Android founder is working on an extensible high-end smartphone without bezels

Android co-founder Andy Rubin is working on an extensible high-end smartphone without bezels, which he plans to release by mid-year. He has therefore set up a company that focuses on telephones and home automation, among other things, Bloomberg reports based on his own sources.

The company is called Essential, reports Mark Gurman, among others, via the news agency. Rubin already registered that name at the end of 2015. With a team of forty people, partly from Apple and Google, the Android founder wants to develop multiple devices. The smartphone plays a central role in this, together with artificial intelligence. Rubin is said to be in talks with Foxconn for the production of the device, according to several Bloomberg sources. It is not clear whether the device will run Android.

The phone may have a screen larger than 5.5″. This device is one of several prototypes of Essential. The model would also have a screen that can detect different levels of pressure, just like the iPhone. For the phone’s exterior, Rubin’s team would run tests using materials such as metal for the edges and ceramic for the back.

In addition, the Essential team is developing its own connection, which serves both to charge the phone and to expand its functionality. For example, various extensions can be added to the device via a magnetic system, for example a 360-degree camera that Essential develops itself. The device under development should be priced close to that of an iPhone 7, although that could change. The iPhone 7 cost at release 769 euros for the cheapest variant.

Rumors about Rubin’s plans have been going on for some time, for example, a South Korean site came out in December with information that he wants to develop smartphones under a new company of his own.