The first Android 8.1 beta updates started rolling out to the Essential mobile

Essential started rolling out Android Oreo (8.1) beta updates to its PH-1 smartphone.

Essential – The brand with no track record of making smartphones, has launched its first smartphone “PH-1”  last year with Android Nougat. The smartphone offering stock Android experience, also assured its customers that it will get upgraded to Oreo soon. As we are waiting for the Android 8.0 update, The company decided to skip the 8.0 update and started rolling out Android 8.1 beta updates as an OTA.

The official twitter post by the company confirms that it has started rolling out Android 8.1 beta updates as OTA with February 2018 Security patches. As this is the first 8.1 build, there are a few minor system feature changes, as well as new fixes from Essential – said the company in its post.

Some new features that are included in this updates are Smart text selection, Instant app, picture-in-picture, Faster startup and App sign in, and google play protect security scan. It also comes with some beat features like dynamic calendar and clock icons, etc.

Replying to the customers who didn’t get the earlier 8.0 update itself, The company confirmed that it will add the update soon on its website. So the user can download and update it.

Note, Essential released 8.0 beta updates earlier few months before and the “new features” listed in 8.1 are actually from the last beta update. Though Essential Phone has great specs, it doesn’t always feel as fast as it should. Hopefully, the 8.1 update works out the bugs that prevented 8.0 from reaching a final release.