When it comes to scarcity, Nothing draws directly from the art world book, which is why the company held an exceptional (and elusive) event at Art Basel. The Nothing phone (1) will initially be available as a 100-piece series on StockX, a market where retailers can “drop” limited editions of otherwise ordinary products such as sneakers, electronic consoles or merchant cards. Prices are likely to rise, sparking interest in a phone that won’t be too far in hardware and software from a well-developed high-end Android phone. Pei and his team are trying to sell us not only the phone itself, but also the entire “socially agreed” value of the brand they are building around it. Critics may dismiss it as pretentious, insincere or even inconsistent with the current state of the global economy, which is plunging into recession.
And yet, even if the phone (1) turns out to be just another Android phone with good personalized software, Nothing is trying to bring it to market, following a path that no company has experimented with, combining straightforward exit strategies. the market of higher value business domains that have nothing to do (sorry for the pun) with the smartphone market. Whether the phone (1) will be a smashing hit or a flop, the trip will be worth watching.
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