Hands on with the Essential Phone, the smartphone made by one of Android's co-founders

Called Essential Phone and made by Essential, Rubin's startup, the new device is a thing of sheer and utter beauty, and I'm quickly falling in love with it. Priced at $700, it's making a very tempting case to take its place in my hands and pockets as my next smartphone.

The Phone is a latest member of what I like to call the "stock Android club." It joins the likes of Google's Pixel and the OnePlus 5 in running the basic, unadulterated version of the operating system.

Thats a good thing, because stock Android is the best Android, and there aren't enough devices out there than run it. Instead, there are too many otherwise well-designed phones, like the Galaxy S8 and LG G6, whose versions of Android include bloated layers of software and a bunch of unwanted apps.

It feels like, with the Essential Phone, the Father of Android is trying to make a statement to the smartphone industry. It's possible, he seems to be saying to rivals, to make a great, premium smartphone with top-of-the-line specs and materials without having to hike prices and without having to mess with Android.

I'll have a full review of the Essential Phone later, after I've had more time to test it. For now, here are my initial hands-on impressions: