The new smartphone from Andy Rubin, which will be the debut product of his new company Essential, will indeed run Android for its operating system. It looked that way from the tiny peek at the corner we got from Rubin’s tweet earlier this week, but now Google’s Eric Schmidt has confirmed it’ll be one of a few “phenomenal new choices for Android users coming very soon.”

First of all:

But furthermore, this sounds like things between Essential and Google are very friendly, which could mean we’ll see a new type of close collaboration evocative of the Nexus era. Google has clearly staked out its own new kind of territory with phones it builds itself, opting for a strategy competitive with what Apple and Samsung have done with their top-tier premium devices.

Also, Schmidt’s teaser comes on Samsung Galaxy S8 day, which seems like no accidental omen. Android’s leading ranks have typically included Samsung and basically no one else, so it’ll be very interesting indeed if Essential is one among a few new options headed to the table.