1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to Text Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,119 --> 00:00:15,080 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:19,040 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio 4 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:21,440 Speaker 1: and I love all things tech. And you know when 5 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:24,400 Speaker 1: I posted on Twitter the other week that I was 6 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:29,200 Speaker 1: soliciting topics for upcoming tech Stuff episodes. Adam whom you 7 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:33,080 Speaker 1: can follow on Twitter. He has the handle at dead Technology. 8 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:37,240 Speaker 1: He's also a podcast producer himself. He suggested I tackle 9 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:42,200 Speaker 1: Essential also known as Essential Products. Folks in the text 10 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:46,280 Speaker 1: fere know it as an upstart phone company that recently 11 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:51,040 Speaker 1: went out of business. People outside the text fear may 12 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:53,959 Speaker 1: have never even heard of it. So today I'm going 13 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:56,680 Speaker 1: to tell you the story of Essential Products, where it 14 00:00:56,720 --> 00:01:00,200 Speaker 1: came from, what the company accomplished, and then what upen 15 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: in February twenty and why it's shut down now. The 16 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 1: story starts with some major unpleasantness, but it's something that 17 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:13,040 Speaker 1: we absolutely have to mention because it plays such an 18 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 1: important role in the story of the company itself. The 19 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:19,959 Speaker 1: founder of Essential Products is a guy named Andy Rubin. 20 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:22,840 Speaker 1: He was one of the co creators of the Android 21 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: operating system, also the developer of the Sidekick and tons 22 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:30,319 Speaker 1: of other stuff. He had co founded Android way back 23 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:34,880 Speaker 1: in two thousand three, years before consumer smartphones were even 24 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:38,040 Speaker 1: a thing. Really, there were smartphones around, but they were 25 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 1: almost all marketed towards executives. It wouldn't be until two 26 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:44,800 Speaker 1: thousand seven, with the introduction of the iPhone from Apple, 27 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 1: that we'd really see a more consumer oriented smartphone. Don't 28 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 1: get me wrong, this is not the Android story. I 29 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:55,800 Speaker 1: have covered the Android story before, so let me give 30 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:59,800 Speaker 1: you the highlights. Google acquired Android in two thousand five, 31 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: just two years into that company's existence. The company kept 32 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 1: the development of its smartphone operating system hush hush, only 33 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:11,880 Speaker 1: even acknowledging it after Apple had debuted the iPhone in 34 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:15,400 Speaker 1: two thousand seven. Then Google announced that it was taking 35 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:18,800 Speaker 1: a very different approach to Apple. While Apple was creating 36 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:22,680 Speaker 1: both the operating system and the hardware, starting with phones 37 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:25,960 Speaker 1: and later doing things like the iPad, it would all 38 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:28,240 Speaker 1: run the same operating system. But Google was going to 39 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:30,920 Speaker 1: create an operating system that could run on an entire 40 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:35,040 Speaker 1: spectrum of hardware from multiple manufacturers, leaving it up to 41 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:37,800 Speaker 1: the manufacturers to choose whether or not they wanted to 42 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 1: incorporate Android into their products. Or to go with some 43 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:44,640 Speaker 1: other operating system solution. In other words, Apple was going 44 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:48,239 Speaker 1: for a curated, purpose built approach and Google was going 45 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:53,080 Speaker 1: for a more broad spectrum strategy. The first Android smartphone 46 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 1: wouldn't even arrive until two thousand eight, a year after 47 00:02:56,880 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 1: the iPhone's appearance, and Android had a lot of catching 48 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:03,760 Speaker 1: up to do. But that broad spectrum approach meant Android 49 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 1: could appear on lots of different mobile phones at a 50 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:11,799 Speaker 1: lot of different price points, on multiple carriers, from multiple manufacturers. 51 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:14,400 Speaker 1: That meant that people who wanted a smartphone but they 52 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 1: couldn't afford the more premium iPhone, or maybe they weren't 53 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: an a T and T customer. I mean keep in mind, 54 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:22,840 Speaker 1: for the first couple of years iPhone was exclusive to 55 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:25,000 Speaker 1: a T and T in the United States. Well, they 56 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:28,600 Speaker 1: could opt instead to go for an Android phone, typically 57 00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:31,600 Speaker 1: at a lower price point, and since Apple has a 58 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:35,360 Speaker 1: reputation for charging more for its products, this wasn't really 59 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:40,760 Speaker 1: that unusual. In Android phone sales were outpacing iPhone sales 60 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:45,240 Speaker 1: by eleven Android phones were outnumbering iPhones in the United States, 61 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:49,560 Speaker 1: and by the Android operating system represented an eight percent 62 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:53,400 Speaker 1: market share of all smartphones out there the os really 63 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:57,080 Speaker 1: made up for lost time. Meanwhile, Andy Rubin was now 64 00:03:57,120 --> 00:04:00,480 Speaker 1: a high level executive within Google. He trends position from 65 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:03,840 Speaker 1: overseeing Android to heading up a division within Google focused 66 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:08,120 Speaker 1: on robotics. He would leave Google inten and in twenty 67 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:11,720 Speaker 1: fifteen he would co found a venture capital firm called 68 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:16,040 Speaker 1: Playground Global, and the tech company A Central Products would 69 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:19,919 Speaker 1: follow a little bit later. It wasn't until tween, with 70 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:22,800 Speaker 1: an expose a in The New York Times, that the 71 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:26,640 Speaker 1: world at large learned more about his departure. The details 72 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:30,080 Speaker 1: would throw major swerves at the company's he was working with, 73 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:34,719 Speaker 1: and those details go back to the major unpleasantness I 74 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:40,919 Speaker 1: alluded to earlier. According to the expose in Reuben coerced 75 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 1: a fellow Google employee into performing sex acts. And I 76 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:49,120 Speaker 1: should add that Reuben himself denies this story. But Google 77 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:53,480 Speaker 1: led an internal investigation that must have found some credibility 78 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: that Reuben was guilty of some form of misconduct or 79 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:03,160 Speaker 1: otherwise concluded that having Reuben on staff was untenable. As 80 00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:07,679 Speaker 1: Larry Page himself, then the CEO of Google told Reuben 81 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: to resign. Reuben had recently been awarded one hundred fifty 82 00:05:11,839 --> 00:05:15,040 Speaker 1: million dollars worth of Google stock, and in fact, according 83 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:18,920 Speaker 1: to the Verge, Reuben actually received that stock award while 84 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:23,920 Speaker 1: this investigation was underway, which is pretty phenomenal. Now. According 85 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:26,960 Speaker 1: to g Q, Reuben wouldn't see any of that money 86 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:30,479 Speaker 1: because the directive for him to resign would mean he'd 87 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 1: have to leave the company before those stock awards would 88 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:37,640 Speaker 1: actually vest, so he didn't see that hundred fifty million dollars. However, 89 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:43,000 Speaker 1: Google would famously pay Reuben a whopping ninety million dollar 90 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:47,720 Speaker 1: exit fee. The public facing story was that Reuben was 91 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:50,479 Speaker 1: leaving Google on his own accord in order to pursue 92 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 1: opportunities in creating new startups and making new investments. It 93 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:58,680 Speaker 1: was the combination of the allegations of sexual abuse with 94 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:03,120 Speaker 1: the award of early one million dollars that would bring 95 