Essential releases third Oreo beta build, includes patches for Spectre and Meltdown

While we still have no idea when the official Android Oreo release will come to the Essential Phone, the company is at least releasing another beta update roughly a month after the second beta was released. This latest update is an important one. It’s not bringing cool new features, but it comes with Google’s January security patch which includes fixes for the Spectre and Meltdown exploits as well as other stability and bug fixes. So, if you’ve been using the beta version, you might want to update now. It’s 1GB from Essential’s website or will come as an over-the-air update for those running beta 2 and comes in at approximately 106MB.

Source: Android Authority

Essential Phone update brings YouTube Live 360 support

Just recently the Essential Phone got an update that introduced Portrait Mode, reduced JPEG compression, and added exposure compensation for all regular camera modes. Now, its camera gets another update (version 0.1.091) that introduces YouTube Live 360 support for Essential 360 Camera and support for broadcasting Live 360 on a Facebook Page. Previously, Essential already enabled 360-degree live streaming to Facebook Live.

Source: Android Police

Essential brings Portrait Mode to PH-1

When the Essential PH-1 launched, its camera’s Portrait Mode wasn’t enabled yet. Thankfully that’s changed now and the startup just updated the device to reflect that. Aside from having Portrait Mode, the update brings reduced JPEG compression for better image quality and exposure compensation for regular camera modes. The update also introduces the usual stability fixes. You can get the Camera app from this link. On the Android Oreo front, according to a recent Reddit AMA with the company, Android Oreo Beta for the PH-1 will be coming out next week.

Source: GSMArena

Essential outs beta build of Android Oreo for the Essential Phone

It seems we might be well on our way to getting Android Oreo on the Essential Phone. The startup did promise to release update for the latest Android operating system soon and it looks like we’re well on the way to that. Essential just made a beta version of the update available through its developer portal. You don’t have to be a developer to access it. It’s available to anyone who’s interested to try out the pre-release software. To get it, you’ll need to sign up for beta builds and grab the update as a download and sideload it to your device. You would also need the latest ADB tool and a bit of technical know-how to get this going though. So it’s not exactly for newbies. Plus, pre-release builds are not stable so if this is your main phone, you will need to proceed with caution.

Source: TechCrunch