $699

Andy Rubin, the co-founder of Android has introduced a new high-end smartphone which will compete with the Apple iPhone 7 and Samsung Galaxy S8. Essential, the device was revealed by The Verge. The Essential Phone is priced at $699, (approximately Rs 45,200). It will be available in Black Moon, Steller Grey, Pure White and Ocean Depths colour variants. Additionally, the company has also unveiled a 360-degree camera and a wireless dock, which can be attached to the smartphone via a magnetic connector. The Essential Phone is now available for pre-order from company's official website.

The device is built around a titanium frame and the company claims that it is tougher than aluminum and also sports a ceramic back. However, there is no 3.5mm audio jack. The main USP of the device is the magnetic connector which is placed on the top-right corner of the rear panel.

In terms of specifications, the device features a 5.7-inch QHD bezel-less display with a 2560×1312 pixel resolution. The screen also has a 19:10 aspect ratio. It sports Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for protection. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor paired with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The device will run Ambient OS, based on Android.

It comes equipped with a 13MP dual RGB + Mono camera with image fusion technology, f/1.85 lens and 4K video recording along with an 8MP front-facing camera with 16:9 aspect ratio and f/2.20 fixed hyperfocal lens. Connectivity features include Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac with MIMO, NFC, 4G LTE, USB Type-C and a fingerprint sensor. A 3040mAh battery completes the package.