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:07,600 Speaker 1: incredible criticism down both on Reuben and Google in general, 96 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:12,400 Speaker 1: and justifiably so. The ramifications of this decision are still 97 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 1: having incredible effects to this day, and the culture at 98 00:06:16,279 --> 00:06:19,479 Speaker 1: Google continues to be shaped by the whole story and 99 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:22,400 Speaker 1: the fact that top level executives at Google we're covering 100 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:26,640 Speaker 1: up sexual harassment allegations and other awful things that involved 101 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:31,160 Speaker 1: quote unquote top performers at the company. Now, I wanted 102 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:33,760 Speaker 1: to get all that out of the way early because 103 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:38,400 Speaker 1: the actual incident happened two years before Reuben would create 104 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:42,919 Speaker 1: the company Essential Products, so it predates the company. However, 105 00:06:43,279 --> 00:06:46,800 Speaker 1: the revelation of what happened and the aftermath that followed 106 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:50,719 Speaker 1: in and beyond would have a huge impact on everything 107 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:53,799 Speaker 1: else Reuben was involved with. So now we know about 108 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:56,599 Speaker 1: this awful act that was lurking in the background. But 109 00:06:56,680 --> 00:06:59,480 Speaker 1: let's get down to the story of Essential Products itself. 110 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:03,280 Speaker 1: Noing that this scandal and a few others on top 111 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:06,240 Speaker 1: of that one will come back into factor into what 112 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:09,520 Speaker 1: actually happened. I really wish that this was just a 113 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:13,320 Speaker 1: typical text startup story and a failure that you know, 114 00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:16,720 Speaker 1: I could easily cover. But the personal details of the 115 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 1: company's founder and the company's fate itself are tied together 116 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 1: pretty tightly. So it's two thousand fifteen. Reuben has left Google. 117 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:28,640 Speaker 1: The world at large doesn't know the details of that departure, 118 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:31,440 Speaker 1: and Reuben at this point is married to a woman 119 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:35,120 Speaker 1: he met at Google named Reri Hera Baru, and that 120 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:37,800 Speaker 1: will also play a big role in the story to follow. 121 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: Reuben goes on to create an investment firm called Playground Global. 122 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: Playground Global also acted as what is called a hardware incubator. 123 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 1: That is, it was a company that would fund research 124 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:53,360 Speaker 1: and development projects related to new hardware products. People could 125 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:56,440 Speaker 1: come in and pitch an idea and then if the 126 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:00,440 Speaker 1: board liked the idea, they could approve of it and 127 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:04,080 Speaker 1: allow the people who pitched it some space and other assets, 128 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:07,160 Speaker 1: some mentorship, you know, stuff to help them bring that 129 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 1: idea to life. And this could be anything from mobile phones, 130 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:15,080 Speaker 1: network devices, smart home technologies, really any kind of hardware product. 131 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:17,000 Speaker 1: And they also looked at software as well, though it 132 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 1: was like a seventy thirty split between hardware and software. 133 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:24,240 Speaker 1: This investment company got its own initial investment from a 134 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:28,920 Speaker 1: group of limited partners and that included HP read Point Ventures. 135 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:32,000 Speaker 1: There was the Chinese company Tencent that was an investor 136 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:36,679 Speaker 1: and kill says Google. The amount of money raised by 137 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:40,880 Speaker 1: this collection was around three hundred million dollars, So wow, Yeah, 138 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:44,760 Speaker 1: that's also pretty outrageous since one of the company's pouring 139 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:47,439 Speaker 1: money into this venture was the same one that had 140 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:50,920 Speaker 1: pushed Ruben out due to allegations of sexual misconduct a 141 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:55,360 Speaker 1: year earlier. Though again that wasn't public knowledge, but presumably 142 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:57,760 Speaker 1: people at Google were aware of it. And a bit 143 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:01,760 Speaker 1: later in after play Ground Global was off the ground, 144 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:06,840 Speaker 1: Reuben founded another company called Essential Products. This received funding 145 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 1: from you guessed it, playground Global in the Series A 146 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:15,080 Speaker 1: Round of Funding. Reuben raised thirty million dollars for Essential 147 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:18,720 Speaker 1: Products in order to higher on staff, and one of 148 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:23,760 Speaker 1: Reuben's businesses was essentially funding another business. The other big 149 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:28,120 Speaker 1: contributor for the Series A Round of funding for Essential 150 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:31,640 Speaker 1: Products was Red Point And just to be clear, this 151 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:35,400 Speaker 1: wasn't illegal, Folks, weren't raising eyebrows or anything. I mean, 152 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:38,120 Speaker 1: the whole purpose of Playground Global was to fund hardware 153 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:41,040 Speaker 1: ventures and that's what Essential Products aimed to be. The 154 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:44,440 Speaker 1: two ventures, by the way, shared the same operating space, 155 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:49,640 Speaker 1: so Essential Products had common space with Playground Global. They 156 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:53,560 Speaker 1: were co located in the same warehouse for two years. 157 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:56,280 Speaker 1: The company got to work on projects, and during this 158 00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:59,959 Speaker 1: time things were pretty quiet. The company didn't have anything 159 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:02,840 Speaker 1: to announce yet. It would take time to develop the 160 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:05,720 Speaker 1: hardware and software to a point that Essential Products would 161 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:09,920 Speaker 1: have anything to announce. So Reuben and his company operated 162 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:13,320 Speaker 1: out of sight and largely out of mind. What they 163 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:16,200 Speaker 1: were working on were a couple of different things. Their 164 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:19,960 Speaker 1: flagship product and the only one from Essential Products to 165 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:23,480 Speaker 1: ever be brought to market spoiler alert on that one 166 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:29,080 Speaker 1: would become the Essential pH one smartphone sometimes just called 167 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:32,040 Speaker 1: the Essential phone, which is fair because it's the only 168 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:34,600 Speaker 1: thing that ever came out from that company, and this 169 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:39,160 Speaker 1: one ran on the Android operating system. The other two products, 170 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:44,080 Speaker 1: which again never emerged beyond the development stage, included a 171 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:47,920 Speaker 1: home hub similar to Google Home or Amazon's Echo line 172 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:51,720 Speaker 1: of products that was essentially called Essential Home, and then 173 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:55,120 Speaker 1: a custom built operating system for that hub, and this 174 00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:58,080 Speaker 1: was one that the company called Ambient. Now I'll go 175 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:00,679 Speaker 1: over those in a moment, but we have some more 176 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:05,520 Speaker 1: business e business business to attend to first. In early seventeen, 177 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:08,520 Speaker 1: the tech media world was beginning to pick up buzz 178 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:13,040 Speaker 1: that Essential was preparing a launch of a product, and 179 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:16,000 Speaker 1: that product was rumored to be a smartphone, and it 180 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:20,760 Speaker 1: would happen sometime in the spring of Around that same time, 181 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:24,440 Speaker 1: the company was seeking a significant investment to the tune 182 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:28,640 Speaker 1: of one hundred million dollars from the massive Japanese holding 183 00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:33,120 Speaker 1: company soft Bank, but that deal got scuttled. Now the 184 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:36,920 Speaker 1: apparent reason for this, for soft Bank's change of heart 185 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:40,640 Speaker 1: had to do with another tech company called Apple. One 186 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:43,880 Speaker 1: of soft Bank's interests is an investment arm called soft 187 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:47,360 Speaker 1: Bank Vision Fund. This is the arm that would have 188 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:52,520 Speaker 1: funded Essential, and Apple had made a one billion dollar 189 00:11:52,679 --> 00:11:57,240 Speaker 1: that's billion with a B contribution to that fund, and 190 00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:01,199 Speaker 1: analysts concluded that soft Bank backed out of this investment 191 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:05,880 Speaker 1: with Essential due to that sizeable contribution from Android's chief competitor. 