Essential Shuts Down After Failing to Deliver Project Gem to Consumers 9 Days After Final PH-1 Update
Updated
Updated · MUO - MakeUseOf · Aug 5
Essential Shuts Down After Failing to Deliver Project Gem to Consumers 9 Days After Final PH-1 Update
1 articles · Updated · MUO - MakeUseOf · Aug 5
Summary
Essential said on Feb. 12, 2020 that it had taken Project Gem as far as it could and saw no clear path to bring the device to consumers, ending the company.
Project Gem — an unusually tall, narrow phone teased in October 2019 — was meant to be Essential’s second act after it reportedly scrapped a conventional PH-1 successor.
The shutdown came 9 days after the PH-1 received its final security update, closing out a handset that had promised near-stock Android and Pixel-day software upgrades.
Essential’s hardware push had already been weakened by the PH-1’s late launch, a quick price cut from $699 to $499, limited Sprint distribution, and roughly 150,000 sales by May 2018.
Andy Rubin’s company also struggled under fallout from a 2018 report on Google’s handling of a misconduct complaint against him, compounding doubts about Essential’s path forward.