Smartphones have gone meta (no, not that one) with a new blower from little-known tech firm Nothing.
This marks the irreverently-named company’s first foray into the world of smartphones, having only previously released a pair of excellent wireless earbuds (called the Ear 1s). Still, there’s a reason why this might just be the most hyped phone – outside of a new Apple device – of the past five years.
For starters, it’s backed by some big names; it was founded by Carl Pei, the co-founder of OnePlus. And investors include the inventor of the iPod, the co-founder of Twitch, the CEO of Reddit, and the godfather of vlogging Casey Neistat.
Design is taken care of by uber-cool Swedish design firm Teenage Engineering, with an ethos to ‘make the inside of your tech as beautiful as the outside. To that effect all Nothing products come with a see-through case, that lets you ogle the microchips within.
It’s a cool idea, made even more enjoyable by the fact the smartphone has a load of back-facing LED lights that will create a fun little light show at the push of the button (or you could use it for notifications, natch).
Elsewhere under the hood, the Phone (1) won’t blow you away from a tech point of view. Much like Apple over recent years, the company wants to wow Android users with an ecosystem that “just works” and sexy devices that are worth showing off to friends and tech family. To that end it will speed through apps and most games, takes decent snaps with one of its two cameras (regular and wide-angle), and handle the usual social media and entertainment.
From a technical standpoint it’s not going to blow the Samsung S22+ users of the world away; but it’s certainly one of the better-looking Android devices in recent memory (which is the entire point).
The Nothing Phone (1) has certainly made a splash with thirsty Android fans, who have long lamented Apple’s dominance in the space of nice-looking tech. And the irreverent name and design (not to mention that list of investors) only add to the cool factor.
The Nothing Phone (1) is available now for AED1,300. Find it at all good gadget stores (and online ones, too).