192 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:10,959 Speaker 1: In fact, while Reuben would not specifically say the name Apple, 193 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:14,200 Speaker 1: he did state that a party that was involved in 194 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:19,000 Speaker 1: this investment fund discovered that they were one of the 195 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:22,520 Speaker 1: potential investments and that this would mean that this other company, 196 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:27,920 Speaker 1: Apple would have a stake of ownership in his company, 197 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:31,960 Speaker 1: and that neither party, Apple nor Essential wanted that and 198 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:35,520 Speaker 1: that was the reason why the deal fell through. Now, 199 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:39,120 Speaker 1: losing out on a one hundred million dollar deal is 200 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:44,400 Speaker 1: obviously enormous. Shortly after news broke of SoftBank's reversal, Andy 201 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:48,640 Speaker 1: Ruben tweeted out a message that included a render image 202 00:12:48,679 --> 00:12:51,760 Speaker 1: of a new smartphone design and it would turn out 203 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:53,920 Speaker 1: to be the pH one, but we didn't have a 204 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:56,720 Speaker 1: name for it yet. This was the beginning of sort 205 00:12:56,720 --> 00:12:59,480 Speaker 1: of a campaign of marketing for the phone and for 206 00:12:59,559 --> 00:13:03,040 Speaker 1: the company at large, because Reuben was seeking out new 207 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:05,880 Speaker 1: investors to replace the fact that he lost the soft 208 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:10,880 Speaker 1: Bank money. The pictures showed an undeniably attractive smartphone. The 209 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:14,480 Speaker 1: device had an extremely thin bezel. And the word bezel 210 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:17,120 Speaker 1: comes from the world of jewelry and watches. It refers 211 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:20,480 Speaker 1: to the ring of material that holds in place the 212 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:24,240 Speaker 1: innerds of the thing, sometimes like the glass cover of 213 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:28,120 Speaker 1: a watch or a jewel in a setting. So with smartphones, 214 00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:31,640 Speaker 1: it's the frame that holds the screen in place, and 215 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:35,280 Speaker 1: older smartphones had really wide bezels, and in turn that 216 00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:38,080 Speaker 1: eats into the potential screen size, or if you want 217 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:39,720 Speaker 1: to have a really big screen, it means you have 218 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:42,800 Speaker 1: a really big phone because of that bezel. The phone 219 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:45,800 Speaker 1: in Reuben's tweet had an extremely thin bezel, creating a 220 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:49,480 Speaker 1: sort of edge to edge appearance for the phone's screen. Now, 221 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:52,080 Speaker 1: this was not the first smartphone to go that route, 222 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:57,360 Speaker 1: mind you, Sharp's Aquos Crystal phone, which launched way back 223 00:13:57,400 --> 00:14:02,760 Speaker 1: in Twoteen, boasted a bez less screen. The Essential phone 224 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:05,520 Speaker 1: also appeared to have no three and a half millimeter 225 00:14:05,679 --> 00:14:08,640 Speaker 1: headphone jack, which would be confirmed later, and again, this 226 00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:11,640 Speaker 1: wouldn't be the first smartphone to ditch the headphone jack. 227 00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:15,920 Speaker 1: That would require people to invest in either bluetooth headsets 228 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:19,640 Speaker 1: or use a dongle adapter to plug into the USBC 229 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:22,960 Speaker 1: jack that was on the phone and then use wired 230 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:27,360 Speaker 1: headphones through the adapter. But other smartphones, like Apple's iPhone seven, 231 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:30,440 Speaker 1: which had launched in TwixT also didn't have a three 232 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:33,320 Speaker 1: and a half millimeter headphone jack, and the headphone jack 233 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:37,720 Speaker 1: required more space and resources, including power supplies and stuff 234 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:40,760 Speaker 1: like that, and that takes up valuable space inside a phone. 235 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:44,720 Speaker 1: So ditching it was a somewhat controversial decision when it 236 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:47,720 Speaker 1: first started to happen in the industry, because a lot 237 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:50,440 Speaker 1: of folks like yours truly were dinosaurs. We were still 238 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:53,600 Speaker 1: using wired earbuds, and we get real grouchy about the 239 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:55,880 Speaker 1: fact that we didn't have those anymore, we couldn't use 240 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:59,160 Speaker 1: them without a dongle, or that we had to say 241 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:04,440 Speaker 1: the word dongle. But more people begrudgingly accepted that this 242 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:07,560 Speaker 1: move actually meant that phones could be thinner, lighter, and 243 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:10,320 Speaker 1: that they could dedicate the space that would have gone 244 00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:14,240 Speaker 1: to the headphone jack to supporting other stuff. So sometimes 245 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:18,360 Speaker 1: progress is painful, but later we're thankful for it. Now, 246 00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:21,280 Speaker 1: the headphone jack thing wasn't entirely clear from that first 247 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:25,360 Speaker 1: tweeted photo, but the image first shared on March two, 248 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:28,120 Speaker 1: thousand seventeen, would be the first taste of what was 249 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:31,000 Speaker 1: to come, and it helped Reuben get other investors to 250 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:34,240 Speaker 1: line up to take the spots soft Bank would have held, 251 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:37,840 Speaker 1: so essentially he was able to get new investors for 252 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:40,960 Speaker 1: the Series B round of funding. That round of funding 253 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:45,080 Speaker 1: would be official in June of but I'm not quite 254 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:50,080 Speaker 1: at that point just yet. At the end of May seventeen, 255 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:53,400 Speaker 1: just before the Series B funding round would become official, 256 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:57,160 Speaker 1: Reuben would take the stage at the CODE Conference and 257 00:15:57,200 --> 00:16:00,720 Speaker 1: he was interviewed by Walt Mossburg, and it was at 258 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:03,960 Speaker 1: that presentation that he would reveal more information about his company, 259 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:08,120 Speaker 1: his company's plans, and their planned products. More on that 260 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:11,320 Speaker 1: in just a moment, but first let's take a quick break. 261 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:22,240 Speaker 1: At the CODE conference, Ruben showed off the Essential Phone, 262 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:25,000 Speaker 1: or what would later be called the pH One. He 263 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:27,240 Speaker 1: explained that the bezel of the phone was made out 264 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:30,240 Speaker 1: of titanium and that the reason for that was because 265 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:32,960 Speaker 1: he needed a really strong material that could stand up 266 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:36,480 Speaker 1: to the typical forces of phone might experience without buckling, 267 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:39,320 Speaker 1: because other phones around this time were usually made out 268 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:42,680 Speaker 1: of aluminum, but aluminum would dent if it had been 269 00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 1: made as thin as the p H one's bezel had been. 270 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:48,720 Speaker 1: He explained that the back of the phone was made 271 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:52,320 Speaker 1: out of ceramic and that it was resistant to damage, 272 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:55,120 Speaker 1: so that was also really important, and it came in 273 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:58,320 Speaker 1: both a glossy or matt finish. He also explained that 274 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:01,680 Speaker 1: the camera on the phone was behind the screen itself, 275 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:05,200 Speaker 1: so if you look at a photo of an Essential phone, 276 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:07,359 Speaker 1: you'll see that the lens of the camera is at 277 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:10,479 Speaker 1: the top center of the very top of the screen, 278 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:14,280 Speaker 1: with the screen actually wrapping around the lens. It's not 279 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:17,080 