Google Mobile
J.K. Shin (R), President and head of mobile communications business from Samsung, and Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Google Mobile, unveil the Galaxy Nexus, the first smartphone to feature Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and a HD Super AMOLED display, during a news conference in Hong Kong October 19, 2011. Reuters/Bobby Yip

The mysterious Essential smartphone by Andy Rubin has been reportedly spotted on GFXBench. The Father of Android quit the tech scene in 2014 but now he seems to be back with a bang. The upcoming smartphone may have a bezel-less screen.

The GFXBench entry calls the smartphone Essential FIH-PM1, and it seems like a pretty high-end device. The listing has confirmed a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset clocked at 2.2GHz, 4GB RAM, 12MP rear camera and an 8MP selfie camera. Both the cameras will be able to record videos in 4K. The smartphone may come with a 5.5-inch display with a screen resolution of 2,560 × 1,312 pixels. The internal storage has been tipped as meagre 16GB. This could be the only drawback of the smartphone with otherwise impressive specs.

However, microSD cards and cloud storage may ease off the low storage space issue. There is no official confirmation on when the smartphone will be released though the near bezel-less smartphone is continuing to make headlines. The device is believed to be manufactured by Foxconn and will run on the Android 7.0 Nougat operating system. According to Gadgets 360, Essential’s bezel-less handset could be very much like the Xiaomi Mi Mix that created waves across the world with its bezel-less display.

Rubin shared the first photo of the Essential FIH-PM1 smartphone last month on Twitter (shared below). He also revealed his plans of launching a smartphone under the Essential brand name. The company is already reportedly working on a smartphone with a large edge-to-edge screen. Based on the first look of the smartphone, it looked similar to the Mi Mix and was seemingly running Android. Now, Alphabet's Executive Chairman, Eric Schmidt, has confirmed that the first Essential phone will be running Android.

Schmidt shared Rubin’s image saying that “phenomenal new choices for Android users coming very soon.” Thus, it is safe to note that the Essential smartphone will be competing against the likes of Samsung and Google Pixel. Rubin has teased fans by saying that he is really excited about how the phone is shaping up. He also said that he is eager to get the phone in peoples’ hands as soon as possible. If the GFXBench listing proves to be true, then smartphone users will be in for a treat.

However, GFXBench listings are not always accurate. It is very much possible that the Essential FIH-PM1 smartphone will have different specs when released finally. For now, all have to play the waiting game.