The phone for nothing 1.
Nothing
The co-founder of Chinese smartphone brand OnePlus, Carl Pei, is back with a new phone – only this time it’s with a different company, literally called Nothing.
Pei’s specially-named stand-up officially unveiled its debut smartphone on Tuesday, after months of hints and teasers about the device’s appearance. Called Phone 1, it is the second product launched by the company so far.
Based in London, Nothing was founded by Pei in 2020. The firm released its first gadget last summer, a set of wireless headphones called the Ear 1, and has sold 560,000 units so far.
At first glance, the Phone 1 is similar to Apple’s latest iPhones. The phone features a dual-camera setup with two 50-megapixel sensors and 5G mobile connectivity, along with standard hardware you’d find in a mid-range smartphone, such as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 778G+ chipset.
Elegant design
The most intriguing thing about the Phone 1 is its design.
The phone has a transparent back that shows a unique pattern of shapes and lines or ‘glyphs’. The company says it was inspired by a modernist version of the New York subway map by Italian designer Massimo Vignelli in the 1970s.
Another quirk of the phone is that it lights up – literally – when you get a call or a notification from an app. The device is equipped with 900 tiny LED lights that flash periodically in tandem with a set of robotic ringtones when you receive a call from someone.
There’s also a feature called “Flip to Glyph” that silences the phone when you flip it face down, showing only flashing lights when you receive a call or notification.
In an interview with CNBC last year, Pei described Nothing’s product design as “retro-futuristic,” drawing inspiration from a variety of themes ranging from old Sony products to luxury fashion designs.
The Chinese-Swedish tech entrepreneur said he thinks modern hardware feels “cold” and that “innovation has slowed down a lot” at Apple, which changed the world with the launch of the first iPhone in 2007.
Price and availability
Apart from some quirks and niche design features, nothing separates the Phone 1 from most standard mid-range smartphones.
The most attractive part of the device is its price. The Phone 1 starts at £399 ($473) for a base model with 128GB of internal storage, making it cheaper than the latest flagships from Apple and Samsung.
Instead of trying to upend the smartphone industry by focusing on foldable displays or 5G, Pei is relying on a strategy he incorporated at OnePlus — generating buzz with some unorthodox marketing and sales tactics.
Nothing will initially launch the Phone 1 at a kiosk in London’s West End from July 16 to 20, before going on sale to the general public online on July 21 and at select retailers and carriers.
It will be available in more than 40 countries, including the UK, Japan and across Europe, but not in the US. Nothing says it’s looking for a carrier partner so it can start selling the device to US customers.
Tough competition
Pei’s new phone will face stiff competition. Together, Apple and Samsung control a 40% share of the smartphone market. And smaller Chinese phone makers such as Xiaomi and Oppo have gained a significant foothold in Europe.
Ben Wood, principal analyst at CCS Insight, said successfully launching the Nothing Phone 1 would be a “big challenge”.
“The smartphone market is frighteningly competitive and dominated by Apple and Samsung, who have incredible resources,” Wood said via email.
“The rest of the addressable market is a shootout between multiple Chinese manufacturers desperate to grab share, making it even more difficult for a new entrant to break into the segment.”
Smartphone shipments are expected to decline 3.5% in 2022, according to IDC data. The market faces multiple headwinds, including shrinking living costs and ongoing global component shortages.
As a small, privately held startup, Nothing doesn’t have the cash that companies like Apple and Samsung can pour into strengthening their supply chains and maintaining international shipments.
Still, the company has some notable investors behind it. The firm has raised a total of $150 million to date from backers including iPod creator Tony Fadell and GV, the venture arm of Google’s parent company Alphabet.
More than 200,000 people have signed up to a waiting list to pre-order the phone, according to the company. Some have even submitted bids north of $3,000 for the first 100 units on e-commerce platform StockX.
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