Andy Rubin’s Essential Phone was launched in May and at the time, the phone was expected to start shipping a few weeks later, but up to now, there are still no signs of the phone.
Not so long ago, the company confirmed that the Essential Phone will be available for purchase in a few weeks’ time, prompting suggestions that August could finally see the phone make its market debut. But before this happens, the company has been going through a rough time over the recent past.
First, it was the company’s Head of Communications, Andy Fouche, who left his position and later on was followed by the VP of Marketing, Brian Wallace, who also left his position in the young company. Now, in another similar occurrence, the head of UX (user experience), Liron Damir, has now stepped down from his position to join Andy Rubin’s former employer, Google.
During his time at the Essential Products Company, Damir was in charge of UX for the Essential Phone, a phone that has not yet been released. Whether this latest setback will have an effect on the expected release date of the phone is still unknown, but his departure clearly shows that something is not right at the startup.
At Google, Damir will now be in charge of the design team for Google Home products, an area he should be very familiar with following his exploits with respect to webOS for LG and HP some time back. Of course, the capture of such an experienced professional is a good progress for Google’s Home, but it’s definitely not the best news for the progress of the Essential Phone and the company in general.
The loss of three high-profile employees in such a short time will leave a huge dent in the company’s plans of becoming a major force in the smartphone industry, but hopefully, this won’t have any effects on the much-awaited debut of the first Essential Phone.