Google announced Android 9.0 Pie just a few hours ago and while you might expect it on Pixel phones the moment it was announced, you"ll be surprised to find out that Essential is wasting no time getting the update to its handset owners.
Android 9.0 Pie will come in as Build PPR1.180610.091 for the Essential Phone offering up gesture-based navigation, adaptive battery, improved adaptive brightness, and more. You can find a majority of the details about the update on the dedicated Android 9.0 Pie website.
If you"re going to perform the update, you"ll want to set aside some time, as it does take quite a while to download the 1047.2MB software update. While you are waiting for the download to complete, you can always take some time to read the thoughts of the Essential team about the new update.
Those that have the Essential Phone and have yet to see the update notification pop up can always head into the settings menu, enter the system settings, and tap "update". You should then see the Android 9.0 update populate, and start the download process.
Source: Essential (Twitter)