Did a cute dog just reveal Essential's next product?
Essential's "Senior Investigations Officer" is a good boy.
This is Henry. He's a miniature pinscher who loves walking diagonally across crosswalks and treats lapsitting like an extreme sport.
For the past couple of months, Henry has also had a very important job -- keeping secrets for Essential, a new smartphone company from the father of the Android operating system.
Henry is one of 82 employees listed on Essential's website. (Andy Rubin's dog, Cosmo, is listed as head of security.)
Today, Essential revealed a titanium-clad handset that could challenge Apple's iPhone and a voice assistant to take on the Amazon Echo in one fell swoop.
But poor, cute Henry (who, we hear, loves to chase geese) may have just spilled the beans on a third product, too: a home-monitoring camera.
Henry in the office.
You see, Variety's Janko Roettgers just discovered that Henry has his very own shell company, Henry's Products, where he's been guarding a trove of trademarks for his office family. And it just so happens that five of those trademarks (True Display, Full Display, Home Display, Home Connect and Home Click) describe a "remote video monitoring system" complete with camera. You can read for yourself right here.
Henry even has his own telltale patent, too: according to filings, Henry's Products now owns the industrial design of the Sentri, a so-so touchscreen home security system we reviewed a couple years ago.
Is this proof that Essential is working on such a thing? Nah, not even close -- even if it makes a lot of sense. (Google added camera maker Dropcam to its Nest smart home division mere months after purchasing Nest.)
In fact, Henry isn't even a bad dog for his role in this leak:
When reached for comment, Essential would only tell CNET that Henry is "awfully cute" and "has the best personality ever".
Before joining Essential as its Senior Investigations Officer, Henry worked on the Google Glass team. He was adopted from Pets in Need, a no-kill rescue shelter, in 2013.
One last shot of Henry.
It's Complicated: This is dating in the age of apps. Having fun yet? These stories get to the heart of the matter.
Tech Enabled: CNET chronicles tech's role in providing new kinds of accessibility.