The Essential Phone might have had a share of its own issues since its troubled launch, but there’s no better Google Pixel alternative than the PH-1, at least when it comes to the timing of this month’s Android security updates.
Right after the Google Pixels and Nexuses started getting the latest Android security patch for the month of January 2018, the same treat is now available for the Essential Phone. Carrying build number NMJ88C and weighing 66.2MB, the update not only brings the new security patch, but it also comes with fixes for the two vulnerabilities that device manufacturers are rushing to patch before they are exploited.
Dubbed Spectre and Meltdown, these vulnerabilities are targeting a huge chunk of processors, including the Qualcomm Snapdragons used on a good number of Android flagships, among them the PH-1. Google included their fixes in the new security patch and with the Essential Phone now receiving the same update, these attacks have also been taken care of.
Although seemingly behind schedule, the Essential Phone Oreo update is expected to start rolling out in the coming weeks. Similar to the original Google Pixel and Pixel XL, the PH-1 will also receive support for Project Treble via this update, which further adds more weight to the argument that it could indeed be the perfect Google Pixel or Pixel 2 alternative.
Since the update will take time before hitting carrier variants of the Essential Phone, you may be forced to sideload it if you can’t wait for your carrier to approve it.
