The worst part is this device had some hope before it went down this path
The data blocker cable: amzn.to/3Ph09xU
USB-A data blocker: amzn.to/3PanTn7
MKBHD Merch: shop.MKBHD.com
Tech I'm using right now: www.amazon.com/shop/MKBHD
Intro Track: Jordyn Edmonds
Playlist of MKBHD Intro music: goo.gl/B3AWV5
Phone provided by Saga for review.
~
/ mkbhd
/ mkbhd
/ mkbhd
"The price plummeted from $1000 to $600 in less than a year" Wow it really is crypto inspired.
You, sir, are my hero✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿
😂😂😂
Savage 😂
If it were crypto, the price would’ve plummeted from $1000 to $1, the owner would’ve shut it down, launched another campaign by a different name, and repeat it all over again.
Hodl!
ok i won’t buy it as your titles states
Me neither.
I think I won’t buy it as well
agree, i don't think i will buy it
I might buy it, but I definitely won't bc of the title
No
Lol, the Bonk on the phone is worth more than the phone itself now 😂
w
and the ACS airdrop :D
The concept of tangible value for digital assets is too complex for you hey?
3k on ebay. I almost bought this phone 4 months ago, this clown made a lot of people not buy it, but now its 6x its original value.
@@omegalongdong the only clowns are people paying 1k for a phone with average specs, just cus it has 'crypto' in the name 🤣
Spot-on review and analysis, sums up my own feelings on this phone as well. I had the Essential PH-1 from 2017 to 2020, basically until shortly after Essential collapsed, and I grew tired of firmware and software issues (partially caused by me modding it, but the bootloader/firmware was also *really* buggy) and the suboptimal camera. With GCam, the camera was relatively capable actually, but it was still a night and day difference when I upgraded to the Pixel 5. That phone was also way more stable and is still usable as a backup today, whereas the PH-1, while it works, has gotten kind of slow. But man, I miss that build quality and the feel of holding it. The titanium, the ceramic, the ridiculous weight, it's something that made this phone seem nearly luxurious to use. I wish phones like these would have more success in this world.
I'll totally agree with you on the Pixels, I'm still rocking my 4XL 3 years later. Does what I need it to do (wallet, garage door key, remote start my car, and call friends) and has plenty of grunt to spare. Plus, I'm still salty they axed MotionSense on later models.
Hello? iPhone? Ceramic Shield? Titanium? Stainless steel?
But then id have to own an iphone 🤢@IntelliPocalypse
@@IntelliPocalypse Ceramic shield is not the same as having a back being a panel of polished ceramic. Stainless steel and Titanium from Apple is fine but Essential did titanium 7 years ago.
@@rxdl that was 7 years ago. Are they doing it now?
So they corrected some of the issues that doomed the original essential phone... to make room for some new features that will doom this phone. Lovely
How can I make more profitable investment in crypto without incurring most losses?
Actually thought I was the only one trading with Mrs Charlotte ! She currently manages all my funds too and she also provides webinars on how to trade perfectly without loss
Wow! I'm also way up to the profits, Profits are secured and over a 100% return on investment after 14 days of trading with Mrs Charlotte . I'm also a proud beneficiary of hers too! Actually started off with some spare 2K
Goodness gracious I can't believe you guys are talking about Mrs Charlotte . After watching so many KZhead tutorial videos about trading I was still making losses not until I met Charlotte
The best way to make profit in the market is to invest in crypto! Don't hold crypto! Invest with a professional Trader instead.
Before, Cryptophones were about encrypted data and now they're about crypto currency
Ah, a Pixel with Graphene, you say?
Actually I'm still mad about "crypto" has been conquered by stupid scammers. It once was a word not only for "encrypted data" but also about genuine protection of privacy the technologies used for that. Than all this blockchain bullshit started and it became a word for scammers, while we still need the tools protecting our privacy. The comparison to web3 and all that nonsense at the beginning really made me sad.
That's what I thought this was going to be. Very disappointing.
It's a shame, the word crypto now means Bitcoin and not data encryption
can't monetize sha256
Literal bottom signal
well, sems like you were right.. bad marketing is still a marketing
really liked the essential phone during that time, especially the minimal black area for the front camera. However, the ceramic back makes it super slippery and made it fall on the floor several times, which then caused the screen to crack. Unfortunately, there was no way to fix that by that time.
