Essential Phone is now $200 cheaper in US, going for $499

Update: Major third party retailers selling the company's debut smartphone - including Best Buy and Amazon - have also slashed the price by $200, bringing it inline with the official pricing.

Original story follows:

Essential has given its PH-1 smartphone a $200 price cut in the US, bringing the device's price down to $499. The price cut is on both black and white color variants of the device.

Although price cuts are usually due to low sales or for stock clearance prior to arrival of a new-gen device, Essential says the discount will help the company better penetrate into the market, which is currently dominated by the likes of Apple and Samsung.

While the price cut is no doubt a good news for those planning the purchase the handset, Essential isn't forgetting its existing customers as well - they'll get a $200 Friends & Family code to use towards a new Essential Phone or Essential 360 Camera (for details on how to get that, head to the Source 2 link below).

As we already told you, this $200 discount is currently only limited to the US. However, the company will launch a similar promo in Canada as well, although details aren't yet available.

Source | Best Buy | Amazon