Everything We Know About Nothing, “Phone 1”
After months of hype, Nothing has announced the Phone 1, its first smartphone and second product ever. The idea is to deviate from what other smartphone makers are doing and design a smartphone that does exactly what people want it to do (and nothing they don’t).
Tuesday’s presentation of Nothing was certainly unconventional: after some audio glitches at the start, we were introduced to Carl Pei, founder of Nothing (and co-founder of OnePlus). The entire presentation took place in three locations (two indoors and one outdoors) in an informal setting. This turned out to be very deliberate, as Pei later revealed that the keynote speech was filmed entirely on Phone 1. However, for those who follow rumors and previews, the presentation didn’t bring much new information.
Glyph is perhaps the most interesting feature of the Phone 1.
The phone is visually unique, with a twist, of course, on the back: Nothing calls it the “Glyph,” the tracing of internal components with chains of lights. These indicators are activated in various situations: Nothing OS is built-in for each ringtone; the light ring around the wireless charging pad lights up when wireless charging or reverse wireless charging; and the “progress” indicator lights up when wired charging. The Glyph even lights up to act as a sort of light when shooting video. I appreciate the little red LED on the back that flashes when you’re recording video, a feature I lacked in camcorders of the time.
Phone 1 has two cameras
Nothing can boast of the Phone 1’s cameras, but as proof, it relied entirely on the video quality of the keynote. On July 8, the company released a press release discussing the cameras, including a number of photos taken by members of the Nothing team. While the photos look solid, we won’t know how they actually compare to the competition until reviewers test the phone.
Phone 1 has two cameras on the back (one ultra-wide, one main), which is one or two fewer than most current flagships. Both cameras have a resolution of 50 megapixels: the ultra wide-angle (Samsung JN1 sensor) has a 114˚ field of view, and the main one (Sony IMX766 sensor) supports the so-called “extreme night mode”. There’s also support for 4K video at 30fps, with night mode video at 108op 30fps. The 16MP front camera is capable of capturing 1080p video, which is surprising since 4K video is the norm for a flagship selfie camera these days.
Phone 1’s display was the focus
The other minor visual difference between the Phone 1 and other smartphones is in the bezels: edge-to-edge displays are the norm these days, but Nothing wanted its phone to have the same thin bezels on all four sides of the display. As Pei explained, most Android makers have to leave the phone’s “chin” slightly larger than the other sides in order to fit the cables under the OLED display. However, Nothing uses a “flexible” OLED display here, which the company claims costs twice as much as a traditional screen, to achieve such a slim look.
This display is a 6.55-inch OLED display with support for 10-bit HDR10+. It comes with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 at 402 ppi, with a typical brightness of 500 nits and a peak brightness of 1200 nits. It has a 120Hz refresh rate for the smooth scrolling we’ve come to expect from smartphones, but it’s adaptive down to 60Hz to save battery. It comes with three different memory and storage options: 8GB RAM with 128GB storage; 8GB RAM with 256GB storage; and 12 GB of RAM with 256 GB of storage.
We don’t know how well the Phone 1 will perform.
Performance is one area that will be of interest: the Phone 1 deliberately doesn’t use an advanced processor. Instead, it’s powered by the Snapdragon 778G+, which Nothing claims strikes a balance between performance and battery life. Speaking of which, the Phone 1 has a 4500mAh battery capable of 33W wired charging in 70 minutes and 15W wireless charging in 120 minutes. About how much the battery holds, Nothing is said.
Just a side note, but the device has an IP53 dust and water resistance rating, which is pretty bad. Based on this rating , it cannot be submerged in water and will not survive spills.
Nothing will also provide three years of software support and four years of security support for the Phone 1.
Nothing will bring the Phone 1 to the US
The bummer for those of us who live in the US, myself included, is that the Phone 1 won’t be coming to our region. It is available in a large number of other places around the world. However, like other phones not sold in the US, it will work if you get to it. Let’s see if any viable retailers open up and ship to the US.
Here are the prices for Phone 1 in the UK:
- £399 (roughly $477): 8GB RAM / 128GB storage
- £449 (approximately $537): 8GB RAM / 256GB storage
- £499 (approximately $597): 12GB RAM / 256GB storage
Again, not much new information. This removed the usual pomp and thoroughness that most manufacturers put into their presentations, but at the same time, did not show us anything special. With the Phone 1, it’s more important than ever to see how a device performs in the eyes of reviewers before deciding if it’s worth it.