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eBay user claims that they are selling an unreleased Essential smart home hub

A prototype of the unreleased Essential Home is currently available on eBay. (Image source: Essential)
A prototype of the unreleased Essential Home is currently available on eBay. (Image source: Essential)
An apparent prototype of the Essential Home smart speaker that was never officially released is now available via eBay. Essential Products closed in 2020 before it could launch the device. The gadget is running Android OS, though it is unclear if the prototype is capable of anything beyond booting up.
Smart Home Gadget

A prototype for the Essential Home smart home hub is available on eBay. The device was announced in 2017 by the brand behind the Essential Phone. Essential Products closed its doors in 2020 without releasing the smart home gadget.

The Essential Home would have been a circular device with a touchscreen display and similar functionality to a Google Nest Hub or Amazon Echo. It was billed as a smart home hub that would integrate every ecosystem. Essential said you could control the device with touch or voice commands and that you would be able to ‘glance to activate’ the hub.

The eBay listing has very little information about the gadget, claiming it is an “Essential Inc never released smart speaker prototype”. The product images show that the device is running Android 8.1.0, though Android was never officially confirmed as the OS.

Essential said the operating system would be Ambient OS, enabling the multi-ecosystem compatibility and processing all data locally rather than in the cloud. This OS would also allow the gadget to provide real-time information such as traffic times and calendar notifications.

At the time of writing, the Essential Home prototype is listed on eBay for US$900 before shipping, with Buy It Now and Best Offer purchasing options. It is unclear from the listing whether the smart hub is capable of more than booting up.

Buy the Amazon Echo (4th Gen) on Amazon

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2022 04 > eBay user claims that they are selling an unreleased Essential smart home hub
Polly Allcock, 2022-04- 8 (Update: 2022-04- 8)