Carl Pei teases Nothing's Phone (1), a smartphone running on Nothing OS, an Android skin, and powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon, debuting this summer
The VergeJon Porter
Context & Ripple Effects
Nothing’s phone entry follows its $70 million Series B to build smartphones with Qualcomm, turning that financing and supplier relationship into a named product effort. The Phone (1) is positioned around Android, a proprietary Nothing OS layer, and Qualcomm silicon rather than a wholly new mobile platform.
Later coverage shows the launch campaign becoming more specific: Nothing ultimately identified a mid-range Snapdragon 778G+ choice and continued building the line with the Phone (2). That makes this teaser the start of a product-family strategy, not a one-off hardware announcement.
First-order effects
Nothing moves from fundraising and its earlier product ambitions into direct competition for Android phone buyers, with Nothing OS becoming its primary named software differentiator.
Qualcomm gains a smartphone design win from Nothing, while Android supplies the base platform on which Nothing is building its branded experience.
Second-order effects
Nothing’s eventual mid-range chip selection makes cost, performance, and power consumption central to its positioning, rather than competing solely on top-end specifications.
The company must use its software layer and product design to distinguish a handset built on Android and Qualcomm components that other phone makers can also access.
Third-order effects
If Nothing sustains follow-on devices, the company’s route to relevance is likely to resemble a growing class of hardware challengers: use established Android and chip platforms while concentrating differentiation in brand, industrial design, and software.
The Phone (1) suggests that smartphone entry barriers are shifting away from creating a full operating system or silicon stack and toward executing a distinctive integrated product around incumbent platforms.
The trend: New smartphone brands are seeking differentiation through branded software and design while relying on Android and established chip suppliers for the underlying platform.
You've speculated, and now you know. Nothing phone (1) is officially coming. It's unlike anything else. Summer 2022. Sign up for the latest updates on https://nothing.tech/. https://twitter.com/...
Someone give me the confidence Carl has to build hype for weeks, then go on stage and with a straight face claim there is no innovation in the smartphone industry, that “Apple is the only choice”, and that they will launch an Android phone with ... custom widgets. https://twitter…
This is the story I would tell if I, as a Marketer, wanted to maximize my SEO visibility and encourage tribalistic engagement on social networks by coopting the world's most famous brand and associating it with my own. you know, just hypothetically https://www.theverge.com/...
I don't buy that Nothing told its investors its goal is to meaningfully disrupt the iPhone. The goal, in my view, is to unseat OnePlus in India and try to fill the Huawei gap in Europe. And I see zero opportunity for this phone in North America whatsoever. Pointless.
I'd like to see Nothing or anyone succeed at offering an alternative to Apple's tightly controlled ecosystem, but there are barriers. Apple takes years to implement tech in a thoughtful way. It's hard to compete with that if you're also differentiating from other Android phones
Nothing is certainly ambitious, promising to right the wrongs of the tech industry. 300 person startup. Managed supply chain; phones will be Qualcomm @snapdragon based. $140m in funding. https://twitter.com/...
... I'm interested to see what Nothing does with the rest of the design. And the notion of an ecosystem built to deliver some of the cross-device synergy Apple has been able to achieve is compelling - especially since it may extend beyond Nothing-made devices.
@dcseifert the target market is likely zoomers in SE Asia and mayyyyybe Europe. The idea investors bought into them taking on the iPhone is lol. Carl is really good at crafting narrative, but this phone has literally no chance in the world's iPhone-dominant markets.
@dcseifert Just what US carriers want, another mediocre $600-900 phone that no one will buy! Apple, Samsung, and Google have extracted 100% of the oxygen in this space and collectively spend more on marketing every month than Nothing is worth to keep that edge. Good luck with tha…
Congratulations on the announcement @nothing and @getpeid! Looking forward to seeing the finished product and what it's capable of. https://twitter.com/...
Okay so that was a complete waste of time. “We're not iterating. We are innovating. It's time to change the smartphone. We love Qualcomm. Nothing OS is super innovative. Look at our quirky voice recorder. Listen to this ugly notification sound. Give us your money. OK bye.”
Everyone is aiming at Apple... I don't see anything that isn't already on the market and another forked Android phone just means that much more delay in getting new versions. I hope I'm wrong, I'd love to see something innovative https://t.co/inyzhvvL30
Carl Pei has just teased Nothing's first smartphone, the Phone 1. He claims “there's no alternative to Apple” (Samsung says hi), and that Nothing wants to be THE alternative. The Phone 1 will run Android, and Nothing's OS and launcher https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.…
the new spin this time around is a fantasy ecosystem that other manufacturers will supposedly want to take part in. I can tell you right now this is never going to happen in any meaningful way.
Interesting comments by @getpeid at the Nothing phone (1) launch - “Smartphones used to excite us, now they are mundane. We get iterations, not innovations. Where is innovation?”
That was all? 🤷🏻♂ ️ Uhm, felt like a small update for the community and investors and not us. But anyways, without any glimpses of the phone, we do know a bit about what will be powering the phone (1) which is coming in Summer 2022. Thoughts? or was it Nothing? #nothingevent htt…
i've been listening to Carl Pei tell this same exact story for almost ten years, first with OnePlus, now with Nothing. I'll believe it when I see it. https://www.theverge.com/...