The Essential Phone, or PH-1, was one of the most unique smartphones of 2017, partly because it was the first to incorporate a display cutout, but also because of the materials used for building it. Rather than following the trend of glass and aluminum, the PH-1 was built out of titanium and ceramic for added durability. One of the most interesting aspects of the phone is the fact that it features two connectors on the back which can be used for connecting a variety of accessories such as a 360-degree camera.
Today, Essential is releasing another such accessory, though this one may seem almost preposterous. The Audio Adapter HD is essentially a dongle with a 3.5mm headphone jack so you can connect your old-fashioned headphones to the PH-1, but it costs a jaw-dropping $149.
To justify the price tag, you get an "audiophile-grade amp that can drive audiophile-grade headphones". The adapter features an ESS Sabre DAC (digital-to-analog-converter) and MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) hardware rendering to deliver high-quality sound, and it even has a colored LED indicator so it can tell you the quality of the audio being played. Much like the frame of the Essential Phone, the accessory is also built out of titanium and it has an IP55 rating, so it should at least be durable.
Essential"s PH-1 has yet to receive a successor, and the company has been going through a bit of a rough patch, having recently laid off 30% of its workforce. Nonetheless, a new phone is said to be coming sometime in the future, despite earlier reports suggesting otherwise. For now, if you"d like to grab the Audio Adapter HD for the PH-1, you can do so from here.
Source: Essential (Twitter)