After several weeks of beta testing, the Android Oreo 8.1 update for the Essential Phone has been released. The update, some 1.7GB in size, is available to everyone so you should be able to check for the update and download it.
The update comes after the announcement early this year that the company would be abandoning the 8.0 build of Oreo due to stability issues and would focus on 8.1. That process, fortunately, did not take long. In fact, the first beta of Oreo 8.1 for the Essential PH-1 was released just last month.
Users will get all of the benefits that come with Android Oreo but will also get Essential’s dynamic calendar as well as some new clock icons. Further, a fix for the jittery scrolling that some users reported has been fixed.
While the Essential Phone got off to a rocky launch, mostly due to poor camera performance, the Andy Rubin company has come on strong with updates these past few months. The camera issues are all-but gone while overall performance and satisfaction has jump significantly. Essential also dropped the price a bit too, bringing it down to $499 from its original $699 price.
For those how have the PH-1, start check for the update. There was no indication from the Essential team that it was a phased roll out so you should be good-to-go in getting it. Enjoy!
