Another couple of weeks have passed and so the Essential Phone team is holding a new AMA session on Reddit. It’s over actually, held last November 1 from 12 to 1PM (PT) and now we’ve got some answers to questions posted by redditors. Most are design-related and the whole Essential team tried their best to answer them. We’re highlighting some of the more important stuff such as the reasons for the ceramic material, IP-67 rating, ETA for the next color, repairability, and design inspiration among others.
This is already the third Reddit AMA session. The first one was held last September and a second one followed after two weeks. The Bi-weekly AMA session happens every other Wednesday so if you want to join, mark November 15 on your calendar.
Here are some highlights:
• One redditor asked why there are signal issues for the ceramic phone. Essential simply said they are working on finetuning the device. The ceramic material should be enough to keep the phone’s design free of windows and breaks for the many radios inside.
• The next color to be released is Stellar Gray or Matte Black. More colors will be revealed soon.
• The Gorilla Glass 5 display is still the best in the market today but it is not indestructible. The Essential Phone passed industry standard drop tests but there is still a possibility that it can be damaged like any other mobile device out there.
• The ceramic phone can still scratch but for Essential Phone, the AFP coating is the one will scratch first and not directly the ceramic. It is not “impervious”.
• The IP67 rating is made possible by several sealing solutions. Sadly, because of this feature, there are some design trade-offs like a bigger display borders and a thicker build.
• When it comes to repairability, the Essential team said they assembled the phone with a different process as identified by iFixit. This means disassembly is also different. Removing and replacing the components are fairly easy but sadly, the company doesn’t sell parts to consumers. To make sure customers are happy with the phone, they offer an extended warranty plan which is competitive in the market.
• The Essential Phone was designed with “purity as an intent”. It was designed so technology can be improved over time. It was also made with the goal of a giving a premium feel to the device. As the Essential team puts it, their “design intent is to deliver every detail in its purest form”.
Watch out for the next Reddit AMA happening two weeks from now. We know we’ll be watching out for it.
VIA: Reddit
