Mobile World Congress was supposed to be a big debut for OSOM. After several months of noticeEstablished in the wake of the bankruptcy of EssentialThe North American (US / Canada) smartphone maker was set to unveil its first handset in a week of major mobile news. However, the plan has changed. It was decided that it would still be difficult to attend major conferences on other continents. And sometimes, a major chip maker asks, “Can we delay the release quarterly?”
Related article:After the collapse of Essential, the successor OSOM plans a new privacy-focused device
OSOM, of course, seems to be convinced that it is a wise business decision to postpone the launch of new devices with the latest Qualcomm chips. In other words, the launch of OV1 was changed from the third quarter to the fourth quarter. But that’s not the end. Many people buy mobile phones in the fourth quarter. In fact, in the third quarter, the big announcement of Snapdragon in 2021 seems a bit old-fashioned.
For obvious reasons, the company cannot disclose what the next chip is. But given OSOM’s focus on launching flagship-quality devices, it seems pretty certain that it will be the successor to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. Whether it’s the equivalent of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ (which is getting longer) or the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 will depend on the launch date and Qualcomm’s roadmap.
“They love us being local. We have a long history of working directly with teams,” said founder and CEO Jason Keats. I’m telling TechCrunch. “One of our partners is astonishingly large, with Qualcomm saying,’What a hell, are you working with them? We also want to be more involved in what you’re doing.’ They came back saying that OSOM had a chance to do something new, exciting, to change everything, and I think we’re not a giant. Even if their yields aren’t huge, we don’t have to worry regarding shipping 5 million chips a month. “
The company has raised $ 20 million so far, so there is some margin for the release date. In addition, it is “2 to 3 weeks” until the announcement of Series A. Initial sales are relatively modest, but Keets believes that sales in North America and Europe through the company’s direct sales method and additional channels such as Amazon will drive the company’s rapid growth, with global shipments a year later. I expect to be in the top 5/10. However, it is very important to note that BBK (Opo / OnePlus, Vivo, Realme, iQOO) are all in one piece.
As OSOM mentioned at the beginning, privacy is an important point here. Waiting for more details to be announced, the startup has provided some insights into the USB-C that comes with the box in particular. The USB-C is said to have a physical switch that can switch between normal charging and data sharing. This is a clever addition, surprisingly never seen before. Along with the switch, the light flashes to let you know which mode you are in. The cable will be sold separately, and the price is undecided.
“We focus on giving users control and allowing them to see their privacy at their fingertips, and we want to incorporate it into everything we make.” Dave Evans, vice president of design, told TechCrunch. “Not just the phone, but everything in the box. With that cable, always let people know if you’re trying to power on the device or start transferring information. And you have complete control. “
The company has announced additional details. The frame is made of stainless steel, the front is Gorilla Glass Invictus, the back is ceramic, and the colors are white, matte black, and a third “fan” color. Basically, premium materials are used throughout.
Some of Qualcomm’s highlights are (expectedly) around the camera integrated into the unreleased Snapdragon chip. The OV1 is a dual rear camera with 48 megapixels and 12 megapixels, with a 16 megapixel front camera, all made by Sony.
Image credit: OSOM
“One of the biggest mistakes Essential made was that he put little effort into the camera,” Keets said of his former employer. “You end up reading reviews like’Great design and engineering, but subtle connectivity and terrible camera experiences,'” he said.
The device has dual physical SIM slots. Looking back on the deal between Essential and Sprint, the company said it didn’t want to tie the release to any carrier. It’s also physically larger than the PH-1, because the battery is bigger, and the battery lasts “more than a day” at its current value. OV1 will also support ultra-wideband.
The exact release date and price are still undecided. But Keets had previously said that the privacy-focused device would be “well below $ 1,000.” Frankly speaking, this is cheaper than any other flagship in recent years. This news isNothing enters the smartphone competitionAnd it follows our recent coverage of making a big announcement by next month. Nothing got a lot of attention for buying assets following the collapse of Essential, but founder Carl Pei said the company was temporarily considering a revival of its name, but the decision at the time. Admitted to TechCrunch that it was just for branding.
After a decade of explosive growth, the phone will enter a transitional period in the industry that has suffered from stagnant sales. The world of smartphones is at least in the maturity stage. Purchasing motivation has slowed, and people are generally satisfied with the dramatically improved quality of handsets in recent years. Currently, part of the market is controlled by a handful of players, so true destruction needs to happen bottom-up.
OSOM is making a big bet that privacy is sufficient as a differentiator to secure sales. That’s privacy and a good marketing budget to dispel that concern. The company also sees itself as more than just a hardware maker. To be honest, it often has to be the case these days.
“We are building an entire solution for privacy,” Keets said. “We want to create devices, software and services to protect the privacy of our users. It’s not just regarding downloading apps from the app store, it’s integrating software partners into our hardware. It may be as simple as providing the foundation for them to actually work. It can be installed at the system level. “
It also includes partnering with other companies on a variety of solutions. In January, OSOM establishes a “long-term strategic partnership” with HPOfficially announcedHowever, the specific contract details will be in the future.
Image credit: OSOM
(Sentence: Brian Heater, Translation: Akihito Mizukoshi)