Nothing Phone 1

Nothing, the hardware venture of OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, officially pulled the wraps off its first smartphone Tuesday.

Another quirk to the phone is that it lights up — literally — when you receive a call or app notification. Together, Apple and Samsung command a 40% share of the smartphone market. Some have even submitted bids north of $3,000 for the first 100 units on e-commerce platform StockX. Phone 1 starts at £399 ($473) for a basic model with 128GB of internal memory, making it cheaper than Apple and Samsung's latest flagship phones. And smaller Chinese phone manufacturers like Xiaomi and Oppo have gained considerable ground in Europe. Called Phone 1, it's the second product launch from the company to date.

The start-up's first phone offers great specs and a surprisingly competitive price, but is that enough after all the hype?

Check out our full guide on where to buy the Phone (1) for full availability. After all, could any phone live up to the promise of a hype campaign that even Apple would be jealous of? It doesn’t quite fulfill fans’ hopes for true transparent tech that shows off the circuitry inside, but this minimalist mid-step is likely to prove more successful on the mass market.

Nothing, Carl Pei's tech startup, officially launched its debut Android smartphone. And while the Phone (1) looks cool, it's not coming to the U.S. right ...

Aside from that, it uses a proprietary version of Android called Nothing OS. It has its own widgets with dot matrix fonts and promises a lack of bloatware apps, which will be good news for Android enthusiasts who are tired of deleting apps every time they get a new phone. There are a series of lights in this back panel called the “Glyph” interface which can be customized to light up differently for calls, notifications, and charging status. Still, with a transparent back case featuring a unique light-based notification system, and white and black models, it’s one of the more stylish phones on the market.

The Nothing Phone (1) has just launched, but how does it stack up when compared against Apple's main handset?

We’ve not put the Nothing Phone (1) through our whole testing procedure just yet, but there are some ways that it has already impressed us, including with its noteworthy LED design and its speedy fast-charging. The Nothing Phone (1) and the iPhone 13 both have two rear sensors, and they’re both wide and ultrawide. In this article we take a look at how it compares to the iPhone 13, based on our full review of that product and our early impressions of the Nothing Phone (1) along with its list of specifications. On the other hand, the iPhone 13 brooks no quarter when it comes to performance. However, Apple’s effort has an IP68 rating against water and dust ingress, compared to IP53 for the Phone (1). The Nothing Phone (1) prides itself on its unique design, which looks significantly different from the competition in one key respect and that’s its system of LED lights.

The most affordable iPhone has a new Android-powered rival. Does the Nothing Phone 1 or iPhone SE deserve your cash?

The Nothing Phone 1 has a two-lens rear camera, but the iPhone SE makes do with just one. It has the edge where cables are concerned, too: the iPhone will manage 20W, but Phone 1 can top out at 50W with a compatible charger. If you’re not tied into iOS already, though, we think the Phone 1 is the better choice. The iPhone SE claws back a few wins thanks to its A15 Bionic processor, and there’s no denying iOS is a brilliantly well-rounded operating system. Whereas the iPhone has a 12MP sensor, Nothing has equipped its handset with two 50MP sensors – one for the main lens and the second for ultrawide shooting. In hardware terms, the Phone 1 has the advantage. Nothing got Qualcomm to develop a version of its Snapdragon 778G with baked-in support for wireless charging and reverse wireless charging – something you won’t find anywhere else for the price. It’s an absolute beast of a chip, able to blitz benchmark league tables and comfortably run the latest version of iOS. Apple’s smartphone screens have been consistently great, and the iPhone SE is no exception – but it’s still a fairly small IPS panel with a low resolution. The iPhone SE is available to buy now. It also contains the glyph interface, a series of hundreds of LEDs that act as notification and call alerts, and can be customised for other features too. High up on Carl Pei’s wish list for his new company’s first smartphone was the ability to marry hardware and software in a way that Apple makes look so effortless.

It comes with a premium quality screen and cameras, but has a price starting at significantly less than either the iPhone 13 Pro or the Samsung Galaxy S22+. So ...

Samsung says the S22+ can also handle up to 22 hours of video playback on a single charge, and the phone supports fast wireless charging and Wireless Power Share – meaning the phone can be used to charge accessories. In comparison, Apple says the iPhone 13 Pro can last for up to 22 hours of video playback on a single charge, and also supports wireless charging at the same speed as the Phone (1). UK tech firm Nothing has unveiled what it believes could be a new challenger to Apple and Samsung in the smartphone market – the Phone (1).

Here's how the Phone 1 stacks up against its powerful midrange rivals.

The back of the phone literally lights up, thanks to hundreds of LED lights, which can be customized to tell you who is calling or indicate charging status. The back of the Phone 1 is also home to the so-called "glyph" interface, the device's standout feature. The Phone 1 is Carl Pei's first phone launch since the storied entrepreneur's departure from OnePlus, which he led from a startup beloved by serious Android fans to a global purveyor of world-class phones.

With today's launch of the Phone (1), Nothing Tech can now show us its answers to the challenges this new smartphone manufacturer is facing.

And that is the great unknown. Nothing’s Phone (1) needs to set out its store and offer answers to some of the key challenges. The smartphone market is a cut-throat one.