Essential has slashed the price of the much-hyped Essential Phone. The revised price is fixed at $499, which is $200 lower than the original price. In a bid to retain customers, the company will provide a family and friend code worth $200 to all customers who purchased the smartphone prior to the price cut.
Essential found it very hard to push sales after the phone failed to meet the expectations of the tech enthusiasts. The big problem with Essential Phone was the pricing. The company released the smartphone at $699, which sounds to be too expensive when compared to competing devices.
The main question is – When you can get handsets for the same amount from reputed companies such as Samsung and Apple, why you should invest this huge amount for a new smartphone. There is no assurance that the company will stay for a long time as many top management executives resigned recently.
Even before the official price drop, e-commerce retailer such as Amazon reduced the price to $599, which gives a discount of $100. The company has now revealed that the smartphone will be available at a permanent discount of $200 on its official store. However, Amazon continues to sell the phone at $599. We expect the retailer will reduce the price within the next few days.
Commenting on the development, Niccolo de Masi, Essential President, disclosed that customers who have purchased the Essential Phone before October 22 will receive a $200 friends and family coupon code. It can be used on its official store, which will reduce the price of the Essential Phone to $200. Hence, customers only need to pay $299 as against $499.
The marketing tactic will push customers to purchase another Essential Phone since the company doesn’t have any other product(s) on its official store. Naturally, customers will purchase the phone before the expiry of the coupon code. Moreover, the code can also be used to purchase Essential 360 Camera for almost free of cost. The company has requested customers to submit the required details such as an invoice to claim the $200 store code before November 15.
The main reason for the reduction in the price is attributed to the low sales after the official release. The huge flop in the marketing tactic is also claimed to be one of the main reason. With the reduction in price and offering of $200 coupon code, we expect the sales to grow over the next few months.
The Essential Phone features a 5.71-inch LTPS IPS display with a resolution of 2560×1312 pixels and a pixel density of 504PPI. Powered by a Snapdragon 835 processor, the Essential Phone offers Adreno 540 graphics, 4GB RAM, 128GB internal storage loaded with Android 7.1 Nougat.
While the rear side is equipped with a dual 13MP sensor with support for PDAF, laser autofocus and LED Flash, the front camera bears an 8MP sensor with f/2.2 aperture. A 3040mAh battery with fast charging support supplies the required power to the device. Moreover, the smartphone has been designed using premium materials.
Will you be interested to purchase Essential Phone now with the drastic reduction in the price? Please share your feedback.
