The Nothing Phone 1: Is It Special?

If you haven't heard of Nothing before, it's a newcomer to the smartphone industry behind which is OnePlus’ co-founder Carl Pei who decided to move on and offer something different to the rest of smartphones on the market. After a year of teasers and significant amount of details revealed, the first Nothing Phone 1 was launched without much pizzaz, but rather straight to the point. Just like how OnePlus started, the Nothing Phone 1 concept is to bring a great alternative for less. Let’s jump straight into it and see whether Nothing Phone 1 is special or rather something OnePlus used to be.

Nothing Phone 1 Specifications

Glance over the specifications sheet of the Nothing Phone 1 below.

It’s clear that Nothing Phone 1 has cut a few corners and takes its rightful place among the mid-rangers of this world. It lacks a higher IP certification and processing power, but offers wireless charging and a decent amount of RAM. Perhaps the team reserved some of the features expected from modern-day smartphones for the Nothing Phone 2?

Image: nothing.tech

Nothing Phone 1 Design

The most unique design feature of the Nothing Phone 1 is its see-through back panel which offers a glimpse at the components powering the phone. The transparent back has been somewhat of a trend among smartphone enthusiasts with several protective skin brands releasing wraps that depict the structure of a phone’s innards. Moreover, Nothing’s first ever released product was earbuds that had the same see-through design, so the phone is a thoughtful continuation of this design choice.

The back panel also has a few strips of LED lights fitted which mirror the contour of the rear camera and the wireless charging coil. The settings of these lights can be configured to go off when a notification is received, the phone is charging or you have an incoming call.

Image: nothing.tech

On the front, the Nothing Phone 1 resembles the Samsung Galaxy S10e which was Samsung’s attempt to capture the interest of flagship buyers on a budget. The display is surrounded by relatively thick symmetric bezels and the front camera cutout is housed in the top left corner.

Nothing Phone’s 1 Price and Availability in the UK

At release, the Nothing Phone 1 was available on the nothing.tech official website, but has since been discontinued. Select retailers like Currys no longer stock this model either, but on the official Nothing Store on Amazon there are limited models available.

The price for the Nothing Phone 1 is discounted now and depends on what storage and RAM combination you go for:

• 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM — currently £200 (Release price £399)

• 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM — currently £323 (Release price £449)

• 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM — currently £247 (Release price £499)

You can save more on your purchase by trading in your old phone.

Our Thoughts on the Nothing Phone 1

Let’s be honest, the Nothing Phone 1 does have the look that helps it to stand out from the crowd. However, to enjoy such design on a daily basis, no phone case policy is your only option which leaves you quite vulnerable to damaging drops and premature wear and tear.

When OnePlus released its first smartphone, it was like a gasp of fresh air in a crowded space of extremely expensive flagships and cheap plastic knock-offs without anything decent in between. With OnePlus having paved its way into the upper echelon of smartphones now and having forgotten its true identity, it feels like the Nothing Phone 1, although coming from a completely different brand, stands for the same principles and might be another attempt to shake things up. Following the same mid-range recipe, compromising on specs and featuring a few gimmicks, the Nothing Phone 1 does break the monotony of today's smartphones. However, in essence, the Nothing Phone 1 really is nothing we haven't seen before. It’s simply served with a twist. Mind you, it will be curious to see where it takes the Nothing Phone portfolio.

Antonia

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