Start-up provides little information, sets ambitious goals 2 min read
After the Nothing ear (1), the start-up of OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei will soon be launching its own smartphone. It’s called Nothing phone (1) and is scheduled for release in the summer.
London-based consumer tech company Nothing made a difference back in 2021 with its first product, the TWS headphones ear(1) (review), causing a stir. Their transparent design made them stand out from the crowd. Now the CEO Carl Pei announced the Nothing phone (1) in a live stream.
Almost nothing is known about the technology of the smartphone, only one Snapdragon SoC has been confirmed. Details are to follow over the coming months. When it comes to software, the company relies on its own Android interface called NothingOSwhich is reduced “to the essentials”.
Minimalist Android OS and three years of version updates
The first pictures show a simple home screen and some widgets typical of Nothing Dot matrix design to see. In April, the company is making a matching launcher app available for download on select Android smartphones to preview the look of Nothing OS. The phone (1) will receive OS updates for three years and security updates for four years.
Pei named as a partner for components Qualcomm, Google, Samsung, Sony, Visionox and BYD. Google provides support for the operating system, Qualcomm the SoC. Visionox could be responsible for the OLED display, while the cameras are thought to come from Samsung and Sony. Nothing will apparently get the smartphone battery from BYD.
Strong product ecosystem planned
The start-up does not want to stop at headphones and smartphones, but wants to build up a product ecosystem over the next few years that is intended to compete with Apple. Similar to Xiaomi, not only in-house products should belong to the ecosystem, but also those from partners. Pei wants to shake up the “stagnant” industry with the phone (1) and at the same time appeals to the faith of the community in the usual OnePlus manner.
Whether the ambitious plans work out will depend on the success of the smartphone. In our test, the Nothing ear (1) didn’t really live up to its strong marketing hype. The company may again be using a transparent design. A graphic shown in the live stream leaves a back with imagination dual camera and an inductive charging coil. Concept designer Ben Geskin has already visualized what the smartphone could look like.
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Tim Butcher