Speaker 1: in its own section like its own little black band 280 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:19,200 Speaker 1: at the top of the screen. The screen is both 281 00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:21,240 Speaker 1: on the left and right of the lens as well, 282 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:24,480 Speaker 1: so would be in the center of a notifications bar 283 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:27,800 Speaker 1: in other words. Of particular interest was a pair of 284 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:32,040 Speaker 1: magnetic pins on the top back section of the phone, 285 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:36,199 Speaker 1: and these were designed to interoperate with various accessories for 286 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:39,960 Speaker 1: the Essential Phone, so rather than plugging an accessory into 287 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:43,280 Speaker 1: a port, you could snap it on. You would align 288 00:17:43,359 --> 00:17:46,200 Speaker 1: the pins on the phone with the pins on the 289 00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:49,640 Speaker 1: accessory and the magnets would click together. The accessory would 290 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:52,439 Speaker 1: just snap into place, and the phone would detect the 291 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:55,800 Speaker 1: accessory through a wireless connection at the same speeds as 292 00:17:55,920 --> 00:18:00,000 Speaker 1: USB three. So that would mean that this accessory would 293 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:03,119 Speaker 1: raw power and other capabilities from the phone, and it 294 00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:06,399 Speaker 1: could in turn enhance the phones. This would mean the 295 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:09,520 Speaker 1: accessory would draw power from the phone as well as 296 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:12,680 Speaker 1: tap into the phone's networking capabilities, but it would also 297 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:16,120 Speaker 1: enhance the phone in some way. So what kind of 298 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:18,960 Speaker 1: accessories are we talking about. Well, the one that got 299 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:22,880 Speaker 1: featured in that talk and in various reviews and news 300 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:26,199 Speaker 1: articles for the phone was a three hundred sixty degree 301 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:29,760 Speaker 1: camera accessory. It looked a little bit like a periscope 302 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:32,159 Speaker 1: for the phone. So you would snap it on with 303 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:36,119 Speaker 1: these magnetic contacts and the phone would detect the accessory. 304 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:38,440 Speaker 1: You would be able to capture three hundred sixty degree 305 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:41,800 Speaker 1: photos and video using the camera. When you were done, 306 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:44,080 Speaker 1: you could just remove the camera from the back of 307 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:46,520 Speaker 1: the device, just pull it free, and then you could 308 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:49,959 Speaker 1: snap on some other accessory if you had one and 309 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:52,439 Speaker 1: you wanted to and Ruben's point was that he was 310 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:56,159 Speaker 1: pushing devices to move towards a truly wireless kind of future, 311 00:18:56,400 --> 00:18:58,800 Speaker 1: you know, one where you wouldn't need any ports at 312 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:01,840 Speaker 1: all in a phone. You would charge your phone wirelessly, 313 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:05,159 Speaker 1: and you'd use a system like these contacts to enhance 314 00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:07,800 Speaker 1: the phone's features. And this was a big selling point 315 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:11,080 Speaker 1: in the philosophy of Essential. For one thing, in an 316 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:15,200 Speaker 1: ideal manifestation, you could buy a basic phone and through 317 00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:19,240 Speaker 1: this interface you could boost its capabilities with various peripherals. 318 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:22,920 Speaker 1: And this was the underlying principle of modular phones in general. 319 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:25,320 Speaker 1: And this also was not a brand new idea. I 320 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:28,760 Speaker 1: don't want to suggest that Essential invented this. Other companies 321 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:33,560 Speaker 1: like Motorola had toyed with modular phones, but it hadn't 322 00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:37,560 Speaker 1: really gained much traction, and honestly, it still hasn't when 323 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:40,159 Speaker 1: you look at the current market. But another way to 324 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:43,800 Speaker 1: look at it was that the wireless data transfer technology 325 00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:46,840 Speaker 1: meant that for future devices, the company could place the 326 00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:50,080 Speaker 1: contact points in a different position on the back of 327 00:19:50,119 --> 00:19:53,560 Speaker 1: the next phone, for example, and the older peripherals would 328 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:57,440 Speaker 1: still work with the new models. One of the downsides 329 00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:01,000 Speaker 1: of other modular designs, at least according to Ruben, is 330 00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:05,480 Speaker 1: that they frequently involved physically connected modules that make up 331 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:09,159 Speaker 1: a phone. But then if you redesign the phone form factor, 332 00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:13,720 Speaker 1: then those modules won't connect, they don't fit with the 333 00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:17,920 Speaker 1: new form factor. By making this sort of a magnetic contact, 334 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:20,840 Speaker 1: you could as long as you kept the same pen arrangement, 335 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:25,200 Speaker 1: you could place that wherever you wanted along the backside 336 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:27,359 Speaker 1: of the phone and still be able to snap stuff 337 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:30,479 Speaker 1: to it, and presumably still be able to use older 338 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:33,680 Speaker 1: peripherals with newer models of phones. So it was a 339 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:38,280 Speaker 1: kind of future proofing. For another thing, getting rid of 340 00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:41,960 Speaker 1: ports means that you could in the future do stuff 341 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:44,760 Speaker 1: like create form factors that are more resistant to water 342 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:47,439 Speaker 1: and dust and other stuff that could work its way 343 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:50,840 Speaker 1: into the electronics of a device that has an open port, 344 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:54,640 Speaker 1: So you could create a sealed electronic system that could 345 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:59,240 Speaker 1: be far more water resistant or even potentially water proof. Now, 346 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:02,080 Speaker 1: that was not what the essential phone was because it 347 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:05,760 Speaker 1: did have a USB C ports. Ruben acknowledged on that 348 00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:09,480 Speaker 1: stage that we were not yet at a point where 349 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:13,720 Speaker 1: we could easily transition into a truly wireless form factor, 350 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:18,440 Speaker 1: because charging stations like on an airplane or in hotels. 351 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:22,080 Speaker 1: Those almost always requires some form of cable. You've got 352 00:21:22,119 --> 00:21:25,560 Speaker 1: to plug them into the USB port and then plug 353 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:28,359 Speaker 1: that other end into your device. You aren't likely to 354 00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:33,640 Speaker 1: find charging pads in most charging hotspots, so the Essential 355 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:37,679 Speaker 1: Phone had a USB c port for that reason, and 356 00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:40,320 Speaker 1: it was a compromise made in an effort to try 357 00:21:40,359 --> 00:21:44,480 Speaker 1: and transition electronics to a more wireless approach. Let's get 358 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:47,840 Speaker 1: to some of the specs of the Essential phone. So 359 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:50,480 Speaker 1: it was an Android phone, but without a lot of 360 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:53,000 Speaker 1: the added stuff that was found in phones from other 361 00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:57,919 Speaker 1: manufacturers and on various carriers. Another selling point for Essential 362 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:02,400 Speaker 1: was that users could expect at Android experience with as 363 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:06,960 Speaker 1: little added on software, often referred to as bloatwear tacked on. 364 00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:10,640 Speaker 1: With some Android handsets, you're dealing with stuff that gets 365 00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:13,879 Speaker 1: added on by the hardware manufacturer as well as whatever 366 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:17,600 Speaker 1: phone carrier you're using, and this all can bog down 367 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:20,720 Speaker 1: the phone's performance, and users typically don't care for it 368 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:25,280 Speaker 1: very much. A lot of it tends to replicate various applications, 369 00:22:25,359 --> 00:22:27,359 Speaker 1: and so you don't really need it all, and often 370 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:30,080 Speaker 1: you can't remove it. Ruben did not want that to 371 00:22:30,119 --> 00:22:33,560 Speaker 1: happen with his phone. The phone's processor was a qual 372 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:36,800 Speaker 1: