Android creator unveils his ‘simple’ smartphone

What do you really need out of a smartphone? Developer Andy Rubin - creator of Android - has tried to answer that question with a new phone aimed at delivering the basics of a high-end smartphone in a simple package.

The phone, called the Essential, made its debut Tuesday and was created by Rubin's company, which also is called Essential. Rubin decided to found the business after voicing frustrations about the current gadget landscape, which he described in a blog post as full of unnecessary features and lacking in good choice.

If you read through the material on Essential's site, you come away with three main ideas: Simple is best. Companies shouldn't force people to put anything on their phones. Devices should work with each other.

The phone has an edge-to-edge 5.7-inch display, a titanium body that's supposed to withstand a drop better than an iPhone and simple styling. The Essential phone boasts a fingerprint reader, as well as a front-facing 8 MP camera, a rear-facing 13 MP camera and a 'monochrome” sensor that is supposed to help with low-light shots.

It does not have a headphone jack - though the Verge reported that it will ship with a headphone dongle.

And the phone doesn't carry any branding, which the company said was a decision to prevent customers from being 'forced to advertise” for them all the time.

Essential also is introducing an interesting system for accessories, based off two small, magnetic pins on the back of the phone. The company uses these as a way to wirelessly charge the phone. The pins also connect the phone to a variety of add-ons, which Essential says can help your phone evolve over time and possibly reduce a need to upgrade.