The Essential phone is a beautifully crafted piece of technology. Despite the bugs, the device feels really, really good in the hand. The phone's design works. The screen's design works too, regardless of concerns one might have had with the front...

We can't recommend the Essential Phone over competitors, but it’s a mostly competent handset that’ll definitely turn heads.

Unfortunately, smartphone cameras have gotten so good that Essential's purely OK shooter will frustrate some. The lack of certain popular niceties, like a headphone jack and water resistance, also make the PH-1 a tougher sell than expected. All told, this is a phenomenal first try and an undeniably solid device, but we're really looking forward to Essential's next attempt.

The Essential Phone is doing so much right: elegant design, big screen, long battery life, and clean software. And on top of all that, it has ambitions to do even more with those modules. If you asked Android users what they wanted in the abstract, I suspect a great many of them would describe this exact device. But while the camera is pretty good, it doesn’t live up to the high bar the rest of the phone market has set.

There’s absolutely room for a phone that doesn’t shove its manufacturer and advertising partners in your face. If you buy this phone, I think you’ll appreciate that about it. You’ll also realize that Essential, like everyone else, is still working out how to truly change the smartphone game.

The Essential Phone PH-1 combines top-notch hardware and pure Android software for an amazing deal on Sprint, but its more costly unlocked model is a harder sell.

Calling it “essential,” however, is a fallacy. It’s not something you need to have; it might not even be something you want to have. There are plenty of other impressive smartphones on the market—and, as always, more coming soon, both from Android handset makers and Apple—that will suit you just as well if you are interested in a high-end unlocked phone. And if, like many people, you don’t have $700 to spend on a smartphone, there are also many capable options that cost a lot less.

Essential is the new kid on the block but it's backed by the very man who created Android, Andy Rubin. The Essential Phone isn't being sold on features or gimmicks, but rather an experience. In a flooded market where even the big shots are struggling,...