Since its launch in late 2020, mysterious startup Nothing – created by former OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei – has led a reasonably personal existence; having launched its first product in mid-2021 and in any other case spending time elevating funds for additional enterprise growth. Nonetheless, murmurs surrounding a Nothing smartphone have now began to develop in each quantity and veracity.
Whereas the Nothing Ear (1) true wi-fi headphones proved an insightful first providing, subsequent messaging from each the corporate and Pei instantly, have centred across the notion of ‘ecosystem’, dovetailing properly with speak of a smartphone being the following product in Nothing’s pipeline.
As for the way a smartphone (whether or not it is known as the ‘Nothing Cellphone (1)’ or in any other case) will function the guts of Nothing’s promised ecosystem stays to be seen, particularly from a software program standpoint, however there are already clues surrounding the cellphone’s existence, in addition to the {hardware} it is perhaps sporting when it does arrive.
When does the Nothing Cellphone (1) launch?
Whereas Nothing hasn’t formally acknowledged the existence of a smartphone per se, alongside closing on US$70M in Sequence B funding, the corporate additionally set a date for its subsequent occasion: 23 March (at 14:00 GMT).
Formally branded as ‘Nothing (occasion): The Fact’, Pei is quoted as saying, “we won’t wait to disclose what we’re constructing at Nothing through the upcoming occasion.” With speak of a extra intensive product roadmap being proven off which may attain past a single product class.
Referencing “a supply with direct data of the matter” Tech Crunch claims that “Nothing has been engaged on a smartphone for over a 12 months and plans to announce it by subsequent month,” which might recommend a launch window of April 2022, at this level.
How a lot is the Nothing Cellphone (1)?
The corporate’s debut product – the aforementioned Ear (1) – boasted aggressive pricing (at £/$99), whereas retaining premium options like ANC (lively noise cancellation), putting them on the higher finish of what can be thought of ‘funds’ inside their respective product class.
If the identical therapy can be utilized to a smartphone, we might anticipate one thing within the area of £250/$300, nevertheless, suspicions and leaks level to Nothing producing one thing slightly extra high-end.
If the corporate had been to supply a smartphone powered by the newest Snapdragon eight Gen 1 chipset, for instance, aggressive pricing would land it within the area of £700/$800/€750, taking over the likes of Realme’s fresh-faced GT 2 Professional and Google Pixel 6, whereas undercutting entries from extra established gamers: just like the Oppo Discover X5 Professional, Samsung Galaxy S22 and iPhone 13.
What options will the Nothing Cellphone (1) provide?
The concept that Nothing’s smartphone could sport a Snapdragon eight Gen 1 is not wholly speculative, as the corporate brazenly introduced a partnership with Qualcomm in late 2021. The latter’s involvement reportedly consists of supplying Nothing with its Snapdragon {hardware} to be used in “future merchandise” (as per a report by Forbes from October 2021).
Whereas no particular chipsets have been talked about by both firm, the hope is that Nothing is engaged on a flagship system and if that seems to be the case, an eight Gen 1 SoC can be the plain selection.
One of the vital promising items of proof confirming the existence of a Nothing smartphone working on a Qualcomm chip comes from a picture shared by established tipster @evleaks, following the Cellular World Congress commerce present that befell in Barcelona, Spain, in late February.
Nothing to see right here. pic.twitter.com/mzLeTVHSXm
— Ev (@evleaks)
March 7, 2022
The picture exhibits Nothing’s CEO exhibiting off some unnamed {hardware} to Qualcomm’s CEO, Cristiano Amon, within the personal space of the corporate’s stand at MWC 2022. Even when cropping in and enhancing the picture, nevertheless, it is tough to make out what the system in Pei’s arms truly seems to be like.
With Teenage Engineering defining the model’s industrial design language to date and Dyson’s former Head of Design becoming a member of Nothing in more moderen months, simplicity and minimalism appear to be probably bedfellows with reference to the look of a Nothing cellphone.
It is a notion that is clearly resonated with a whole lot of followers, with numerous idea creators sharing their interpretations of what Nothing’s debut smartphone might appear like for the reason that firm’s launch.
The preferred ideas even gained sufficient momentum to obtain recognition from Pei and different members of the workforce; with Nothing’s Head of Design, Tom Howard, reacting to ideas by Over The Edge Company, Povilas Grigas and Osho Jain, in a video launched on the corporate’s YouTube channel on 11 March.
Whereas Jain’s design, particularly, has seen a whole lot of assist from Nothing followers since its publication in late 2021, it was Grigas’ idea that appeared to ring a bell with Nothing’s Design Head. “It is implausible to see some concepts round how we might work with the interior parts of issues and type of carry them to the floor,” Howard exclaimed within the video.
Supply: Povilas Grigas
Having reached out to Grigas instantly, the Lithuanian design scholar, at the moment learning at Aalto College, in Espoo, Finland, advised Tech Advisor that his determination to create his Nothing cellphone idea (apparently impressed by previous pacemakers, ice cubes and jewelry) was born out of an appreciation for the corporate’s imaginative and prescient. “I received into ideas due to Nothing… This venture was in all probability essentially the most pleasing in my life.”
Howard’s feedback throughout his React video trace at parts that the corporate’s design workforce is perhaps specializing in with their debut smartphone however particulars are nonetheless too ambiguous to make certain of something at this stage.
As for the consumer expertise {that a} Nothing cellphone may run on, there’s little to recommend that it will not be an Android system, helped by the truth that Pei himself shared an innocuous tweet again in February that some took to imply he had moved from an iPhone again to a Nothing-made system working on Google’s cell working system:
Again on Android
— Carl Pei (@getpeid)
February 15, 2022
Take a look at our rundown of essentially the most hotly-anticipated telephones of 2022, to see what else is coming moreover a possible Nothing smartphone this 12 months and examine again right here usually as this story develops.