I couldn’t imagine building a business model around this.
yes, Never built anything around hype, current trend and cool slang. blockchain, web3, and even AI. those trends aren't essentials or you can basically sleep on it and never really felt like missing a thing, some people just decided to make an already existing simple technology complex for no reason.
Ye True!
Rewind 30 years and you can say the same thing about the internet.
@@tylerpixel internet is a necessity built from the need to communicate globally, it's a backbone of our modern society Living without internet is a hell Living without blockchain, web3, AI on the other hand? well most people didn't felt the need to adopt it and they didn't miss anything
@@jensenraylight8011Same thing eh? 30 years ago most people lived just fine without the internet.
I'm surprised MKBHD reviewed this device - I was at Solana's exclusive launch event for this phone and it was interesting to see how divided even the hardcore community was
cus post ftx hes likely balls deep Solana but cant give securities recommendations
@@essem123bruh he literally said he's not into web 3 and also proceeded to shit on Solana stocks....
He does get paid for reviews even if they're bad reviews.
@@onixotto some reviews but not all, and he has to say its and sponsor somewhere. I doubt solana placed having this phone promoted as a priotity
@@onixotto He is a youtuber so of course he gets paid, Conversations like this wont get you anywhere tbh, even without Sponsers just him being a youtuber itself could sway him to do unethical things, Thats why we assume everyone here is grown and able to think and comprehend information themselves.
I was one of the first 300 preorders and as a developer was excited for the oppurtunity to build on the platform. What turned me of was the fact that even though I was in the first batch of preorders for this "dev-kit" people who ordered later where getting their phones months ahead of me. The drawing line was when a crypto influencer who didn't preorder and wasn't a developer was on social media braging about the gift he recieved from the team. Overall that experience made me leave the crypto market altogether. This phone is a cash grab and in an industry where big name companies are giving their dev kits for free. Paying $1000 to make their platform succesful is idiotic.
It took you that long to realize the entirety of crypto is just a grifter's paradise?
good goy
@@ambientNexus At least he realized it eventually.. Too many crypto bros losing money day after day and still swearing that crypto is a rising market
Im sorry bro, that sucks, but the signs were all around you.
@@ambientNexus At that point I already profitably exited the majority of my positions months earlier. My pre-order was a gamble, one that I realized wasn't worth it and quickly sold for a profit. The only thing I lost at the end of the day was my respect for the team making the phone.
Dropped a like just for the slick af editing at 6:54. Fantastic production quality as always, Marques
I legit thought he was holding the new Fairphone 5. 😅
Same 😂😂
same
Same. I thought he hated the Fairphone 5 for a sec
Except I don't think Fairphone would be into crypto.
Yeah I would like to see him review that phone actually
I love the fact that you can't market bad products
Then explain Diablo 4
He mentioned OnePlus! other than that it was fine
What product is this NASA engineer producing? As a matter of fact, what technology is coming out of Africa? Thanks for the advice, now go back to the African space program (Google it 😆 ).
"Marketing bad products" is a perfect summation of crypto crap in general. It's all marketing, and I have yet to see a product that was providing value even close to its cost (and most of the "products" are simply scams).
tell that to apple
2:47 damn this design looks so good. The camera design and material for the back side is so aesthetically pleasing 😮😮
That's because they copy it directly from the fair phone
Aside from the low grade camera experience, the Essential PH-1 was a great phone. My brother and dad had/still have them and their experiences have been really solid. The hardware is great, as you know, but the stock, clean Android build was kept up to date for a long time and they got major updates at pretty much the same time as the contemporary Pixels. This is pretty much unheard of and is to be commended for any manufacturer that isn’t Google or Apple.
Nice to see an everyday review of the “Essential Phone”, it really did sound like a solid, clean and fast phone. I wish I had the opportunity to have messed around with one, as it probably would have been a very serious consideration for me! And this is coming from a die-hard Apple fan, who switched because of multiple bad experiences with Android! Essential actually sounded like a real contender in comparison to the others around who bog down their phones with bloatware on Android OS, or brands who have solid specs, but lower quality craftsmanship. Essential really sounded like it was the best of both worlds (which is how I personally see Apple). Thank you again for sharing!
