Update (Nov 15): Two months after originally announcing that Android Oreo will be released for the Essential Phone PH-1 in ‘a month or two’, the Essential Products teams has released the beta version of the Oreo update. It is now available via the company’s developer website and you will need to download and manually install it using ADB. The company has also published the factory images for the phone, so you will be able to revert to Nougat from Oreo beta if you find the beta build problematic. Like the Oreo beta, the factory images will also need to be flashed using ADB.
According to Essential Products, the Oreo beta users will see ‘Increased battery drain with Bluetooth enabled’ and ‘Android Auto compatibility issues with some vehicles.’ Both of these issues will be fixed in the final version of the update. If you do try out the Oreo beta for Essential Phone, do let us know in the comments section.
Earlier (Sep 15): Andy Rubin’s Essential Products has revealed that it will soon be releasing the Android 8.0 Oreo update for its PH-1 (aka Essential Phone). It is the first smartphone of the company, which came into existence less than two years ago. The phone itself was launched in May 2017 with Android 7.0 Nougat on-board.
Essential team announced in a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) that it is already working on the Oreo update and it will arrive in October or November.
“Android O will be coming in the next month or two,” wrote Essential Products’ Rebecca.
She also stated that the company is mulling over setting up a beta channel for software updates like what Google has been doing for the last couple of years with Pixel/ Nexus line.
Here are more highlights from the Reddit AMA about Essential and their phone:
- More system updates incoming to fix touchscreen issues and UI freeze ups.
- Kernel and factory images to be released in the next few days
- Pure White model coming in a few weeks, currently in build trials
AndroidOS.in 