Calm snap Dragon eight thirty five, which is an eight 373 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:39,800 Speaker 1: core processor running at two point four or five giga 374 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:43,240 Speaker 1: hurts clock speed. It also had an adren No five 375 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:47,560 Speaker 1: forty graphics processing unit. It sported four gigabytes of RAM, 376 00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:50,320 Speaker 1: had a d twenty eight gigabytes of data storage space, 377 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:54,840 Speaker 1: did not have a memory card expansion slot. It had 378 00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:58,920 Speaker 1: to thirteen megapixel rear facing cameras capable of shooting four 379 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:02,240 Speaker 1: K resolution video you at thirty frames per second. Uh 380 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:05,359 Speaker 1: you could set the frame rate higher, but doing so 381 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:08,560 Speaker 1: would reduce the resolution, so you could shoot up to 382 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:11,480 Speaker 1: one twenty frames per second, but that would make the 383 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:15,160 Speaker 1: resolution seven twenty P, so you've downscaled quite a bit. 384 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:18,000 Speaker 1: It also had a forward facing camera that could shoot 385 00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:21,640 Speaker 1: at the same resolutions, but it was an eight megapixel camera, 386 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:24,560 Speaker 1: not a thirteen megapixel like the rear facing ones. The 387 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:28,080 Speaker 1: Essential phone supported Bluetooth five point o l E, the 388 00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:31,400 Speaker 1: low energy Bluetooth standard that would draw less power from 389 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:35,480 Speaker 1: the battery. It had NFC chips near field communication chips, 390 00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:39,320 Speaker 1: had WiFi compatibility obviously. It had a rear fingerprint sensor 391 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:42,520 Speaker 1: for unlocking the phone and for authorizing purchases and stuff, 392 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:45,320 Speaker 1: and it came in a variety of colors, from pure 393 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:49,680 Speaker 1: white to black moon to ocean depths, because of course 394 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:53,000 Speaker 1: those were the names they used. Reuben revealed that the 395 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:55,919 Speaker 1: phone was available for pre order at the cost of 396 00:23:56,080 --> 00:24:00,080 Speaker 1: six hundred nine nine U S dollars. That's going to 397 00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:03,200 Speaker 1: change before too long, so I'm gonna have to get 398 00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:05,040 Speaker 1: back to that price in a little bit. But first, 399 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:07,560 Speaker 1: let's talk about some of the other stuff Ruben had 400 00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:11,840 Speaker 1: to announce at the Code conference. Ruben also talked about 401 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:16,200 Speaker 1: this Essential Home device, the hub that Essential was working on, 402 00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:20,119 Speaker 1: as well as the Ambient operating system. Now, according to Reuben, 403 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:22,560 Speaker 1: he had no plans of releasing a phone that was 404 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:25,919 Speaker 1: running on Ambient, but rather intended Ambient to act as 405 00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:28,879 Speaker 1: sort of a unifying platform upon which any number of 406 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:33,440 Speaker 1: other systems could run, and specifically for home automation purposes. 407 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:37,159 Speaker 1: He laid out the challenge of creating a true smart home. So, 408 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:40,000 Speaker 1: if you wanted to outfit your home with smart devices, 409 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:43,959 Speaker 1: and we're talking everything. You wanted smart locks, smart lights, 410 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:47,399 Speaker 1: you wanted a climate control system that could tap into it, 411 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:50,920 Speaker 1: you wanted smart appliances, and everything else, you were likely 412 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:53,480 Speaker 1: going to have to depend upon products from lots of 413 00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:57,199 Speaker 1: different manufacturers, and each product would likely be running on 414 00:24:57,240 --> 00:25:00,840 Speaker 1: its own set of protocols or rules, and you would 415 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:04,520 Speaker 1: likely have to interface through each of them through individual apps, 416 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:07,240 Speaker 1: which would be very frustrating. You'd have an app for 417 00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:09,600 Speaker 1: your lights, you would have an app for your locks, 418 00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:11,760 Speaker 1: you would have a different app for your dishwasher, You'd 419 00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:13,960 Speaker 1: have another one for your air conditioner, and so on. 420 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:16,879 Speaker 1: He said the goal of Ambient was to create an 421 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:20,639 Speaker 1: operating system that would be compatible with all these different systems, 422 00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:23,840 Speaker 1: so you could have a centralized way to interface and 423 00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:27,159 Speaker 1: control them. You wouldn't have to think about this fractured 424 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:30,560 Speaker 1: app environment, so you can have a system that could 425 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:34,320 Speaker 1: interpret your commands and make the relevant outcomes happen. And 426 00:25:34,359 --> 00:25:37,159 Speaker 1: this isn't that different from what Google and Amazon and 427 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:39,320 Speaker 1: others were trying to do around the same time, I 428 00:25:39,359 --> 00:25:42,080 Speaker 1: should add moreover, with Ambient, the goal was to make 429 00:25:42,119 --> 00:25:45,600 Speaker 1: these various systems operate according to the desires of the user, 430 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:48,240 Speaker 1: making them do things that perhaps they weren't able to 431 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:51,120 Speaker 1: do on their own. So, for example, a user might 432 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:53,879 Speaker 1: tell their hub that they want a reminder to go 433 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:55,800 Speaker 1: off at a certain time of day. Maybe you've got 434 00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:58,280 Speaker 1: a meeting coming up and you're working from home, so 435 00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:00,480 Speaker 1: you said an alarm, and as part of that alert, 436 00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:03,760 Speaker 1: the hub makes the lights in the home dim and 437 00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:06,159 Speaker 1: brighten a few times. That way, even if you're not 438 00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:09,200 Speaker 1: within hearing distance of the hub, you see the lights 439 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:12,360 Speaker 1: going dim and bright and you realize, oh, that's my alarm. 440 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:14,639 Speaker 1: I need to get ready for this phone call. That 441 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:16,480 Speaker 1: would be an example the sort of thing you could 442 00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:19,520 Speaker 1: do with this hub, and it would be able to 443 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:22,760 Speaker 1: take these incoming commands and set up processes necessary to 444 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:26,840 Speaker 1: achieve whatever the outcome was that you desired. Ambient was 445 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:29,480 Speaker 1: meant to run on top of the Essential Home Hub, 446 00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:31,760 Speaker 1: and the images of the hub, or at least the 447 00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:35,480 Speaker 1: concept images of the hub, showed a round device shaped 448 00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:38,280 Speaker 1: kind of like a classic analog clock, you know, the 449 00:26:38,359 --> 00:26:40,760 Speaker 1: kind that hang on the walls and have hands and 450 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:43,320 Speaker 1: stuff in the old school, and a log clocks, But 451 00:26:43,359 --> 00:26:45,720 Speaker 1: in this case this device was on its back. So 452 00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:47,880 Speaker 1: imagine taking a clock off a wall and setting it 453 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:51,480 Speaker 1: flat on a table and the backside of it the 454 00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:54,080 Speaker 1: or the top if you want to think of it 455 00:26:54,119 --> 00:26:57,639 Speaker 1: that way, Like the twelve o'clock location on the clock 456 00:26:58,119 --> 00:27:01,560 Speaker 1: was thicker than the six o'clock location. Uh, the whole 457 00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:05,080 Speaker 1: thing was several inches thick at least again according to 458 00:27:05,119 --> 00:27:07,840 Speaker 1: the concept photos, so it meant that the face of 459 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:10,720 Speaker 1: the hub was at an angle right, the top side 460 00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:14,160 Speaker 1: was at a higher elevation than the bottom side, and 461 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:17,040 Speaker 1: on the face of it it was like again like 462 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:21,000 Speaker 1: a clock. Was a digital screen that Reuben said measured 463 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:24,080 Speaker 1: around five and a half inches across, and the screen 464 00:27:24,160 --> 00:27:27,840 Speaker 1: was touch enabled, and the device itself could be voice activated, 465 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:31,439 Speaker 1: so the device could display information as well as spell 466 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:34,879 Speaker 1: out data on its screen. And Reuben said that the 467 