The Nothing Technology company launched its first smartphone, Nothing Phone 1, to much fanfare and enthusiasm. Nothing Tech had already made way into the tech space with their Nothing Ear 1 earbuds and had announced the Nothing phone in early 2022.
To say that the company built hype would be an understatement. The phone managed to catch the fancy of the best tech people in the world, from MrWhosetheBoss to Marques Brownlee aka MKBHB. So, in short, the phone had a big hype to live up to.
Phone specs
The Nothing Phone 1 was launched officially on 12 July but is set to officially go on sale on July 21, 2022.
The unique looking phone, which features a clear back, runs on Android 12, Nothing OS, with a previous generation 778G+ Snapdragon chipset and an Adreno 642L GPU. This is packed in a 6.55 in OLED display protected by a Gorilla Glass 5.
The variants include an 8GB RAM 128GB storage, 8GB RAM 256 GB storage and a 12GB RAM and 256 GB storage.
The phone has a dual camera setup; a 24mm wide camera and a 114 degree ultra wide camera with LED flash and can take 4K videos at 30 fps, and 1080p at 30 or 60 fps. The selfie is a 16 MP wide camera.
Aside from that, the phone features a reliable 4500mAh non-removable battery and a 33 W fast charger, getting to 50% in just 30 minutes. It also has a 15W wireless charging.
Worth the hype?
The main feature of the Nothing Phone 1 is its LED lights at the back, which give the phone a simply unique and stunning look. Called the Glyph Interface, these lights flash in white in various patterns and will:
- Flash for notifications
- Glow around the charging area
- Flash in different patterns you can set to different pre-set ringtones and notification beeps.
- Act as light sourced for the camera in darkness and without flash.
The phone also looks quite like the iPhone 13 but spec-wise, it’s comparable to and a better bet than the iPhone SE 3.
Verdict
As an Android device, it definitely looks likely to deliver on its promise and is value for money at the expected price.
However, the phone runs the previous 778G+ snapdragon chipset, which was a disappointment against expectation it could feature the more capable Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 or 7 Gen 1.
As a new entrant, the hype is definitely deserved and its unique design means that the phone is bound to turn heads everywhere you go and whip it out. Also, it adds much needed competition to a seemingly stagnating tech world, creating expectations for more innovations from other companies.
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