Nothing phone (1): Everything we know so far

Nothing phone (1): Everything we know so far

The Nothing phone (1) will arrive in a few months with the goal of shaking up the world of Android phones. Founded by former OnePlus head Carl Pei, the Nothing tech startup has already released the Nothing Ear (1) earbuds and plans to release its first smartphone in just a few months.

Carl Pei’s tech startup Nothing has attracted plenty of interest from Android enthusiasts. Pei helped make the OnePlus brand popular in the West and has raised a huge amount of money already, both with venture capitalists and the Android community. Thus far, 25 thousand people have invested $63 million in Nothing, not even counting the venture capitalists.

But what exactly is the Nothing phone, which Pei promises will be a "compelling alternative" to Apple? We don't know yet. But we know enough to break down some of what you can expect from it.

Nothing phone (1): Design

(Image credit: Alex Dobie / Android Central)

You'll notice the picture above isn't a smartphone. But the Nothing Ear (1) buds and charging case could give a glimpse of what the phone could look like. 

A recent Nothing leak revealed that Pei would show off a Nothing phone prototype at Mobile World Congress 2022, and that it would have the same "elements of transparency" and design aesthetic as the Nothing earbuds. 

In theory, this could mean a similar look to the Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro (see below), with a translucent back for a stylish enthusiast look. The visible circuit board is fake, but it looked real, and Nothing could imitate that style. The HTC U11+ had a similar aesthetic as well. 

The Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro

At MWC, a blurry photo leaked showing Pei sharing a phone with a Qualcomm executive. It had a square camera module but was otherwise masked by a case, and there's no guarantee this prototype would look like the final product. But we do know Nothing and Qualcomm have partnered on future products, so it makes sense Pei would show off their progress with a partner.

Otherwise, we don't know anything concrete about the design. Nothing gave a supposed glimpse of the phone on Twitter with a standard USB-C port and bottom-firing speakers, but this turned out to be the preface to an April Fools joke about "another" phone "coming to bore you soon." So we still know nothing for now.

It'll be intriguing to see what Nothing comes up with, and whether it shares any resemblance to the Essential phone, given Nothing acquired the Essential brand. But we suspect the phone will make its own distinct mark instead of retreading old ground.

Nothing phone (1): Specs

We have very little to report officially when it comes to Nothing phone (1) specs. We don't know if this phone will be a "flagship" or a more affordable handset. For now, the company is remaining coy and promising "innovation" instead of comparing its product to other brands' hardware.

We know it'll use a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip, but we don't know if it'll use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 or a more mid-range SoC. During the "Truth" livestream reveal, Pei described the phone's "powerful and energy-efficient experience with fast connectivity speeds." And he went on to say that the OS "delivers the optimal processing power and RAM for the exact app you're using," with your most-used apps launching faster with cached RAM.

(Image credit: Nothing)

That sounds like the Nothing phone (1) will focus more on efficiency than raw power and memory — Apple's approach with its Bionic chips, in other words. But we'll have to see whether Nothing can deliver on such a promise. In any event, it may not have a flagship CPU or as much RAM as you'd traditionally want in an Android phone.

While Pei also promised a "smooth" experience, that doesn't mean the phone will have 120Hz — though we hope it will. He instead focused again on how the Nothing OS uses design consistency and minimal animations to prioritize efficiency.

The only "spec" we know for certain is the amount of software support it will receive. Pei promises three OS updates and four years of software support, which would mean a lifespan through the summer of 2026.

Nothing phone (1): Software

(Image credit: Nothing)

Pei spoke the most about the phone's Nothing OS software, which he promises will be “built on an open and seamless ecosystem that will effortlessly connect and integrate Nothing products and products from other world-leading brands.”

Referencing Apple's connectivity between its products, Pei said Nothing will aim to achieve similar connectivity, only with third-party products so you're not locked into an ecosystem. Again, this sounds like a tall order, so we'll have to see whether Pei delivers.

(Image credit: Nothing)

In terms of how the OS will look, it will have "stripped back, minimal animations" and "bespoke fonts, colors, and graphical elements that all speak our unique visual language." The dot matrix font visible throughout these screenshots gives you a glimpse of its simplicity.

(Image credit: Nothing)

It also will have unique features, like a voice recording logo shaped like an analogue tape recorder that you can swipe with your finger to rewind, fast forward, or adjust playback speed. And it will have unique sound design with "raw, technical sounds" inspired by "morse code, oscillators, and digital watches." No doubt this phone will have some unique notification chimes and ringtones.

(Image credit: Nothing)

Despite all these unique elements, we did see a few glimpses of traditional Android OS elements like the Quick Settings and app icons that look similar to what you'd see on the Pixel launcher.

Nothing phone (1): Release date and price

We know that the Nothing phone (1) will ship in "summer 2022" and that the startup will release the Nothing OS launcher in April. But we don't have a more concrete release date as of yet, nor do we have an official price. That will likely depend on specs that we know little about as of yet.

An uncertain future

(Image credit: Nothing)

In his Nothing phone analysis, Android Central global editor Alex Dobie broke down some of the challenges the startup will face. 

Photography and videography will be a challenge even if the Nothing phone has powerful lenses; most major phone brands have entire engineering teams dedicated to computational photography and image tuning with years of experience, which the 300-person Nothing startup can't hope to match.

And with component shortages hitting all major smartphone brands during the pandemic, it could be a challenge for Nothing to scale its new phone enough to make a major impact. Plus, Pei is promising the moon here, claiming the Nothing phone (1) will have the same innovative impact as the original iPhone. If he doesn't deliver, it'll be hard for the brand to recover.

Still, there's a reason why 4 in 5 Android Central readers are at least somewhat interested in the Nothing phone and the brand has raised $144 million thus far. The Android space has consolidated for years, with experimental brands like LG dropping out of the game and OnePlus abandoning its flagship-killer mantra for cheap Nord phones and unexciting software.

It's unclear if the Nothing phone (1) has what it takes to become one of the best Android phones, but at least it's promising something new.