Essential PH-1 to get Oreo before year's end, camera fix promised

The Essential PH-1 was released months ago but while multiple contingencies set shipment of the phone back, it has finally hit shops. The company may have several issues but communication with users looks to not be one of those, with staff and executives holding bi-weekly AMA's on the Essential subreddit, r/Essential.

The last AMA was held a few days ago, with the major talking points being the ETA for Oreo. Asked about the company's roadmap for the Oreo update, Essential Software Program Manager Marcus Weber had this to say.

"Our QA team is in the process of testing Android Oreo as we speak to insure[sic] there are no regressions on the device. We are making great progress and target to have public beta available here within several weeks that you can try out before we release globally. We will make sure to publicly announce as soon as the Beta is available."

This bodes well for users of the first-gen phone, and they'll be hoping it goes smoother than the device's actual launch.

A company executive also promised that the phone's much-maligned camera software will be improved upon, although the "when" is yet to be known.