4 Modularity

The Essential phone also has another trick up its sleeve: modularity — something that Apple and Samsung flagships currently lack. Alongside the phone itself, Essential is also debuting a proprietary method of easily attaching accessories to the smartphone via small metal pins. One of those accessories is a detachable 360-degree camera, which the company calls “the world’s smallest.” Other accessories include a magnetically attached phone dock, and that’s just at launch. While other modular phones might largely have failed, it’ll be interesting to see where Essential takes it own modular capability, especially since the platform will be “open-sourced” to allow for third-party accessories.