Five years ago, a startup unveiled a striking phone that looked very different: as thin as a remote control. The candy bar phone ultimately never made it to market, but now you can see it in action for the first time.
Startup Essential unveiled Project Gem in 2019, a remarkably slim device. The Essential PH-2 had the so-called candybar style and a special interface for the unusual screen size. But the device was never officially released. The plans were canceled later that year and in 2020 the entire Essential company was shut down.
However, the PH-2 has now suddenly resurfaced after a software developer bought a working prototype of the super-slim phone on Ebay. He has a hands-on video placed over the 5.3 inch phone.
You’ll see card-shaped widgets for apps like Spotify and Uber, and a smartwatch-style Clock app, among other things. YouTube on the device looks a bit clunky, with the video taking up a small portion of the top of the screen, while the description and comments fill the rest of the screen.
Voice control
According to one of the designers The Essential PH-2 had a unibody housing with molded glass, for a “nearly seamless form.”
Furthermore, the idea was that you would be able to perform many things on the phone via voice control. A built-in smart assistant would also be able to perform complex tasks for you, without you having to open apps yourself, was the idea.
Who dares to do this?
After its demise, the Essential brand was acquired by Nothing, the gadget brand of OnePlus founder Carl Pei. Nothing has released several smartphones with refreshing designs in recent years, but the exotic design of the Essential PH-2 seems to go too far, even for Pei.
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Source: www.bright.nl