Bought an Essential for $250 brand new, loved that thing. First "bezelless" and the simple UI was awesome and fast. Wish they could've kept going, was looking forward to the teased headphone jack attachment that never came out.
The only companies that bring great updates are Apple and Samsung. Google is shit at updates considering the fact that they own android lol
How long you've been using a smartphone? I've been using many type of smartphone (spoiled with infinite choice) since 2011 and it all made me realize that Up to date software is a gimmick they're not worth it unless day one patch type update. Like out of box buggy camera or any part of ui crashes. Otherwise It's bogging your phone down!
for real. I had an essential phone which I broke doing some really stupid shit but it was such a good phone. probably the best phone I have ever had since I really like to install custom roms if I am able to, which is increasingly not possible on most new android phones
That build material list has me interested though, I want to see it durability tested at a level 6 with deeper grooves at a level 7
Sapphire glass is missing.
Yup, refreshing to see real solid materials being used. Sick of all this flimsy nonsense out there. one of the cleanest looking phone rn with some solid specs. I'm always hunting for that odd out phone that fits the bill and this one seems to fit.
but but but... glass is glass, and glass breaks.
That's everything now days. Make it out of crap and charge more for it than they did when it was built to last.@@AC-ed1jz
now they are $5,000 bucks on Ebay.
😨😨😨
This aged like fine milk
Ong
"It's not easy building a new smartphone company unless your name is Carl Pei" 💀 So much truth in one sentence!
😂😂😂
Yessss
True
loool
Fr.
Having a custom ROM for this phone would at the very least give it some better use than what it is designed for.
On one end, yes. On the other end, if I found a custom ROM to install that let my do crypto stuff on the phone I would 100% believe that there was some malware hidden inside to prey on people dumb enough to use the wallet feature.
yes but how many people still today does all that rooting & ROMs stuff?
@@krisvaras7801 I think in the crypto niche a fair amount... in general, roms are still very much alive with some like lineage and graphene for example being easier to install than ever.
that's the most stupidest thing you could do with the phone by doing that you turns this phone into just a regular android phone and kills the investment value of it and actually $1k is a very cheap to get multiple airdrop of crypto project
Switch on cable brings me to 2000s when I was die-hard Siemens user. But they had it for exactly opposite thing (and placed on little box in the middle of the cable), to turn off charging which was needed in case of firmware flashing (and modding…).
I absolutely loved my PH-1, had it imported to the UK. It lasted for about 3 and a half years, with 1 screen replacement and battery replacement, and now stuck in bootloop.
5:09 Even that poor dog is sad to be involved with this Phone.
Can confirm, I bought the Solana Saga during pre-order phase and as of late it has been a very fancy paperweight/backup phone Edit: dw fam I flipped the Saga-exclusive NFT mint for the price of the phone it's basically free lol Edit 2: Saga $BONK airdrop worth another $600 we're so fucking back baby
Lol
You got rolled, man. 😢
Don’t worry I’m gonna buy one just for the fk of it. Shut up 🤫 “got rolled” we roll you boi!
Why is it just a backup? I got mine at launch with a half off code they gave out, and have been using it as my main device non stop. The only real downside is the cameras, but I don't take a lot of pics so never cared about it
Solana - a centralized premine scam - in name didn't warn you?
And its sold out
To think that "upper mid range" is now at the $1000 mark now i was expecting like $700 but then again like you said after a year it dropped to $600 which sounds more mid range to me, on the other hand you can get a pixel 7 for roughly the same price and get a better experience.
Can get a Google Pixel 7 for £318 with 256 GB of storage on BackMarket. Which further proves your point of the Solana Solo or whatever it's called being terrible value for money.
I really really miss these fingerprint-reader on the back! No matter which phone i use, the ones under the screen just don't work for me that well
Many brands now integrate with the power button, like Asus' Zenphones - actually prefer that, even though I loved the back reader for my previous Sony phones.
I think the fingerprint under the screen is a good idea. It works with screen protector, you dont have to have an exposed power button if youre using a case, or just the backside of your case doesnt have to be exposed. On my Sammy 20 FE it works great. Although I switched to a lock without biometric data, because you could basically forcely shove someone's finger on the scanner or smash the camera on the face to unlock the phone...
