14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this year, Android co-creator Andy Rubin talked about his new company called Essential Products and the intention to build a premium Android-running smartphone that would compete against Google’s Pixel and Apple’s iPhones.
Several details about the new smartphone were revealed at the time, including the fact that it would be made out of premium materials and feature a display larger than 5.5 inches. Fast forward a few weeks and news broke that Andy Rubin’s company lost a $100 million investment from Softbank.
Now, Andy Rubin took to his Twitter account to post a photo of his new bezel-less smartphone. While the image doesn’t reveal much about the upcoming smartphone, it does show a design that completely removes bezels, emphasizing a display that covers the front panel entirely. The image also shows a power button on the side of the phone, and we expect volume rockers to be featured on the left side.
Rubin’s phone resembles Xiaomi’s Mi MIX
The phone does seem to resemble last year’s Xiaomi Mi MIX, which featured very small bezels and a design that made the most out of the phone’s display. Rubin’s phone is also expected to feature a pressure-sensitive screen, and contain a metal frame and ceramic back.
A proprietary magnetic connector will offer the phone a modular design and allow faster charging. The smartphone would also come with a slew of accessories, including a high-resolution 360-degree camera for recording impressive videos.
The teased image confirms the fact that Rubin already created a prototype of his new smartphone, thus following the plan to announce the new device later this year. When that happens, the premium smartphone will compete against powerful offerings on the market, including the upcoming Galaxy S8, Apple’s iPhone 8 and Google’s next Pixel iterations.
It remains to be seen how Rubin’s concept of a simplified and sleek premium smartphone would perform on a market where giants like Apple and Samsung offer powerful high-end phones, while Google’s Pixel devices impress with a smooth design and exceptional camera performance.