"This has been a difficult decision to make. We are very sorry for the impact on our colleagues who are leaving the company and are doing everything we can to help them with their future careers," an Essential spokeswoman told Bloomberg. "We are confident that our sharpened product focus will help us deliver a truly game-changing consumer product."

The company, which was launched by Android creator Andy Rubin in 2015, canceled the Essential Phone 2 earlier this year following low sales of the first device, and it was said to be seeking a buyer. It has also halted work on the Essential Home smart speaker, which was announced last year. However, Essential is reportedly working on a new phone which is largely powered by artificial intelligence and can autonomously answer texts and emails for you.