9to5Google

OSOM is building an Essential Phone successor

By Andrew Romero & Ben Schoon

The Essential Phone is dead, long live the Essential Phone. That seems to be the sentiment behind OSOM, who is soon to release its first privacy-focused smartphone.

This isn't new information, since the company had plans for its OV1 in Q3 2022. Unfortunately, the plan has shifted to a release time of Q4 2022.

The company has good reasons for that delay, considering the phone will now be launching with a newer chipset "based on Snapdragon 8 series."

While OSOM hasn't specified much about the privacy-focused device's software, we do know that the company is working on a "Secure Data Cable" that will ship with the OV1.

This is a special USB Type-C cable that has a switch to disable data transfer, letting users rest assured knowing only power is getting to their device - no 1's and 0's whatsoever.

A lot of the device is taking notes from the Essential's PH-1. The back is going to be made from a Ceramic Zirconia material and will come in polished white and matte black.

OV1 is set to have a stainless steel body to complement that back, with titanium buttons and a titanium camera module. While the failings of Essential resulted in poor cameras, the team at OSOM is enlisting "the best teams" to help deliver a "truly flagship" exeprience.

To top it off, the team also confirmed to us that OV1 will see around four years of Android updates, with a chance it could be extended further. You can learn more at 9to5Google.com about the upcoming OV1 from OSOM.