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Stable Android 8.1 Oreo rolling out to the Essential Phone
August 15, 2025
If you own anEssential Phone, you should check your device for a software update, becauseAndroid 8.1 Oreois rolling out now.
Essential Phone owners were distressed to learn that the company would beskipping a release of Android 8.0 Oreo, opting to instead only focus on Android 8.1. It’s been about a month and a half sinceEssentialmade that announcement, and users will likely be happy that the wait is over.
The Android 8.1 Oreo update comes with all the standard feature enhancements associated with the OS, like smart text selection, instant apps, picture-in-picture mode, and more. You can read all about Android Oreo in our full review,right here.
But there are also some Essential-only upgrades, like new dynamic calendar and clock icons. Users will also be excited to know that theslow scrolling jitterthat caused some significant headaches is fixed in this rollout.
Beta testershave been working with Android 8.1 Oreo on the Essential Phone for weeks now. Even though the Essential Phone hashad a slow startand the company has hadits share of roadblocks, it has been very good about staying up-to-date with software and security patches and keeping its community involved in the process.
Ina Reddit AMA last year. Andy Rubin, CEO of Essential and the original developer of the Android operating system, said that the next entry in the Essential Phone family is in development, but did not reveal any kind of release target.
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