@@maremike2691 i think samsung own fingerprint reader is more robust
I gotta say the fingerprint sensor being on the power button is the one thing I really like about my Motorola one 5g UW. Always works, never even have to think about it, and it's just a good design. Would I recommend this phone to anyone? No, it has 4gb of RAM and a crap camera. But at least the fingerprint sensor's good lol.
The most practical design to me was the oneplus 5T. As soon as i grabbed the phone, my forefinger automatically was lying on the fingerprint-reader. And it was fast as lightning!
Interesting, Ive always wondered whatever happened to the one hit wonder that was the Essential Phone, but thats unfortunate that the Osom company that came after it didnt gain any traction. The essential phone was pretty ahead of its time design wise and had a lot going for it. If they continued that really premium design element with the osom brand, as well as focused on upgrading the software and cameras, maybe people would have noticed it more. But a caviet with that is that the phone would be insanely expensive, since you already have the most premium materials, and then adding more premium hardware would make it more expensive.
Too bad so few people care about the build quality/longevity more than e.g. cameras. And it's probably not good for the business to sell phones which are good for 5-6 years, either...
Could you recommend a good tablet or computer for construction blueprint readings?
just as an FYI for those watching this now, and it's not like marques could have predicted this - but each Saga comes with 30m in a token called BONK. this is currently worth $200 dollars more than the phones retail price at $600. the phone pays you to buy it and it has since sold out. also, placing the release date of this video on the Solana/USD chart marks pretty much the bottom. heh.
4 months after this comment... crypto is crashing even harder lol.
Hey Marques, worth mentioning as well that the so-called privacy cable is a super expensive cable in search of a problem. It's $30 for USB 2.0 and protects against juice jacking attacks that have never been identified in the wild. It's a nice idea, but definitely not worth it, especially because devices won't share data over USB C without it being explicitly enabled either, like for file sharing or via adb.
Juice jacking specifically hasn't been seen in the wild but there's definitely been documented cases of PC malware being used to exploit phones, primarily through data theft. It's less of a problem these days because Google and Apple both put more thought into USB access control but it being an uncommon attack or even a theoretical attack isn't the same thing as it being a complete non issue. The bigger problem here is that it's much cheaper and easier to just have a little dongle (colloquially a "USB condom") that blocks the data lines, or just buy one of many cheap as charging only cables, since you're already going through the effort of carrying a dedicated cable anyway (plus some public chargers don't have sockets, they've got preattached cables. Not to mention the increasing prevalence of wireless chargers).
I bought the Essential PH-1 in 2018 and used it for nearly 4 years. I loved it to bits! It was built like a tank, and very unique when all other phones seemed like clones of each other. It got updates faithfully and before most other brands back then. I was pretty bummed when the company failed, because i was a huge fan of their approach. I was really looking forward to this new remake by the former PH-1 team... but what you've shown just aint gonna cut it in 2023... I'm now on team Pixel.
The prices dropped so damn hard on the ph-1 which is when I bought one. Such a good phone and form factor. Loved it
Same here.. former Essential fan now using a Pixel. After Essential got a few OS updates and there was a sideloadable Google Camera app, it was an awesome device! Especially at the firesale prices after carriers dumped it 😅 I think I got mine for $450 CAD off contract at Bestbuy.
I still have a few Essential phones in a drawer in my apartment. Every now and then I pull one out just to feel the exquisite build quality and feel. My Surface Duo 2 feels pretty nice but the size and feel of the PH-1 is still unlike anything else. That high impact ceramic feels so amazing in the hand. It feels like a luxury watch feels on your wrist but in your hand. Sigh
same as you, got my PH-1 in 2018 and used it for 4 years till the battery gave out. (i couldnt even take my dog on a 15 minute walk without it dying in my pocket) miss that phone, i loved almost everything about it, would have loved a PH-2
@@Roch_C battery was really the only thing I didn't like about the ph1. Wish they would have made a worthy successor
I'm always impressed by how Marques footage is so highly detailed, I can almost see the individual hairs on his head. Watching this in 4k, it's almost uncanny how good the quality is.
Apple CEO quoted YOU. I'm so impressed. Clearly a lot of hard work to get you to the panicle of KZhead. Congrats!!!
