Essential Phone Now Available for $450 at Best Buy in the US

The Essential Phone, also known as the Essential PH-1, has had a strange run so far. The press coverage for the device started off on a very positive note because of Andy Rubin’s involvement as the founder of the company. However, things started to decline quickly as the phone was delayed for many months, and then, the issues stated to stack up. For one, Essential faced a PR disaster with the email controversy. The camera quality of the device was also heavily criticized by reviewers, and the software had a beta feel to it and quick OTAs had to be sent to fix issues. The price of the device was also felt to be too high for a first attempt.

However, perception of any device can certainly change over time. The public perception for the Essntial Phone began to change when Essential shipped a major over-the-air update which finally fixed the touch response issues that many users had faced with the device. The camera quality has also been improving with updates. On top of everything, Essential slashed the price tag of the PH-1 to $500, a $200 drop from its original price of $700. This made the device’s value proposition much better, especially for users who were interested in stock Android software.

Now, the device’s price tag has been cut by another $50 at Best Buy. It means the Essential Phone is now available for $450, and as of writing, the device was still in stock at the retailer. The 360-degree camera accessory also received a price cut, but it seems to have gone out of stock for now.

$450 is definitely a good deal for a device with the latest-generation Snapdragon 835 SoC, 128GB of storage, and a nearly bezel-less 5.7-inch QHD display. As the performance issues have been largely mitigated with updates, it does seem like most of the remaining software issues can be solved. As long as buyers can live up with the middling camera quality of the device (which can be significantly improved by using the unofficial Google Camera HDR+ port), then the value proposition of the Essential Phone is hard to beat at this point.

Stocks may finish at any point, so interested buyers for the Essential Phone are advised to check the source link.

Source: Best Buy