The Nothing Phone (1) is the first smartphone from the new company founded by former OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei. Nothing has generated a lot of buzz for the phone in recent months, but now that the company has officially launched the phone we finally have a full picture of what to expect.
It’s basically a phone that combines a mix of mid-range and premium specs, a splash of custom software, and a truly unusual design that includes a transparent back cover and a series of LED light strips that allow you to customize notifications and other visual alerts. The Nothing Phone (1) goes on sale July 21st with prices starting at £399 in the UK. but if you’re in the US or Canada you’re out of luck. Nothing lives up to its name in those countries, with no plans to offer this phone in North America.
The move is a little disappointing, but it also makes sense for a startup. Most smartphone customers in the US and Canada purchase phones from wireless carriers, which means that phone makers who want to sell large numbers of their products need to develop relationships with those carriers… something that can be tricky for a young company to do.
And since the phone isn’t going to be sold in North America, Nothing hasn’t equipped it with support for cellular network bands in the US and Canada, so even if you were to import a phone, it’d have pretty lousy wireless reception.
Anyway, the phone itself, it features a flexible AMOLED display that Pei says costs more than a regular display, but which allows for symmetrical bezels because of the way the screen bends inside the phone. The Nothing Phone (1) is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ processor.
The phone ships with Android 12 and a custom user interface called Nothing OS, and the company is promising three years of major android updates. It has stereo speakers, 3 microphones, support for face and fingerprint unlocking, and dual SIM card support.
It will be available in select markets starting July 21, 2022 and here’s an overview of some key specs:
| Nothing Phone (1) specs | |
| Display | 6.55 inches 2400 x 1800 pixels Flexible AMOLED (flat) 120 Hz HDR10+ |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ |
| RAM | 8GB / 12GB |
| Storage | 128GB / 256GB |
| Cameras | 50MP Sony IMX766 (rear, primary) 50MP Samsung JN1 (rear, ultrawide 114 degrees) 16MP Sony IMX471 (front) |
| Battery | 4,500 mAh |
| Charging | 33W (wired) 15W (wireless) 5W (reverse wireless) Charger sold separately |
| Special features | Programmable LED light strips on the back In-display fingerprint sensor IP53 dust & water resistance |
| Dimensions | 159.2 x 75.8 x 8.3mm |
| Weight | 193.5 grams |
| Price | 8GB / 128GB for £399 (July 21) 8GB / 256GB for £449 (July 21) 12GB / 256GB for £499 (coming later) |
What ticks me off is how the buzz is all on the side of media, likely paid to muster this thing ahead of launch (nothing new there) – but really, I keep reading the phone is one of a kind, not just a pretty design, offers so much more.. and yet it’s pretty much just another Android device with some fancy lighting effect on the back (which, to me, would quickly become insane annoying).
“The Nothing Phone (1) goes on sale July 21st with prices starting at £399 in the UK.”
Same day and same price as the Pixel 6a.
I don’t see why anyone would buy this over the Pixel, but I’ll be curious to see how the sales figures go.
It’s arguably the other way around. Wireless carriers require phone makers who want to sell large numbers of their products to develop relationships with those carriers, and so most smartphone customers in the US and Canada purchase phones from wireless carriers. Bring your own device seems to have gotten worse since they got rid of 3G due to holding VoLTE profiles hostage.