This is really getting out of hand.
I mean... I guess this is slightly better than a dongle that you'll lose? At least it's magnetic.
Crank up your audio experience with the Audio Adapter HD, dropping this summer. It simply clicks to your Essential Phone to deliver full MQA rendering and an audiophile-grade amp that powers high impedance headphones. Oh yeah, and it brings back the 3.5mm audio jack. pic.twitter.com/G045ZYf4Sh
— Essential (@essential) June 7, 2018
Oh, and Essential says it adds an audiophile-grade amp (and an ESS Sabre DAC) for fancy high-impedance headphones. So that's something.
Maybe it's actually a great idea? There aren't a lot of phones with truly good headphone jacks. Now, the Essential Phone can theoretically be one of those, too. Also, it's made of titanium. Here's Essential's FAQ.
Essential says it's shipping this summer, which is more evidence the company plans to stick around for the time being.
The company won't say how much it costs quite yet, though. Here's what Essential told me:
We'll share more details as it gets closer to release.
— Essential (@essential) June 7, 2018
Here's the company's blog post about how the Essential Phone supports lossless "Master Quality Authenticated" audio now. The company is teaming up with Tidal to offer a free three-month subscription to Tidal HiFi so you owners can try it out.