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:38,840 Speaker 1: way information should be delivered is frequently dependent upon the 468 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:43,159 Speaker 1: purpose of that information. So in some cases hearing the 469 00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:46,480 Speaker 1: information is really useful, like asking a quick question and 470 00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:49,080 Speaker 1: getting an answer, that's fine. But in other cases it 471 00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:51,960 Speaker 1: might be easier to read the information off a display. So, 472 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:54,560 Speaker 1: for example, if you were trying to follow a recipe, 473 00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:57,119 Speaker 1: it would be way easier to follow it if the 474 00:27:57,160 --> 00:28:00,520 Speaker 1: instructions were on a screen rather than ving them just 475 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:04,760 Speaker 1: spoken to you all at once. Unlike the phone, Reuben 476 00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:07,600 Speaker 1: didn't have a release date or a price for the 477 00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:10,600 Speaker 1: Essential Home smart hub, and it would turn out there 478 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:13,360 Speaker 1: would never be a need for one because it again 479 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:17,560 Speaker 1: never came to market. Shortly after the Code conference event, 480 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:21,919 Speaker 1: Essential Products completed the Series B round of funding and 481 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:26,359 Speaker 1: raised another three hundred million dollars, bringing the total now 482 00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:29,640 Speaker 1: to three thirty million. With those two series of investment 483 00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:34,160 Speaker 1: funding rounds, this gave the company evaluation of one billion dollars, 484 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:38,240 Speaker 1: which catapulted Essential into the ranks of Unicorn startups. But 485 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:40,920 Speaker 1: now we're right at the precipice of where things would 486 00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:43,560 Speaker 1: start to fall apart for the company. Some of those 487 00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:46,800 Speaker 1: things revolved around the critical reception of the Essential pH 488 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:50,480 Speaker 1: one phone. Some would focus more on Reuben's past, as 489 00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:53,400 Speaker 1: details about the real reasons for his departure from Google 490 00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:58,000 Speaker 1: would slowly become revealed. But let's start with the reviews, 491 00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:01,440 Speaker 1: as those came first, though not by very much so. 492 00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:05,440 Speaker 1: Ruben announced the phone in May, and he said originally 493 00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:08,840 Speaker 1: that he expected the phone to start shipping within thirty days. 494 00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:11,440 Speaker 1: This was at the very end of May, so it 495 00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:14,280 Speaker 1: would have looked at around July as a launch date. However, 496 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:19,480 Speaker 1: the phone would actually launch in mid August seventeen. The 497 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:23,360 Speaker 1: company had supplied a few different tech journal outlets with 498 00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:27,400 Speaker 1: review phones before the final version shipped and the review 499 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:30,840 Speaker 1: models didn't have the finalized operating system on them, and 500 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:33,800 Speaker 1: the company missed those two ship dates. There was one 501 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:36,160 Speaker 1: in July, and then there was another one earlier in 502 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:40,160 Speaker 1: August that they missed. UM outlets like c net stated 503 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:43,400 Speaker 1: that they held off on writing and publishing a review 504 00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:46,880 Speaker 1: until they were pretty sure that the handsets they had 505 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:50,719 Speaker 1: were running the same sort of software that the consumer 506 00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:54,240 Speaker 1: models that were being shipped out we're running. Those reviews 507 00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:58,600 Speaker 1: would end up being fairly mixed. Reviewers liked the look 508 00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:01,080 Speaker 1: of the phone, and they like the feel of it. 509 00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:03,080 Speaker 1: They liked how it felt when they held it. It 510 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:06,480 Speaker 1: felt substantial, it felt sturdy. They liked the thin bezel. 511 00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:09,400 Speaker 1: They liked that it was carrier agnostics, so it could 512 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:12,400 Speaker 1: work with any cellular provider, at least in the United States. 513 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:15,280 Speaker 1: They liked how fast the operating system was and how 514 00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:18,640 Speaker 1: responsive it could be switching from app to app, largely 515 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:21,960 Speaker 1: thanks to the absence of that bloatwear I mentioned earlier, 516 00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:26,320 Speaker 1: but Something's reviewers really didn't like. They found the phone 517 00:30:26,320 --> 00:30:29,760 Speaker 1: wouldn't perform well on T Mobile's network. They didn't care 518 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:32,840 Speaker 1: for the camera app, though the camera could take spectacular 519 00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:36,760 Speaker 1: photos and video, but initially before Essential would send out 520 00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:39,680 Speaker 1: a firmware patch, the camera had issues with stuff like 521 00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:44,520 Speaker 1: auto focus and low light captures, and white balance stabilization. 522 00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:47,680 Speaker 1: It didn't have a portrait mode. Some of those problems, 523 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:50,920 Speaker 1: like I said, would get addressed in a patch. The 524 00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:54,920 Speaker 1: phone also lacked a noise reduction strategy, so if you 525 00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:57,720 Speaker 1: were shooting in an environment with ambient noise, like on 526 00:30:57,760 --> 00:31:00,520 Speaker 1: a windy day, that noise would get picked up in 527 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:02,520 Speaker 1: the video you shot, so it'd be very hard to 528 00:31:02,520 --> 00:31:05,960 Speaker 1: hear anything else. Reviewers also initially found problems with the 529 00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:09,800 Speaker 1: three hundred sixty degree camera peripheral, which at code conference 530 00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:13,719 Speaker 1: Reuben had suggested might cost around fifty dollars. It actually 531 00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:16,800 Speaker 1: retailed for two hundred dollars, and a lot of people 532 00:31:16,840 --> 00:31:20,000 Speaker 1: felt that the battery just wasn't very good it didn't 533 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:24,200 Speaker 1: last very long. Ultimately, the general consensus was that despite 534 00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:27,800 Speaker 1: the missed ship dates, the Essential pH one launched without 535 00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:31,760 Speaker 1: being fully baked, like it still wasn't really ready and 536 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:35,520 Speaker 1: that would be a big problem. I'll explain more after 537 00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:47,240 Speaker 1: this quick break. So, the Essential pH one launches after 538 00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:50,320 Speaker 1: missing a couple of dates, and reviews are mixed and 539 00:31:50,400 --> 00:31:53,520 Speaker 1: because it's not tied to a specific carrier, it gets 540 00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:56,840 Speaker 1: no support from the major cell service providers. It's not 541 00:31:56,960 --> 00:32:00,440 Speaker 1: occupying prominent displays in places like spring It or T 542 00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:04,600 Speaker 1: Mobile or a T and T or Verizon stores. Customers 543 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:07,800 Speaker 1: don't flock to the phone. Sales are slow. It was 544 00:32:07,880 --> 00:32:11,400 Speaker 1: not a great start to essentials plans of making a 545 00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:15,640 Speaker 1: coherent tech ecosystem. And while the company would fix several 546 00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:18,560 Speaker 1: of the initial problems of the pH one a few 547 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:23,479 Speaker 1: weeks after it launched, the damage had really been done already. However, 548 00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:28,640 Speaker 1: that damage would be compounded in late November. That's when 549 00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:33,520 Speaker 1: an initial report first broke the news that Reuben left Google, 550 00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:37,120 Speaker 1: not because of some sense of wander lust, like he 551 00:32:37,280 --> 00:32:41,400 Speaker 1: claimed at the Code conference, but a totally different kind 552 00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:44,640 Speaker 1: of lust. And again, it would be another year before 553 00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:47,840 Speaker 1: we would get the New York Times expose where more 554 00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:51,840 Speaker 1: details would really come out, But the word early on 555 00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:54,920 Speaker 1: was that Reuben had left Google after he had had 556 00:32:54,960 --> 00:33:00,640 Speaker 1: an inappropriate relationship, an inappropriate and undisclosed relationship with a 557 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:04,840 Speaker 1: fellow Google employee that was totally not his wife, and 558 00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:07,200 Speaker 1: his wife also was a Google employee, but that part 559 