Essential confirms 2 years of updates, 3 years of security patches for PH-1

The smartphone world was surprised – though not shocked – at the news last week that Andy Rubin’s company Essential might be up for sale. With a rocky start to the Essential Phone and the smartphone industry as cutthroat as ever, the company canceled plans for the Essential Phone 2 – although it seems Essential is not down for the count yet.

Last week, on Twitter, Essential announced an update to its Android P developers preview, which fixes some bugs including ones surrounding Bluetooth connectivity and Dark Mode. That’s neat and all, but the real news is buried in the replies to that tweet.

Within the replies, Essential confirmed that the Essential Phone (PH-1) would receive software updates for the next two years and security patches for the next three years. If the company gets sold, those timelines could obviously change, but it’s nice to hear that support for the PH1 isn’t going away any time soon.

The Essential Phone historically has been one of the first devices to get Android security patches, with updates sometimes arriving on handsets only days after public release. The PH-1 is also one of the handful of devices to receive the Android P beta, which was announced at Google I/O 2018.

It’s clear that the company cares deeply about keeping the PH-1 on the bleeding edge when it comes to the operating system. However, that devotion hasn’t translated well to sales, with reports suggesting that Essential has sold less than 100,000 units since its debut in August last year.

While the Essential Phone 2 is definitively not happening, there still might be another Essential product in the pipeline: a smart speaker. However, if the company is truly looking for a buyer, all current plans could be canceled at any moment.

NEXT: A quick look at Android P beta on the Essential Phone