Well except in this case where the phone sold out in less than seven months and the Apple maxies look like a bunch of "Stay off my lawn" curmudgeons. Stick to paying 30% tax on everything you do with your phone. That's what your good for :)
Please do a video for chapter 2
One thing that every company should take away from this phone is Titanium body. I don't particuarly mind the current trend of glass backed phones with aluminum frames, but I grew up carrying the "active" series of Galaxy phones in my pocket, and I would love to go back to the days of being able to use my phone as a damn hammer if the situation required. Also I think a phone with a single piece of brushed titanium that goes from the back and wraps around the sides into the screen would look SICK.
I have an essential, and the titanium frame is easily the nicest I've ever felt on any phone. Still using it as a backup phone running lineageos to this day!
So you want the phones to be even more expensive?
@@TomiNomy I honestly don't think it would cost that much more to do a thin little sheet of titanium rather than aluminum and glass. That gorilla glass/vectors glass is not cheap to make at all. On the market, it's only about 10% more expensive for the same quantity of material of gorilla glass as titanium.
@TheCloudCreation even if manufacturing cost isn't much higher, they will have an excuse to add an extra 100 bucks for "more premium materials"
uhm,, i mean its a good idea on paper but,,, uh lets just say companies like apple had used titanium in his macbooks (or powerbooks) and lets just say that uhm,,,,, it oxided, and it maked it look horrible in the end,, so for a time it would look cool until it began to oxidize... and yeah,,, thats kinda why they stopped using titanium to pass to aluminum.
I just wanna make a 20,000$ phone so this man will buy it.
😂😂😂😂
It will cost you more than $20,000 to make it. Deal?
i don't think he buys any of his phones. pretty sure they send it to him for free in hopes of a video review.
@@alexchen7429for daily drivers, pretty sure he spend some money on it.
@@alexchen7429he paid for the escobar phone (that he never ended up getting)
Hey Bro, i hope you will talk about the green line issues on the phones.🤷
30,000,000 BONK included
$1k?! Nah man I think I'll buy groceries with that
Just so y'all know, juice jacking is almost literally non-existent. The cable seems cool, but I can 100% guarantee you will not encounter this. Even if you did, modern phones require authentication ("do you trust this device?") before just letting all your data go out a wire.
Some malicious cables register themselves as an input device, that doesn't need any authentication to start clicking stuff
@@david_horvathnot while it's locked though.
@@david_horvathyeah but if your phone is locked it can't really do anything and if it's unlocked your probably looking at the screen.
I think you mentioned a dapp App Store coming to all phones. I can’t find anything on this. Any more info?
Your audio sounds off in a couple of main channel videos, including this one, and I can't figure out why.
i think the best way for new phone companies entering the market is by launching entry level phone first and crawl up the level as the time goes.
Yeah, like the Mini car did. It's first model was basic but so much fun, it quickly grew in popularity. The design evolved from with that because the basic model just became iconic and representative of the Swinging 60s. And you got different upgrades of engine and trim, until you get the ultimate Mini Cooper Rally version. Or the Swatch watch from the 1980s.
Like oneplus did
So... OnePlus and Nothing?
then you'll have to fight the image everyone has of you as a cheapo low spec brand
Or if they sell out in less than 7 months maybe? Just saying lol
9:25 The cable is cool. I like that. I knew there were cables that were power-only (specifically to prevent malicious data transfers). But I didn’t know there were any cables that (on the cable itself) could switch from power-only to power and data. Thank you, crypto phone (and Marques), for introducing me to that. I will check out that Amazon link now.
“Currently unavailable”, lol. (Amazon product listing.) Maybe a bunch of viewers just bought all of the cables. Oh well. Now that I know that such a cable exists, I’ll be on the lookout for it and other similar cables.
You can also just get or make a dongle which does that.
The unlock power button placement is perfect.
5:49 picks fingerprints everywhere apart from the FINGERPRINT reader 😂
We’re at the point where if you’re not an iPhone, Pixel or Galaxy or don’t have an ecosystem, the premium phone market barrier is ungodly enormous and you better come to the table with something special
Or you can come up with "Nothing" 😉
@@siriusblack5187enjoying my np2 😊
hate it when im not a galaxy 💯💯 captured my emotions perfectly 🙏🙏
I think there are still great opportunities in the 'casual' market. Most big brands just focus on flagships and 'omg amazingness' while their value-line is pretty shit. The big problem is because value has been neglected for years most people are not shopping there anymore as they expect the value phones to be crap 😅
@@siriusblack5187😂😂
Thanks for the big arrow in the thumbnail Marq, i couldn't see the phone without it!
nobody is talking about how you just got mentioned by name in an Apple Keynote. That's one of the biggest achievements of all time. Congrats.
