Andy Rubin's Essential company and the eponymous phone seem to have hit a significant hurdle. The company was unable to meet the release date of the device (Essential PH-1), which Rubin noted as being the end of June during the phone's unveiling at Recode's Code Conference. 

Now two weeks into July, Essential has not provided any update on the phone, nor has it given any feedback to news organisations reaching out to the company for a reason as to why the deadline was missed. According to The Verge, Essential has also left pre-order (roughly $700 for the phone) customers "in the dark" as to the device's status. 

Missed deadlines are not all that peculiar when it comes to consumer technology, but the company's apparent silence on the matter does raise a few concerns. Having gathered a good deal of interest in the Essential phone, this recent speed bump could curtail the company's efforts to make a mark on the already competitive and saturated premium smartphone scene.