Essential’s Amazon-exclusive phone comes with Alexa onboard
Oh, you thought Essential was out of new color options to show off? Not quite. The company announced today that a new, so-called Halo Gray model is now available to purchase exclusively from Amazon. Unlike the other, limited-edition versions of the PH-1, this new model goes for $449 rather than $599 and it ships with Amazon's Alexa app pre-installed. With its matte black ceramic rear and titanium trim, the Halo Gray isn't as ostentatious as some of the models Essential revealed yesterday, but Linda Jiang — the young head of Essential's industrial design — told Engadget the look was meant to use "two finishes and colors that exemplified the materials in their best light." "The reason why we have the matte black on the back is that it doesn't fingerprint at all," Jiang said. "It has a super-nice, almost silky bone-like finish to it." The phone's metal frame, meanwhile, was chosen because of its specific character as a metal. "It...