Home technology mobile andy Rubin bids goodbye to the Essential Phones

Andy Rubin bids goodbye to the Essential Phones

Mobile

CIO Bulletin
2018-05-25

Andy Rubin, the co-creator of Android, is reportedly selling away the Essential mobile phone company and has also canceled the development of the next Essential flagship. The Essential Company has hired the Credit Suisse Group AG to look at the detail of selling away the company.

The phones developed by Essential went on sale last year priced at $699 with a bold design. Although the phone came with top-notch features, it sold only 88,000 phones in 2017. And since the sales were dropping drastically, the company slashed $200 for the phone. It was one of the best smartphones deal.

The Essential Company had previously raised $330 million from investors like Playground Global, Tencent Holdings, and the Amazon Alexa Fund. The prospect of selling away the company comes as big blow to these investors who aimed to take on other giants like Apple and Samsung.

Selling off the company doesn’t necessarily mean that Essential would stop the selling of the phones already manufactured. However, without any plan to continue the smartphone line, it gets one wondering how they can continue. Moreover, the company had already worked on the details of a home assistant named the Essential Home. It’s certain that we won’t be seeing any of this for now.