00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:10,440 Speaker 1: was you know, known and fine and everything this was 560 00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:16,720 Speaker 1: a different relationship. H Baru. The aforementioned wife had begun 561 00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:21,080 Speaker 1: divorce proceedings against her husband back in May seventeen. That 562 00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:23,920 Speaker 1: was the same month as the Code conference. Now that 563 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:27,600 Speaker 1: information hadn't really hit the news outlets at this time. 564 00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:31,960 Speaker 1: The divorce process was a really ugly one, and it 565 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:35,920 Speaker 1: would just get uglier, as his estranged wife would later 566 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:40,440 Speaker 1: file a separate civil lawsuit against Reuben that would claim 567 00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:44,400 Speaker 1: the former Google executive had been running a sex ring operation, 568 00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:48,880 Speaker 1: that he had failed to disclose his actual finances, and 569 00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:53,280 Speaker 1: that he had coerced re into signing a prenuptial agreement 570 00:33:53,320 --> 00:33:55,760 Speaker 1: on top of a ton of other stuff. So if 571 00:33:55,760 --> 00:33:58,200 Speaker 1: you really want all the salacious details, you can actually 572 00:33:58,240 --> 00:34:00,960 Speaker 1: find lots of articles about it. Suffice it to say 573 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:04,800 Speaker 1: the allegations are many and lurid, but at this stage 574 00:34:04,880 --> 00:34:08,399 Speaker 1: not much of that had been revealed other than this 575 00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:11,520 Speaker 1: article that said Reuben had been forced to leave Google 576 00:34:11,640 --> 00:34:16,800 Speaker 1: due to an investigation into allegations of misconduct at the company. 577 00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:21,440 Speaker 1: Right around that time, Reuben requested leave from the Essential 578 00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:24,520 Speaker 1: board of Directors so that he could you know, quote 579 00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:28,480 Speaker 1: unquote attend to some personal issues, and the board granted 580 00:34:28,520 --> 00:34:30,840 Speaker 1: that request. Now, as far as I can tell, he 581 00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:35,040 Speaker 1: had no formal departure from Playground Global around this same time. 582 00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:39,120 Speaker 1: Remember that's his investment company. So Reuben was gone from 583 00:34:39,200 --> 00:34:42,120 Speaker 1: Essential for just a couple of weeks. He took his 584 00:34:42,200 --> 00:34:46,240 Speaker 1: leave towards the end of November, and by early December 585 00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:50,680 Speaker 1: he was back. So why this quick rubber banding. Well, 586 00:34:51,040 --> 00:34:55,759 Speaker 1: Essential wasn't doing so well. The lackluster sales of the 587 00:34:55,800 --> 00:34:59,600 Speaker 1: pH one were a real source of concern for the company. 588 00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:03,799 Speaker 1: Ruben's return was in part a way to address investor 589 00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:08,920 Speaker 1: concerns about essentials future. The revelation of the real reason 590 00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:12,080 Speaker 1: for his departure from Google, even without all the details 591 00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:15,240 Speaker 1: that would later follow, couldn't have hit at a worse 592 00:35:15,400 --> 00:35:18,960 Speaker 1: time for the company. What Essential really needed was someone 593 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:21,560 Speaker 1: in a leadership role who could be viewed both as 594 00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:25,720 Speaker 1: a visionary and someone who would reliably be in charge. 595 00:35:26,080 --> 00:35:29,160 Speaker 1: And Reuben was still viewed as a visionary, but in 596 00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:33,040 Speaker 1: the wake of these revelations, the reliability part was more 597 00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:37,640 Speaker 1: in question. Essential would reduce the price of the pH 598 00:35:37,719 --> 00:35:40,200 Speaker 1: one by two hundred dollars, so they knocked it down 599 00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:43,680 Speaker 1: to four hundred bucks in the United States, and before 600 00:35:43,800 --> 00:35:47,120 Speaker 1: a year would pass from the launch of the phone, 601 00:35:47,400 --> 00:35:49,960 Speaker 1: the price would get knocked down again. It reached around 602 00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:53,640 Speaker 1: three hundred fifty bucks on Amazon, which meant that it 603 00:35:53,680 --> 00:35:57,359 Speaker 1: was being marketed at a fifty percent mark down at 604 00:35:57,400 --> 00:36:01,360 Speaker 1: that point yikes. And there was no word about the 605 00:36:01,480 --> 00:36:05,520 Speaker 1: Essential Home smart hub or the ambient operating system. The 606 00:36:05,600 --> 00:36:08,680 Speaker 1: company was in a type of information lockdown. They weren't 607 00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:11,960 Speaker 1: really saying anything much at all about what was in development. 608 00:36:12,640 --> 00:36:15,440 Speaker 1: Presumably the company was working on the follow up to 609 00:36:15,480 --> 00:36:18,520 Speaker 1: the pH One, but there were no details about that either, 610 00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:22,960 Speaker 1: and so it went throughout the rest of and much 611 00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:27,759 Speaker 1: of According to slash Gear, the company only sold nine 612 00:36:28,080 --> 00:36:32,160 Speaker 1: thousand handsets of the pH one in all of seventeen, 613 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:35,200 Speaker 1: keeping in mind they didn't really launch until August, but 614 00:36:35,280 --> 00:36:40,560 Speaker 1: still ninety thousand not a lot. Essential flagship Phone eventually 615 00:36:40,640 --> 00:36:44,400 Speaker 1: sold out. The company announced that they had no intentions 616 00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:47,359 Speaker 1: to manufacture more of them, and that makes sense. They 617 00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:49,600 Speaker 1: had had to cut the price down to half by 618 00:36:49,600 --> 00:36:51,560 Speaker 1: the time they finally sold out, so my guess is 619 00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:54,040 Speaker 1: that making more of them would have been a money 620 00:36:54,120 --> 00:36:57,880 Speaker 1: losing process, and that it probably made more sense internally 621 00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:01,160 Speaker 1: to focus on the next divide rather than try to 622 00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:03,920 Speaker 1: continue to push a failed device, at least one that 623 00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:07,600 Speaker 1: had failed in the sense of market reception. And then 624 00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:11,239 Speaker 1: the latter half of two thousand eighteen came, and with 625 00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:14,520 Speaker 1: it the double whammy of Ruben's ex wife filing that 626 00:37:14,719 --> 00:37:18,680 Speaker 1: civil lawsuit and the expose in the New York Times 627 00:37:18,960 --> 00:37:23,520 Speaker 1: that contained way more details about Ruben's alleged activities that 628 00:37:23,640 --> 00:37:27,600 Speaker 1: led to his dismissal from Google and more, plus the 629 00:37:27,640 --> 00:37:30,239 Speaker 1: added piece of information that he had left with a 630 00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:34,560 Speaker 1: ninety million dollar exit package. That bit of information would 631 00:37:34,560 --> 00:37:38,520 Speaker 1: inspire thousands of Google employees to participate in a walkout 632 00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:43,720 Speaker 1: protesting the company's tolerance for sexual misconduct perpetrated by quote 633 00:37:43,760 --> 00:37:47,560 Speaker 1: unquote high performing employees. This was one of the big 634 00:37:47,600 --> 00:37:49,960 Speaker 1: stories to play out during the early days of the 635 00:37:50,040 --> 00:37:55,040 Speaker 1: hashtag me too movement, along with equally high profile stories 636 00:37:55,080 --> 00:37:58,200 Speaker 1: out of companies like Uber, and Reuben's story was front 637 00:37:58,200 --> 00:38:01,759 Speaker 1: and center in this discussion. Now, I imagine that those 638 00:38:01,800 --> 00:38:05,040 Speaker 1: revelations made it even harder for essential products to secure 639 00:38:05,080 --> 00:38:09,120 Speaker 1: investment money. Reuben had always been pivotal for landing those 640 00:38:09,200 --> 00:38:13,319 Speaker 1: deals because he had previously had a really good reputation 641 00:38:13,520 --> 00:38:15,880 Speaker 1: as a co founder of Android, and his reputation at 642 00:38:15,920 --> 00:38:19,520 Speaker 1: Google until two thousand seventeen appeared to be a very 643 00:38:19,640 --> 00:38:22,280 Speaker 1: upstanding one, and it gave him a lot of cash. 644 00:38:22,360 --> 00:38:25,520 Speaker 1: Among investors, they were all eager to back the next 645 00:38:25,600 --> 00:38:28,399 Speaker 1: runaway success, you know, the way Android had turned out 646 00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:31,399 Speaker 1: to be. They wanted to be on the ground when 647 00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:35,760 Speaker 1: the next one happened, and they thought really believed in Reuben. Now, Reuben, 648 00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:39,680 Speaker 1: mostly through his lawyer, denied many of the allegations were 649 00:38:39,680 --> 00:38:41,920 Speaker 1: made against him, but the New York Times piece was 650 00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:46,160 Speaker 1: pretty darn thorough, and the civil lawsuit brought up even 651 00:38:46,200 --> 00:38:50,040 Speaker 1: more allegations, including a charge that Reuben had intentionally misled 652 00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:52,560 Speaker 1: his ex wife about his finances when he committed her 653 00:38:52,600 --> 00:38:56,320 Speaker 1: to sign that prenuptial agreement. On that front, the matter 654 00:38:56,400 --> 00:38:59,600 Speaker 1: became a story about an accused ex husband who may 655 00:38:59,640 --> 00:39:02,279 Speaker 1: have been involved in a lot of unethical and potentially 656 00:39:02,320 --> 00:39:06,400 Speaker 1: illegal activities and an ex wife who was accused of 657 00:39:06,440 --> 00:39:10,160 Speaker 1: trying to work around a legally binding prenup agreement. So, 658 00:39:10,239 --> 00:39:14,840 Speaker 1: like I said, this got super ugly. That civil lawsuit 659 00:39:14,880 --> 00:39:17,360 Speaker 1: would eventually be settled out of court, and we never 660 00:39:17,480 --> 00:39:20,480 Speaker 1: learned the details of that settlement. Now, back on the 661 00:39:20,480 --> 00:39:23,919 Speaker 1: company front, Essential was still in business, but things were 662 00:39:23,960 --> 00:39:27,640 Speaker 1: not great. The company had seemingly abandoned the smart home 663 00:39:27,719 --> 00:39:31,759 Speaker 1: hub project and the ambient operating system project. There were 664 00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:35,600 Speaker 1: no signs of an essential pH two phone. There were 665 00:39:35,680 --> 00:39:38,240 Speaker 1: rumors that Reuben was looking to sell off the company 666 00:39:38,520 --> 00:39:41,520 Speaker 1: even in the middle of twenty nineteen, but apparently no 667 00:39:41,640 --> 00:39:44,960 Speaker 1: suitable suitors came a call in. In the spring of 668 00:39:45,040 --> 00:39:49,480 Speaker 1: twenty nineteen, Reuben quietly resigned from Playground Global, you know, 669 00:39:49,520 --> 00:39:53,040 Speaker 1: the investment firm, but he stayed on with essential products. 