Ok.
Not been long, but I'm nearly all set up so can give a very brief first impression.
Arrived safe and sound - wasn't particularly well packaged, which concerned me, but all ok.
Took it out the box and the feel is just incredible. The ceramic back feels great and there's a really nice weight and heft to it.
Set up was fairly quick, I set up as new as I needed a clear out of my XZ Premium which I hadn't got round to, so thought I'd go from scratch.
Screen is decent. Nothing will compare to my XZ Premium, and it doesn't, but it's still very serviceable and looks good to my eyes.
I downloaded the Google camera straight away after set up and then had to head out with the dog.
Camera seems good to me so far, (the Google one). Some pictures shot in HDR were a little sluggish to capture, and I have to say I do like the camera layout of the Essential camera app, but there's definitely an improvement on the Google one.
See some quick snaps of the dog below.
Pretty decent?
And these are just taken in fading light indoors. Top is Google camera, bottom is Essential.
Not a great test I know, but I'll do more soon.
Early impressions are good - not blown away.
There are some very noticeable issues straight away. I have a 4g mobile broadband dongle currently as I have just moved into a new house on a new housing development and there is no broadband here yet. We're all being messed around by the providers, but my point is, the 4g broadband I'm using is decent enough but the Essential drops signal when connected to it when I move rooms. Going from the living room (where the 4g box is) to the kitchen - it completely drops. My XZ Premium is on and connected and that barely flickers.
In the living room currently and the XZ Premium has full signal to the box, the Essential is missing a few bars.
I know a couple of people have mentioned this online and in other forums potentially, but I have noticed it first hand and it is a little concerning. Particularly when my house is three storey and the master bedroom is on the top floor. If it disconnects on the same floor in the kitchen then god help it two floors above. Again, my XZ Premium stays connected pretty strongly.
Another thing - the display size. I don't mean the size in inches, I mean the on screen size. Everything seems tiny. Text is very small, images like apps are a bit smaller. I have changed the display size from 'default' to large, but it takes it too large and it doesn't look great. That's something I guess I'll have to get used to or settle on.
One thing I do like is how I can use the phone with one hand. I haven't been able to do that since the iPhone 6?
KEYone was one-handable, but it was difficult to use the keypad with one hand. This is a really nice change for me!
The phone obviously looks gorgeous, and the bezel-less look is where the future is it would seem. However I'm not sure if that's something I'm hugely struck on. Aesthetically, it's fantastic, but in every day use I find it a little awkward. I felt the same when I tried the S8.
I know my XZ Premium has huuuuge bezels, but the phone is so comfortable despite being noticeably larger.
Function over form is sometimes where it should be.
Tricky one so far.
There is lots to like, but there are some problems. The connectivity seems to be a problem at the moment and it is slightly worrying.
I do like that there is a glance display though, really like that.
And you only have to pick the phone up to get your glance screen, which shows all notifications. Pretty sweet. My XZ Premium is sorely lacking that.
I'll spend more time with it in real world use and post back with my findings.
It's quite telling though, that I pick my XZ Premium up after using the Essential for a bit and don't think "omg this is so dated". It's the opposite. Like a comfy pair of slippers haha.
Maybe spending the day in work with it tomorrow will help me form a better opinion.
Yeah, I find the camera is quite good in good to decent lighting, it's low light where it really struggles.
For your signal issues, have you downloaded the latest update to carrier services from the play store? Also, are you running the latest build? If you go to settings, about phone, build, you should be on NMI81C, as that's the latest.
Also, go to settings, more, and to make sure you have the correct settings.
And in display, i know you mentioned changing the display size, but have you tried making the font larger?
Would love to see more pictures of the white model, it's the first white phone since the HTC One M7 that I've really liked. Is the earpiece white? In a video I saw the earpiece kinda stood out and it looked like the phone had another notch, but in the photo you posted it looks uniform.