I didnt know OSOM were the people from Essential. I loved my essential phone while I had it. Sadly, the only phone I have ever dropped and broken in my life was my essential :( I was sad to hear at the time that there would be no Phone 2, so Im glad to see this company of the same people still moving forward. Sad to hear the direction of this phone though, hopefully they learn from this mistake and move in a better direction in the future.
Thanks for sharing. Was really interested in this phone back in the day, but it wasn’t waterproof and apparently also not unbreakable in spite of the ceramic.
Yeah
I absolutely loved my Essential but "mediocre camera" was being way too generous. That camera was hot steaming garbage and it negated all of the other many, many positive things about that phone.
I loved my essential as well, and it was so so cool to look at, but it suffered from some admittedly easy to miss yet pretty big ux issues that were deal-breakers for me. The touch latency was crazy sometimes, the screen stuttered while scrolling. Coming from iOS the experience was abysmal by comparison. It also had the shittiest vibration motor and iirc it got really hot too.
I wish we could have seen more essential phones. I loved mine. TBH I think it's still one of the best looking phones.
Does the Nothing phone look interesting to you?
I remember really wanting the stunning green version with the gold rails
same, and it was the perfect size for me....
I loved the essential phone, battery life was my only issue with it
@@MiguelY22see through and minimal are like, not even comparable lol
This guy is a bottom indicator
ongggg
hell yeah. I sold on perfect moment just listend to him
Time to dump sol
A bottom?
@@SGN30The price of SOL on Sept. 7th was 18.79 just shy of 17.32 bottom. SOL at this moment is currently trading at 108.99. This man is a bottom indicator.
It's a niche phone for a niche market. While they had some trouble marketing it at the beginning (bear market and all), nowadays they're selling for $3-$5k per phone. If you're a non-crypto user and in the market for a new phone, there's probably wayyyy better phones out there. But if you're a crypto native and understand how things like dApps and airdrops work - you're in for a treat. Fwiw, the discounted price was $600, but all the airdrops that the phone comes with are currently worth $800+. +EV play
I'm down to buy @$600 and sell for $3-$5k per phone. I did check eBay sales for this phone and if those stats can be believed, seems like a win.
So essentially the team learned nothing from the mistakes they made in making the essential phone. I don't have hope whoever is seriously buying this phone will ever get good software support. This scenario sounds a lot like the Freedomphone.
the software problem on essential specifically was different. it was on the ball when it came to updates(a few times, theyd get version updates before even google pixel phones did due to its virtually stock image). software on the ph1 was primarily bagged due to its poor camera quality. How people talk about software nowadays is heavily into update cycles, and why phones like the asus zenfone dont do well for some buyers due to its short 2 year software support (basically asus has the oppisite problem, cuts OS support short, but has a decent camera (won 3rd in the poll late last year))
@@Dudewitbowid buy zenfone if it was verizon compatible, but its not and that really shits on any hope of having something decent outside of samsung
What is Freedom phone?
@@kunj5802 its a scam from when trump was in office. cheap knockoff chinese phone that was worth 120$, being sold for 600, with supposedly 'secure' software that was actually way worse than the things google does
@@kunj5802 It's a rebranded Umidigi A9 Pro phone (made in China), marketed at ultra-rightwing US citizens. pre-installed with a very questionable fork of Signal (called Clear-Signal), and their own flavor of Android, ClearOS. And the mark-up over the phone it is based on is quite substantial as well. MSRP of the Umidigi A9 pro was ~ 150$. MSRP of the Freedom Phone is 500$
Hi Marques, Great video as usual. I actually met one of the Saga engineers around 6 months ago and in the conversation, Solana’s sole aim was for this to be tied to the Solana ecosystem. There goal never was to go mainstream and the 1000 USDT price at launch came with the Saga Pass- an NFT which would to a certain degree cover the price of the phone. Recently, VISA announced a partnership with Solana for payments and stablecoin settlements and will be getting more mainstream through that. This phone was never built with the intention of catching the masses but of those who are in the web3 and use hardware wallets but with a bit more functionality.
main objective was to enable developers to build mobile-first dapps, as you mentioned, not to go mainstream. I am surprised Marques even dedicated time to this review, i guess crypto sells ;)
BONK justifies the price 😅
MKBHD please we are waiting for iPhone 15 review
There is always room for new stuff to emerge. It's a pity though that they didn't continue and present a "modern" Essential phone. Imagine that Essential design and build quality paired with an LTPO screen, a good pair of cameras, proper software support and even with last year's flagship chip! The design could have been their differentiator... But no, for some reason they always manage to burn the cash!
