Nothing, the start-up of former OnePlus founder Carl Pei, has just presented its first smartphone: the Nothing Phone(1). Particularly notable because of the transparent back with iconic white LED lighting.
Nothing introduced its first product last year: the Nothing Ear(1). These wireless earphones stood out thanks to their transparent design and excellent value for money. That nothing would also come with a smartphone was expected: Carl Pei already did that at OnePlus.
Nothing Phone(1)
The first smartphone from Nothing continues the transparent design of the Ear(1). The back is transparent and designed in such a way that you can get an idea of the parts, without looking cluttered. This back also contains white LED lights, which can let you know with special patterns when you receive a call or notification, or to keep you informed of the charging status. It is also a non-subtle light for in the dark or to support taking photos and videos.
The back is made of glass, which is a vulnerable material. In order to safely apply the LED lights (which Nothing calls the “Glyph interface”) you need a transparent cover. Apart from the transparent back, the Nothing Phone(1) looks a bit like the iPhone 13, thanks to its flat metal edge and placement of the cameras.
mid-range smartphone
The Nothing Phone(1) has midrange specifications and few notable features. A Snapdragon 778G+ chipset with 8 or 12GB of RAM is plenty and can connect to 5G, but it is not the most powerful chipset from Qualcomm’s stable.
Furthermore, the smartphone has a 6.55-inch OLED screen (Full-HD and with a dynamic refresh rate of up to 120 hertz), two 50 megapixel cameras (regular lens and wide-angle lens), 128 or 256GB non-expandable storage memory and a battery capacity of 4,500 mAh. You can charge this battery wirelessly or via USB-C (fast). If desired, you must purchase an adapter separately.
Nothing OS
The smartphone runs on Android 12 with its own Nothing OS layer on top. On the surface, this shell seems to make little difference to the Android base. Unfortunately, the update support is a bit sparse: three years of Android version updates and four years of security updates.
Availability Nothing Phone(1)
The Nothing Phone(1) is available in black and white. You can also choose from 8GB ram with 128GB storage memory (469 euros), 8GB ram with 256GB storage (499 euros) or 12GB ram with 256GB storage (549 euros).
The two versions with 8GB of RAM are available immediately. The most expensive version with 12GB of RAM will appear later this summer.
†