Android co-founder Andy Rubin made the best decision by choosing to launch his very own version of a smartphone. Dubbed as, “Essential Phone PH-1,” the consumers were rather intrigued by the idea. At first, the fans didn’t know what to expect – both in terms of pricing and specs. The smartphone had begun shipping by August 2017. At that time, the device was priced at a whopping $699 for its starter variant. Two months later, the company has decided to slash the smartphone’s price by roughly $200. According to a report by The Verge, the handset is listed for $200 cheaper on Essential’s official website.
Interested buyers can purchase the smartphone for $499 now.
Essential Phone price cut
The company hasn’t spoken about why they decided to slash the smartphone’s price. According to Verge, the handset wasn’t doing so well at $699. Perhaps, the consumers weren’t willing to shell out so much money in exchange for the specifications that the smartphone offered. Apart from this, other technology companies are offering better offers at the same price. Take for example Google. The company unveiled their Pixel 2 line-up on October 4 this year. The smartphone is available for the same price as Essential. It was such a major hit among fans that the device immediately went out of stock within two days of it being available.
In response, Essential had to pull some tricks to stay in the competition. Therefore, this is believed to be one of those moves to capture the consumer’s attention. The company’s blog post read that they want it makes it “easier” for consumers to get their hands on their “first products.” According to them, it will help the “people” get to know them better.
More regarding the price drop
This isn’t the first time that an Android smartphone’s price has gone down with the objective to boost sales. Essential’s price went down by over $200, which is considered to be aggressive price-drop. This is due to both – the timing as well as the amount. First of all, it has only been two months since it made to the market.
Secondly, $200 is a big amount. Interested buyers must use the “Friends and Family code” to purchase the device at this discount. There have been troubles with the smartphone’s camera performance. The company has promised to release software updates to fix the issues. If this strategy doesn’t end up working out for Essential, then a successor next year is highly unlikely.
