Nothing has announced a distinctive new phone with an unusual name — the ‘Nothing Phone (1)’ will be out this summer. Here’s everything we know so far.
First off, it’s worth giving you the background on this new smartphone. Nothing founder, Carl Pei, was one of the masterminds behind the OnePlus brand before leaving in 2020 to start Nothing.
The brand is now known for its earbuds, which carry the same distinctive see-through style, allowing you to see some of the internals. Our experts were really impressed with the Nothing ear (1) earbuds, giving them a four-star rating and describing the buds as: “bringing the fight to Apple’s AirPods”. For more on the company’s earbuds take a look at our full Nothing ear (1) review.
The quality of the earbuds, combined with Pei’s previous work at OnePlus, makes the Nothing Phone (1) an exciting proposition. As you can see in the image above, the phone packs a transparent look and —in terms of its shape — seems to share some similarities with the Apple iPhone 13.
Aside from the styling, Nothing has shown it’s willing to depart from market norms as a brand, with most other new Android phones currently offering a triple-camera array on the back. The Nothing Phone (1) offers two cameras but looks good. We’re yet to have confirmation on how powerful those two cameras are, or on the nature of the front-facing camera.
So, could it be one of the best smartphones of 2022? Or at least one of the best mid-range smartphones? Read on to find out everything we’ve found out so far.
Nothing Phone (1) release date
The full unveiling of the Nothing Phone (1) is set for 12th July 2022 and we’re expecting to learn about the release date then. It will be shortly afterwards most likely and we’d guess that pre-orders will probably go live at the end of the presentation.
So far, the actual release date hasn’t been confirmed though, with Nothing keeping it quiet until the 12th. The company said that the phone will fully release during “summer 2022”.
Nothing Phone (1) UK price
Nothing Series #1. Preparing for phone (1). The clock is ticking for the team. Watch the journey to our most important launch on Youtube. pic.twitter.com/kYYPaQVUxJ
— Nothing (@nothing) June 14, 2022
Right now, Nothing has not confirmed the price of its first smartphone.
However, German news outlet Allround-PC reported a leak suggesting that the phone will cost around €500. This aligns it as a rival to the Google Pixel 6a, rather than the iPhone 13, the Samsung S22, or other more high-end handsets.
This would fit with Pei’s previous work at OnePlus. The co-founder and CEO made OnePlus into a brand that offered great feature sets without top-end prices. Now, OnePlus are moving into more premium handsets, so the Nothing Phone could become another key competitor in the mid-range market.
Nothing Phone (1) specs
So what’s under the hood? First off, Nothing has confirmed that the device will be powered by a Qualcomm chip, though the company hasn’t said which one yet.
Elsewhere, the phone will come with three years of software updates and four years of security updates. It will run on Nothing OS, which is apparently close to an untouched Android experience and comes with less bloatware than other manufacturers’ devices and operating systems.
There’s also an always-on display and wireless charging, but we don’t know what size that display will be yet. We’re expecting the industry-standard 120Hz refresh rate and an OLED panel.
How to buy Nothing Phone (1) in the UK
You’ll have to wait until July 12th for buying information on the Nothing Phone and for details on when you can pre-order.
Right now, you can visit the Nothing website for more information and for pre-orders as soon as they go live.
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