Maybe Get the new fairphone, it’s basically essentially with very long software support and exceptional repairability.
@@erebostd I was referring to the Essential Phone 1…
I mean, designing a phone from high end materials isn't cheap, th main point of this story is that OSOM didn't have the money to bring out the "modern essential phone", so solana partnered with them and bankrolled the project
By proper software support you mean one that stores every text you send eternally and taxes you 30% for every single transaction? It works great. I mean besides a few violations of agency that idiots consider to be conveniences.
@@therabbitholeguild I just mean... proper software support
Essential phone actually looked really good to me when it came out. Very sad to see that it went nowhere and this is what its destined successor is
I found it really pretty too, up there with the likes of LG G4 in my opinion. But boy, I remember the flurry of news coverage back then showing how it was a dumpster fire, especially the camera.
@@rogehmarbi camera isn't a thing for many people.
we had nothing phone, now we also have nowhere phone)))
It's sold out. So don't worry there will be another one for everyone to ignorrently bag on in a year. I wonder if anyone will admit they were a dumbass now that's its sold out. I doubt it.
Homie mentioned nothing about the airdrops
You made 3 million people avoid getting a phone that has 30 million bonk included. OUCH.
I bought week ago zenfone 10 and love it. Came from 1+7T, small size and weight are the killing features. System smooth, just back black side already became weared notably, and shows notifications by accidentally touching power button with the middle of pointer finger 😢 But overall, the phone is the very best upgrade I wanted 🎉
I've used Essential PH-1 for 4 years, loved it so much I actually had 2 when my first was stolen. Surprised to see the PH-1 still looks awesome after so many years.
it is beautiful
Yeah, it was like having a Pixel but not having a Pixel. it was wonderful
i'm low key tempted to buy that phone just for the materials, cause i owned 3 PH-1 and god i miss everything about it
The PH-1 is still my daily phone when I bought it back in November 2017. I agree, the camera quality isn't great but the build quality is unmatched even to this day. The phone is still very snappy, the finger print unlock is much better than any on screen finger print reader. I'll likely purchase the Solana phone for the build quality alone, but I'm in the minority.
It's now December, and this review has not aged well. SOL up over 400%, with BONK going crazy. I guess if you can't touch it or see it... it's hard imagine a new asset coming into existence in the form of crypto. That's unfortunate...
11:05 Almost everyone is saying that the Nothing phone 2 is good priced device, but the truth that it's specs are almost identical to this phone, same Soc, camera sensor with worse building quality, so why nothing is good priced and this isn't?
My computer security professor laments how it feels like a bunch of people show up to cryptography conferences thinking it’s related to cryptocurrency. This thing launched about a year and a half too late
😂😂😂😂😂😂
They are both VERY close related. Everything in crypto is encrypted with cryptography. So naturally they are interested
Only a bad cryptography academic is not interested in cryptocurrency sphere. Some amazing nobel worthy work being done in that field with zero knowledge and quantum resistant cryptography
I'd go bonkers if I could buy this phone
You forgot mentioning the airdrops to phone buyers worth $1500 tho, just sayin
The Essential Phone was and is still my favorite phone of all time. I miss using it. The 360 camera was bomb. Not to mention NO BRANDING anywhere to be seen. Chefs kiss.
9:42 ok I will admit that is cool!!!!!
Looks quite sleek
Zenfone 10 is almost great. Like the smaller size, but the lack of an sd slot killed it for me. Really limited options for me as an sd slot is a must. Stuck with mid range phones as those tend to have it.
Try sony xperia 5 v compact & has sd card slot
@@samiulx19 Not available where I live. Sucks, cos that phone ticked all my checkmarks.
