Essential made an Amazon-exclusive version of its phone with Alexa preinstalled

-

The new Halo Gray color is only available at Amazon.

 

Yesterday, Essential revealed three limited-edition colors of the Essential Phone — Ocean Depths, Stellar Gray, and Copper Black. And today the company has announced one final new version of its first smartphone: an Amazon-exclusive “Halo Gray” color that comes with the Alexa app preinstalled.

 

 

The Halo Gray model is pretty similar to the Stellar Gray version announced yesterday, with the same exact matte black ceramic but with the lighter titanium bumpers seen on the Pure White color (although with black plastic antenna lines, instead of white ones).
According to Essential, the Alexa app is able to be uninstalled, unlike most pre-included bloatware, with a company representative comparing it to how the Sprint app is preinstalled on Essential Phones sold through Sprint.
The partnership with Amazon also makes a certain amount of sense on a business level, seeing as Amazon has invested in the Andy Rubin-helmed startup through the company’s Alexa Fund.
The Halo Gray model is available for preorder on Amazon for $449.99, or $150 cheaper than that other new colors, or for $499.99 in a bundle with Essential’s 360-degree camera attachment, set to ship on February 21st. That price will go up $499.99 for just the phone starting on February 24th. And unlike the Stellar Gray model, this one isn’t a limited edition, so it’ll stick around even if the other model sells out.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Honor rolls out 'Ride Mode' safety feature exclusively for 9 Lite users

-
Image
  Huawei 's sub-brand  Honor  has rolled out the "Ride Mode" feature via HOTA update (Huawei Over The Air) exclusively for its Honor 9 Lite  smartphone  in  India . The new feature urges consumers to follow responsible and safe smartphone usage operating a two-wheel vehicle. "The 'Ride Mode' feature will be useful for millions of Indian bike riders and encourage safe smartphone usage while bike riding," P Sanjeev, Vice President, Sales, Huawei Consumer Business Group, said in a statement. Post the update, users can enable the feature by activating it either from a drop-down notifications menu or by going to the phone's 'Settings', the company added. Once enabled, the caller will be notified that the user is currently riding, and cannot answer calls. The feature, however, allows the caller to call the rider by pressing numeric one in-case of urgency or emergency. The update will be initiated in batches and will be ...
Read more