The Nothing Phone (1) is a sure thing, and this new company wants to make something really different. A new company hasn’t joined the smartphone race in a few years, but the company that made the Nothing Ear (1) is promising something revolutionary.
Nothing has the credibility to do it since its founder, Carl Pei, also helped start the successful phone brand OnePlus. But OnePlus has moved far away from its original goal of offering top specs at a low price, so it’s possible that the Nothing Phone 1 will fill that empty spot on the market.
Our live blog for the Nothing event has all the information about the kind of company that Pei is trying to build. So far, this is what we know about the Nothing Phone: (1).
Nothing Phone (1): Release date and availability
“Summer 2022” is the release date for Nothing Phone 1. The phone’s existence and its name were made official via a Wired interview with founder Carl Pei(opens in new tab), and it was confirmed during the Nothing event.
There’s no news on price right now. However, given Carl Pei helped set up OnePlus as a cheap yet premium brand, perhaps we can expect a price that will undercut big rivals like the Samsung Galaxy S22 or the upcoming OnePlus 10 Pro, or even the already cheap Google Pixel 6.
Carl Pei did say at the Nothing event that he has a good track record of selling directly to consumers, so we would expect that to continue, which would likely keep prices low.
A new leak from Allround PC claims that the Phone (1) will launch on July 21 for about €500. We’re not so sure about this one, but it’s the only thing we have to go off of right now.
Nothing Phone 1: Design
The outside of the Nothing Phone (1) is still a mystery, but the drawings shown at the Wired by Nothing event may show how the back of the phone might look, with a stadium-shaped camera block in the top left corner.
Carl Pei, who started the company, says the design is “unlike anything you’ve ever seen.”
Evan Blass, a leaker, tweeted a picture of Carl Pei holding something about the size of a phone. This could be a glimpse of the phone. But it’s hard to see much detail.
A tweet from the company and the clear design of the Nothing Ear (1) suggest that the Phone (1) will take us back to the days of feature phones when clear gadgets were still popular. In this idea from Yanko Design, you can see how this might look.
Carl Pei and lead designer Tom Howard told Wallpaper that the back of the Phone (1) would be see-through. The wireless charging coil will be the design’s star, drawing your attention to it. Nothing also said that the 1972 New York subway map was a source of inspiration for the design of the Phone (1).
Pei also showed sketches of the Phone’s prototype (1). You can get a general idea of what the phone might look like, even though the details aren’t clear.
Based on the information they had, TechDroider made a concept render. You can see that the phone’s 6.55-inch screen has a small amount of space around it.
Nothing Phone (1): Nothing OS
We know a little bit more about how the phone’s screen will look. So far, the screenshots we’ve seen show an always-on screen, rounded app icons, some custom Nothing widgets, and the company’s established black-and-white design language.
Nothing says that the “iconic design language” of Nothing OS is the best part of Android put together. There are supposedly 40% fewer apps already installed, and the experience is close to stock Android.
Nothing says that the Nothing Phone (1) will be easy to use because the graphics will be the same on each screen. For example, when you unlock the device, the dot matrix clock that shows up on the always-on display is still in the same place.
Nothing is also emphasizing its own visual language with fonts, colors, and graphics that are made just for it. For example, the weather widget uses the same dot matrix font as the company’s logo, which moves in a cool way. Read More; Google Pixel 7: Everything We Know So Far
The apps on Nothing have a retro and fun feel, like the voice recorder app. There’s a wheel that looks like a tape that you can turn to rewind or fast forward.
Nothing has made a launcher for other phones that lets you try out the Nothing Phone (1). We were pretty disappointed with what we saw in the launcher preview, and it adds to the idea that Nothing’s phone is more about the hype than the real thing.
When it comes to updates, you can expect OS updates for 3 years and security updates for 4 years.
Nothing Phone (1): Specs
Nothing Phone (1) specs are unknown at this time. However, the handset is being developed in collaboration with Qualcomm. This indicates that a Snapdragon chip will be used, possibly the flagship-grade Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
The Nothing Phone (1) also claims “smooth and fast performance” by providing users with the processing power and RAM they require for the specific program they’re operating. Additionally, the apps you use the most will launch faster, indicating that the Phone (1) has learned from your habits.
To make this work, the phone would need an OLED display, based on the presence of what appears to be an always-on display in the screenshots above. Hopefully, this means a high refresh rate, similar to the 120Hz standard found on more costly Android phones.
The Phone (1) will have a 6.55-inch OLED display with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels, according to TechDroider. Read Also; Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 Everything We Know So Far
Nothing Phone (1): Outlook
The Android smartphone ecosystem has shrunk in recent years, with LG, HTC, and other manufacturers dropping out. For those looking for something truly unique and thrilling, Samsung’s dominance has probably gotten monotonous. We’re hoping the Nothing Phone (1) makes a splash, but in a crowded market, this fledgling brand has a lot to prove.