Being a brand new phone company is really hard unless your name is Carl Pei apparently - MKBHD
Hey Marques!! The design of this phone reminded me of the fairphone 5. Would love to know your thoughts on that phone!!
I just got a Solana ad…suspicious
I wonder what is more buggy, this phone or my Samsung Galaxy A53. My A53 gets hacked all the time and it randomly opens apps and files and changes settings. I wonder if this phone does any of that scary stuff.
I think if it uses Calyx/GrapheneOS it would have more of a selling point for "web3 and privacy" I really dig the material choice ngl, but having such a big price at launch and some mediocre spec, its interesting but not worth it
I would love a Samsung phone built exactly like this. (with sPen and great cameras) Simply solid.
Interesting, what do you use the s pen for?
Galaxy note ultrq phones
@@josephbornman8462 for creating art.
@@josephbornman8462I use mine for digital arts, quick notes, taking pictures.. The spen is actually something I use a lot.
@@josephbornman8462i like to take handwritten notes. I'm an engineer so scribbling some hand calculations and quick sketching is really helpful. Trying to quickly communicate my ideas to a coworker is also pretty convenient. So tldr, I use it for advanced doodling
I think new phone company is will be popular in Asia as long you have a sub budget android phone around $200 most Chinese phone like Huawei oppo realme are started selling $200 phone that can do most android phone do the except the camera they use the 1-2 years old SOC and most $200 phone back cover are made of plastic but can open for repair without heating the back cover and no need replace the adhesive.
The fact people made profit buying this phone is even funnier. You were the bottom signal😂.
100% bottom indicator. SOL almost at 80.00
yea bro reviewing crypto phone with absolutely no knowledge about crypto
@@sfstilter 3 months later, SOL is at 180+
@@ValAllenSamonte And I'm still hodling :)
I bet the review would be clownish seeing solana getting 10x on solana alon, let alone bonk.
My GF loved the essential phone I bought her. It looked stylish and was just the right size for small hands. I envied that she got new android updates day of release while I was several behind... And they really did improve that camera with software updates. I'd suggest the nothing phone 2 for someone looking for a well rounded device containing some essential DNA
Just get a pixel 7/8 or their A versions for even cheaper
@@esoteridactyl I have a 7 pro. She changed to a s20fe when the essential started to have issues. It really just needed a battery charge, but she wanted better cameras and it was the smallest phone wirh a flagship chip at the time. These days I'd suggest her a Zen phone for the size, but good luck finding a deal on one (or a nothing ftm) at any carrier. Essential deserved better. They were unbeatable value when going at $350
Is your GF still using it?
@@saadkhalid7734 she still finds the s20fe plenty fine for her needs. Samsung has been good about giving it pretty fresh updates. She does have Nova Launcher installed :)
I bet MKBHD is using the iPhone 15s right now. Can’t wait for the review!
15s?
@@lynnk.7587may have just meant plural 15’s, as in the different versions?
When is he dropping his keynote video 😢
BONK
This is the most polite thrashing of a phone I've seen in a very long time
I don't know if it was intentional, but @3:28 there is no OSOM logo on your right hand.
Bonk
There are some bonk coin on the phone that you can sell for a good chunk of money btw
Glad to see you doing a review of this ! i love solana, need that phone
Tbh it's been known since the announcement over a year ago that it's gonna be directed just at that niche. Nobody expected it to be a good overall phone that'll go mainstream. It's just a glorified hardware wallet with a huge price tag and the ability to work as a phone.
I love when we call the overpriced items for their real names 😂
Less than a year after samsung releases its phones, they are mostly sold at half price just a heads up
...or buy it now and it will be for free. As it's shipped with BONK, thats currently worth more than the phone itself right now (dec 2023).
A joy to watch your videos. Always inspiring and I admire your imagination to keep coming up with great ideas and sharing your knowledge. Well done. One Handed Maker - Australia
1:35 Ah yes titanium. Very essential
Ha!
They should’ve placed 2k$ price tag on that device might have helped with the sales
Dig the cable safety. Neat idea building that in.
@@TheMarquesBrownlee2Your mother cries at night knowing she relinquished her virtue to spawn you, and your father is ashamed to call you his son. Contribute something meaningful to society rather than scamming others and rationalizing it away as anything other than a heinous act.
I love how the Essential phone became way more non-Essential: one step forward, three steps backward.