What is the Nothing Phone 1? Is it a rival to Apple’s iPhone, and is it a telephone you can purchase? I’ve lastly been in a position to get my palms on the telephone and there are many causes to love it from its flashing LED “glyph” to its reasonably priced value.A scarcity of US availability at launch is disappointing, however in any other case this telephone looks like an fascinating midrange mannequin for these of you wanting one thing a bit completely different from Apple’s, Samsung’s or Google’s units. Here, then, is what it is advisable to learn about this primary telephone from the brand new tech model Nothing, together with its value, when you should buy it and, crucially, whether or not it is truly any good.
Now taking part in:
Watch this:
What You Should Know About the Nothing Phone 1
5:49
What is Nothing? Nothing is a tech model began in 2020 by entrepreneur Carl Pei. He was one of many founders of OnePlus, an organization that provides telephones and different units and has been identified for making strong merchandise with good specs at costs that usually undercut its rivals Apple and Samsung. It was precisely that philosophy that remodeled OnePlus from a tiny, area of interest firm to a high tech model with merchandise that supply severe competitors to the most effective ones on the market. The Nothing Phone 1 (left) and the OnePlus 10 Pro.
Andrew Lanxon/CNET
Pei left OnePlus to start out his new firm, Nothing. While I can not say I’m a lot of a fan of the title, Pei’s philosophy of making an attempt to do issues slightly in a different way than rivals ought to make it an fascinating model to keep watch over.What’s thrilling concerning the Nothing Phone?But who cares who’s behind the corporate if the product itself would not have something to shout about. Thankfully, the Nothing Phone 1 does have some neat options to stay up for.
See the Nothing Phone 1’s Transparent Back and Flashing Glyph
See all pictures
Its design is the place it actually stands out. The again has a transparent cowl that exposes the internals and makes it really feel such as you’re trying into the guts of the telephone. You can see the place completely different items join, you may see uncovered screw heads and the one branding is the refined Nothing brand and the little pink dot, which is the signature of the model. But it will get higher. Some of these items seen beneath the duvet are literally LEDs that gentle up in what Nothing calls a “glyph” once you get incoming notifications. This is arguably one thing of a novelty, however it’s positively fairly a enjoyable quirk of this telephone. The light-up “glyph” makes the telephone stand out.
Andrew Lanxon/CNET
On the again you may additionally discover a twin digicam setup with a typical and ultra-wide view. The telephone is wrapped in a steel band that appears and feels good, whereas the 6.55-inch OLED show is vibrant and sharp. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ processor ought to be greater than able to dealing with on a regular basis wants whereas additionally providing you with entry to that superfast 5G community.It’s an Android telephone at its coronary heart, operating the most recent Android 12 over which Nothing has slapped a neat and clutter-free interface that does not preload any nonsense that might gradual issues down. Then there are options like in-screen fingerprint scanning, IP58 water resistance, a 120Hz display screen refresh charge and quick charging — all of which add as much as this telephone feeling surprisingly feature-packed for its value.How a lot does the Nothing Phone 1 price?One of essentially the most thrilling issues about this telephone is its reasonably priced value. It prices £399 within the UK. This places it firmly within the lower-midrange value bracket, which to be trustworthy got here as a shock once I first heard it. The specs appear actually strong. And with such a give attention to design, I anticipated a value of perhaps 100 extra kilos. So you might be getting a decent-performing telephone for value. On paper, not less than. The see-through again appears to be like cool, and there is just some very refined Nothing branding to be seen.
Andrew Lanxon/CNET
US pricing is not confirmed, which I’ll come to, however that £399 value converts on to $475 (or AU$700), which places it across the identical value because the 2022 iPhone SE ($429) or the upcoming, US-only Google Pixel 6A ($449). When can I purchase the Nothing Phone 1? The telephone launched on Tuesday, so it is most likely already out there by the point you are studying this. It’s launching within the UK and Europe first. There is not at present a agency plan on when it’d get a correct US launch. It is prone to occur, although, maybe as soon as Nothing finds a provider to accomplice with to assist make its 5G bands appropriate. We will convey you US availability updates as quickly as they occur.The telephone runs Android 12.
Andrew Lanxon/CNET
Is the telephone the primary Nothing product? The Phone 1 might be essentially the most high-profile and most fun product Nothing has launched, however its first product was a set of earbuds it launched final yr referred to as the Nothing Ear 1 buds. You can definitely inform they’re from the identical crew. There’s a particular aesthetic shared between the merchandise, with the identical clear parts that present the inside workings. Like the telephone, the buds had been launched with a extra affordable value however nonetheless supplied fairly respectable efficiency total that made them properly value contemplating when you did not fancy forking out for Apple’s earbuds. If you’ve the Nothing Buds and love the weird look you then’ll virtually definitely admire the telephone. It has a twin digicam setup with a typical and ultra-wide view.
Andrew Lanxon/CNET
Should I purchase the Nothing Phone 1?There’s at all times going to be lots of fanfare and PR spin and advertising and marketing nonsense round a brand new firm. And definitely a few of Nothing’s rhetoric round “more soul,” “brave simplicity” and a “new way to communicate” is arguably slightly pretentious. But placing the entire firm nonsense apart, the precise product itself appears fairly good.It’s received a strong set of specs and a stripped-back interface. While its design won’t be to everybody’s tastes, it definitely stands out from the group. Personally, I believe it is fairly cool. But it is that reasonably priced value that I believe makes the telephone so interesting. The Phone 1 is not making an attempt to compete with the iPhone 13 Pro or the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Instead, it goals to provide a good total expertise for a value that is far more approachable to these of us tightening our purse strings. We’re testing the telephone proper now for the complete overview, placing its processor, digicam and different options by means of their paces to see simply how properly it performs towards the competitors and whether or not it is actually value your cash.