When the Essential PH-1 launched, its camera’s Portrait Mode wasn’t enabled yet. Thankfully that’s changed now and the startup just updated the device to reflect that. Aside from having Portrait Mode, the update brings reduced JPEG compression for better image quality and exposure compensation for regular camera modes. The update also introduces the usual stability fixes. You can get the Camera app from this link. On the Android Oreo front, according to a recent Reddit AMA with the company, Android Oreo Beta for the PH-1 will be coming out next week.
Source: GSMArena