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Android creator Andy Rubin is building a new company and a premium smartphone

By Koh Wanzi - on 16 Jan 2017, 12:09pm

Android creator Andy Rubin is building a new company and a premium smartphone

Image Source: Bloomberg

Andy Rubin is preparing to re-enter the smartphone industry with a new company called Essential, just over two years since leaving Google. The Android co-founder helped shape the smartphone industry we know today, and Essential will take on the crowded field with a roughly 40-strong team staffed with minds pulled from no less than Apple and Alphabet.

Essential will focus on consumer hardware products, including mobile and smart home devices, and will incorporate artificial intelligence – one of the hottest trends in tech right now – into its work.

The company reportedly has several of these products planned already, but the star of the show is said to be a premium smartphone that will go head-to-head with the likes of the iPhone 7 and Google Pixel.

This phone will push the envelope in terms of design, with metal edges, a ceramic back, and a large edge-to-edge display. That sounds a lot like Xiaomi’s Mi Mix, and Apple’s 10th-anniversary iPhone is rumored to feature a radical design change as well, so we may be on the cusp of big new changes in smartphone design.

That’s not all however, and Essential’s phone will supposedly be able to add more hardware features over time. According to Bloomberg, its engineers are working on a proprietary magnetic connector that can both charge the battery and expand the phone’s functionality over time. This would open the door to third-party hardware accessories, including a 360-degree camera add-on.

In addition, the team is experimenting with a pressure-sensitive screen, not unlike the iPhone.

The upcoming smartphone will reportedly feature design elements similar to those on the Xiaomi Mi Mix. (Image Source: Xiaomi)

Rubin believes that AI will bring about a seismic shift in the tech industry. After leaving Google in 2014, he went on to lead Playground Global, a startup incubator that backs companies working on AI, robotics, and augmented reality projects.

That said, it seems likely that Essential’s products, including the phone, will boast of AI capabilities that make them smarter.

The Bloomberg report also says that Rubin aims to have to launch the smartphone as soon as the middle of 2017, for a price close to the iPhone 7’s US$649. Foxconn is already in discussions with Essential, and may end up manufacturing the phone.

Source: Bloomberg

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