Well this wasnt expected AUGUST SALE

Tired of overpriced flagships that are slow to get upgrades? The Essential Phone is neither of those things – for one, it already runs Android 9.0 Pie. For another, it’s currently $224 over at Amazon in the US.
You can find it here, the deal is specifically for the exclusive Halo Gray color without the 360 camera or headphones. If you do want the camera, that’s under $50.

The Essential Phone is down to $224

The Essential is pretty awesome – clean Android and Snapdragon 835 power make it similar to the Pixel 2 XL, it has plenty of storage (128GB) and good camera. It’s one potential fallback is the parent company – it doesn’t seem long for this world.