670 00:39:53,360 --> 00:39:56,120 Speaker 1: His departure from the investment in hardware incubator firm was 671 00:39:56,200 --> 00:39:59,880 Speaker 1: not widely reported until a few months later. In the 672 00:40:00,040 --> 00:40:03,440 Speaker 1: fall of twenty nineteen, the company broke radio silence to 673 00:40:03,680 --> 00:40:08,080 Speaker 1: announce a new product in development. This was Project Gem. 674 00:40:08,080 --> 00:40:11,279 Speaker 1: Technically it's a smartphone, though at casual glance it looks 675 00:40:11,280 --> 00:40:14,759 Speaker 1: more like a remote control. It's long and narrow. It 676 00:40:14,800 --> 00:40:17,560 Speaker 1: does not fit the more established form factor that you 677 00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:20,040 Speaker 1: think of when you think of the words smartphone. The 678 00:40:20,080 --> 00:40:23,200 Speaker 1: front of the device is a screen surrounded again by 679 00:40:23,200 --> 00:40:25,680 Speaker 1: a thin bezel, kind of like the pH one, except 680 00:40:25,680 --> 00:40:29,760 Speaker 1: again it's long and narrow, not in your typical smartphone shape, 681 00:40:29,800 --> 00:40:33,759 Speaker 1: and applications appeared to be represented as cards or tiles, 682 00:40:34,239 --> 00:40:37,240 Speaker 1: employing users would use touch commands to scroll through apps 683 00:40:37,360 --> 00:40:40,520 Speaker 1: rather than selecting an icon on a screen. Now, according 684 00:40:40,560 --> 00:40:44,560 Speaker 1: to earlier reports from Bloomberg, this phone's user interface would 685 00:40:44,560 --> 00:40:47,919 Speaker 1: rely more on voice commands than a typical smartphone would, 686 00:40:48,239 --> 00:40:49,960 Speaker 1: And there was a small section on the back of 687 00:40:49,960 --> 00:40:52,200 Speaker 1: the phone, a little round section looked like a touch 688 00:40:52,320 --> 00:40:55,640 Speaker 1: sensor or a fingerprint skinner, and the general thought was 689 00:40:55,680 --> 00:40:58,239 Speaker 1: maybe this was an activation for voice commands, kind of 690 00:40:58,239 --> 00:41:01,520 Speaker 1: like a walkie talkie button. The company released at least 691 00:41:01,520 --> 00:41:04,200 Speaker 1: one video showing off the concept of the phone running 692 00:41:04,239 --> 00:41:07,520 Speaker 1: productivity apps, and I gotta say I was not blown 693 00:41:07,560 --> 00:41:11,360 Speaker 1: away by this video. It looked awkward to me, particularly 694 00:41:11,440 --> 00:41:14,920 Speaker 1: the on screen keyboard, which had sort of a diagonal layout, 695 00:41:15,280 --> 00:41:18,000 Speaker 1: which was necessary because again, the device itself is narrow, 696 00:41:18,040 --> 00:41:20,319 Speaker 1: so it's not wide enough to fit a keyboard and 697 00:41:20,480 --> 00:41:24,719 Speaker 1: quirty layout across the screen. And that's about all we 698 00:41:24,800 --> 00:41:27,600 Speaker 1: know as far as Project Gem goes. It didn't get 699 00:41:27,640 --> 00:41:29,920 Speaker 1: far enough for us to learn very much more. And 700 00:41:29,960 --> 00:41:34,440 Speaker 1: that's because while Essential announced the Project Gem device in 701 00:41:34,520 --> 00:41:38,080 Speaker 1: October two thousand nineteen, the company itself would not last 702 00:41:38,239 --> 00:41:43,120 Speaker 1: very much longer. On February twelve, twenty Essential said that 703 00:41:43,160 --> 00:41:46,040 Speaker 1: the team had taken Project Gem as far into development 704 00:41:46,040 --> 00:41:49,040 Speaker 1: as it could go, but they had no route forward 705 00:41:49,239 --> 00:41:53,680 Speaker 1: into the marketplace, and that the project was scuttled and 706 00:41:54,280 --> 00:41:58,719 Speaker 1: the company itself was shuttered. Essential was non Essential, I 707 00:41:58,760 --> 00:42:03,279 Speaker 1: guess now. Even mind this was February of which is 708 00:42:03,320 --> 00:42:06,359 Speaker 1: early enough to be before the real impact of the 709 00:42:06,360 --> 00:42:10,200 Speaker 1: coronavirus and COVID nineteen would take hold. The company was 710 00:42:10,280 --> 00:42:13,520 Speaker 1: already struggling enough as it was, so my guess is 711 00:42:13,560 --> 00:42:15,840 Speaker 1: that if they had decided to try and tough it 712 00:42:15,880 --> 00:42:18,319 Speaker 1: out a little bit longer, they would have still had 713 00:42:18,360 --> 00:42:20,959 Speaker 1: to call it quits once the scope of the coronavirus 714 00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:25,040 Speaker 1: outbreak became better understood. So what actually happened, Well, if 715 00:42:25,080 --> 00:42:27,919 Speaker 1: I had to guess, and I do, because there aren't 716 00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:30,480 Speaker 1: a lot of reports about this, I would say that 717 00:42:30,560 --> 00:42:34,440 Speaker 1: Ruben's presence became toxic as far as raising money for 718 00:42:34,480 --> 00:42:37,279 Speaker 1: the company goes, and the failure of the pH one, 719 00:42:37,640 --> 00:42:42,040 Speaker 1: exacerbated by details of Reuben's departure from Google, was a 720 00:42:42,120 --> 00:42:45,800 Speaker 1: huge blow. If it were not for the stories about 721 00:42:45,840 --> 00:42:49,959 Speaker 1: Reuben's departure, he might have been able to secure more investments. 722 00:42:50,360 --> 00:42:53,959 Speaker 1: The company's first product is rarely a runaway success after all, 723 00:42:54,080 --> 00:42:57,080 Speaker 1: and the vision Reuben had was one that investors could 724 00:42:57,080 --> 00:43:00,400 Speaker 1: really still get behind. But I think the increased singly 725 00:43:00,480 --> 00:43:05,920 Speaker 1: gross stories about his alleged conduct discouraged investment. While I 726 00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:08,960 Speaker 1: don't know if he left Playground Global you know that 727 00:43:09,120 --> 00:43:13,240 Speaker 1: investment hardware incubator firm, or if he had been asked 728 00:43:13,480 --> 00:43:17,320 Speaker 1: to leave, I suspect that Playground really wanted to distance 729 00:43:17,400 --> 00:43:20,560 Speaker 1: itself from its co founder and focus on other projects. 730 00:43:20,840 --> 00:43:23,680 Speaker 1: So that also meant that Playground Global wasn't going to 731 00:43:23,719 --> 00:43:27,040 Speaker 1: be backing Essential any further. They didn't want to have 732 00:43:27,080 --> 00:43:31,920 Speaker 1: that pr albatross around their corporate neck, and so Essential 733 00:43:31,960 --> 00:43:35,359 Speaker 1: and Playground, because they were sharing the same workplace, I 734 00:43:35,239 --> 00:43:37,440 Speaker 1: imagined there was a lot of pressure for Essential to 735 00:43:37,520 --> 00:43:41,280 Speaker 1: move out as well, again to actually make physical distance 736 00:43:41,360 --> 00:43:45,879 Speaker 1: between the two companies. This again is me using conjecture. 737 00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:49,040 Speaker 1: I don't know any details for sure about this. I 738 00:43:49,120 --> 00:43:52,040 Speaker 1: suspect that the Playground partners were eager to get more 739 00:43:52,080 --> 00:43:55,840 Speaker 1: distance from Reuben. In addition, Project Jim was such a 740 00:43:55,920 --> 00:43:59,800 Speaker 1: dramatic departure from what people expect with smartphones that I 741 00:44:00,080 --> 00:44:02,799 Speaker 1: get failed to capture a lot of excitement. It was 742 00:44:02,880 --> 00:44:07,239 Speaker 1: more like a befuddling kind of response. So you had 743 00:44:07,280 --> 00:44:10,160 Speaker 1: a company with a leader who was increasingly seen as 744 00:44:10,200 --> 00:44:13,200 Speaker 1: being an anchor as far as pr is concerned, and 745 00:44:13,239 --> 00:44:15,759 Speaker 1: a product that no one was really sure would be 746 00:44:15,800 --> 00:44:18,400 Speaker 1: met with enthusiasm if it ever made it to market, 747 00:44:18,880 --> 00:44:22,000 Speaker 1: and you had a company with dwindling capital because their 748 00:44:22,040 --> 00:44:25,520 Speaker 1: first product was a failure. It was a flop, and 749 00:44:25,600 --> 00:44:29,080 Speaker 1: it's not a big surprise that the company ultimately folded. 750 00:44:29,520 --> 00:44:31,960 Speaker 1: It's a shame for a lot of reasons. I don't 751 00:44:32,000 --> 00:44:35,560 Speaker 1: want to see people lose their jobs, especially with the 752 00:44:35,600 --> 00:44:39,560 Speaker 1: timing involved. Right, losing your job just as the coronavirus 753 00:44:39,600 --> 00:44:43,000 Speaker 1: outbreaks starts to become a dominant thing in the world 754 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:49,280 Speaker 1: very very hard for people. The ideas that were behind 755 00:44:49,400 --> 00:44:51,919 Speaker 1: all these products are really intriguing. I mean, they're they're 756 00:44:52,040 --> 00:44:57,680 Speaker 1: good ideas from a technological standpoint. As for Reuben Man, 757 00:44:57,760 --> 00:45:00,640 Speaker 1: I mean, if the things said about him are true, 758 00:45:00,760 --> 00:45:03,880 Speaker 1: even if half of them are true, I don't really 759 00:45:03,920 --> 00:45:07,160 Speaker 1: mind if he just sort of fades away from the 760 00:45:07,200 --> 00:45:10,719 Speaker 1: public consciousness, because while he might have great ideas as 761 00:45:10,719 --> 00:45:13,879 Speaker 1: far as tech is concerned, everything I've read about the 762 00:45:13,960 --> 00:45:16,879 Speaker 1: person really makes me think it would be best if 763 00:45:16,880 --> 00:45:20,000 Speaker 1: we all just took a break, you know, and that 764 00:45:20,080 --> 00:45:23,120 Speaker 1: wraps up the story of Essential. I know it's not 765 00:45:23,520 --> 00:45:26,880 Speaker 1: incredibly satisfying because there are a lot of question marks 766 00:45:26,880 --> 00:45:32,520 Speaker 1: that remain, but ultimately I think my guesses are probably 767 00:45:32,680 --> 00:45:35,960 Speaker 1: pretty close to the mark. If you guys have suggestions 768 00:45:36,000 --> 00:45:38,399 Speaker 1: for future topics I should cover on tech stuff, whether 769 00:45:38,400 --> 00:45:42,360 Speaker 1: it's a company, a technology, a trend in tech, maybe 770 00:45:42,360 --> 00:45:45,680 Speaker 1: some other tech related concept. Reach out to me and 771 00:45:45,760 --> 00:45:48,520 Speaker 1: let me know. You can get in touch on Twitter 772 00:45:48,800 --> 00:45:52,239 Speaker 1: the handle is tech stuff hs W, or on Facebook, 773 00:45:52,360 --> 00:45:56,800 Speaker 1: where the handle is tech stuff hs W probably was 774 00:45:56,840 --> 00:45:59,080 Speaker 1: a better way to say that, and I'll talk to 775 00:45:59,080 --> 00:46:07,479 Speaker 1: you again really soon. Text Stuff is an I Heart 776 00:46:07,560 --> 00:46:11,319 Speaker 1: Radio production. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit 777 00:46:11,360 --> 00:46:14,400 Speaker 1: the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 778 00:46:14,520 --> 00:46:15,840 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.