“This will be a pivotal moment.” That’s how Nothing founder, Carl Pei, billed his firm’s first major keynote where the Nothing Phone (1) was officially announced.
After months of leaks, teasers and speculation – none of which really revealed much – we’ve now had the official name drop for the first ever Nothing phone.
Nothing (the company) held an event dubbed ‘The Truth’, where it finally announced some details of its upcoming handset. But this was far from a full announcement – it was more of an extended teaser, so there’s still a whole lot that we don’t know.
You’ll find everything that we have heard so far about the Nothing Phone (1) below though, with official details first, then leaks and rumors further down, and once we hear more we’ll update this article.
Cut to the chase
What is it? The first phone from NothingWhen it is out? Probably between June and SeptemberHow much will it cost? Unknown
Nothing Phone (1) release date and price
We know the Nothing Phone (1) is landing sometime in ‘summer’ 2022, which likely means between June and September. However, that’s as specific as Nothing has got.
A leak previously pointed to an April launch, but we reckon it’s more likely that was referring to the teaser event we’ve just had. In any case, April is probably not when we’ll see the phone in full, since that’s not summer.
There’s no news yet – official or otherwise – on what the Nothing Phone (1) might cost, and since this is the first phone in the range we can’t even really guess.
Nothing Phone (1): design
(Image credit: Nothing)
Nothing hasn’t revealed much about the Nothing Phone (1) yet, in fact the company hasn’t even shown the physical phone, though it has shown the emblem (in the image above) you’ll find on the back of the handset.
This is a close as you’ll get to seeing the new Nothing Phone (1) for now, and a brief 18 second teaser video (below) focused on the logo suggests it could be illuminated.
With the case of the phone being at least partially transparent, these lights may highlight visible components inside the device.
The transparent design follows the language of the Nothing Ear (1) – the brand’s earbuds that also have transparent elements.
You’ve speculated, and now you know.Nothing phone (1) is officially coming.It’s unlike anything else.Summer 2022.Sign up for the latest updates on https://t.co/pLWW07l8G7. pic.twitter.com/Lo4UPkk7MTMarch 23, 2022
Nothing Phone (1): NothingOS
The Nothing Phone (1) will run the Android operating system, however it will feature a light interface overlay dubbed NothingOS.
It’s designed to offer a bespoke experience (with different fonts and sounds, for example, to other Android phones) you’ll still have full access to every Android app.
We are also promised that the interface will offer a “fast and smooth” experience, which really is the baseline when it comes to expectations for a smartphone in the 21st century.
Nothing founder, Carl Pei describes it as “the best of Android, combined with our iconic design language. The hub for your digital life.
“We started by keeping what you love about stock Android, and removed the bloatware.”
(Image credit: Nothing)
Nothing has given us a look at handful of screenshots of it new OS, which shows a simple, clean design which certainly looks functional – if not a little dull.
While we’ll have to wait until the middle of the year to get our hands on the Phone (1), we – and you – will be able to try out NothingOS beforehand.
From April, Nothing will make a launcher available on select Android handsets, to give us an early flavor of the interface.
Nothing Phone (1): power
Beyond that, we know that the Nothing Phone (1) will have a Snapdragon chipset, but we don’t yet know which one.
We’d imagine though that it would be a fairly high-end phone, so the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (found in the likes of the OnePlus 10 Pro) is a possibility – although this would push the handset’s price up.
Nothing may instead, opt to price its first smartphone more competitively, which may see it use the previous gen Snapdragon 888+ or 780G chipset instead.
These are still powerful chipsets which should be able to deliver a high level of performance – although small compromises may have to be made around image processing and high-end gaming. We’ll have to wait and see.
RAM is another unknown for now, but Pei did have the following to say during the firm’s ‘The Truth’ event about the Phone (1).
“It delivers the optimal processing power and RAM for the exact app you’re using, while learning from your usage.
“By caching in the RAM, the apps you use the most will launch faster. The apps you’re not using, but take up resources in the background, will be closed.”
Could this be a way of dealing with a smaller amount of RAM inside the phone? Probably not, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see 8GB inside Phone (1).
Leaks and rumors
Prior to the initial Nothing Phone (1) reveal we had heard a few things unofficially, though largely stuff that has now become official.
We heard for example that the phone would have transparent elements, and Qualcomm itself had implied that a Snapdragon chipset would be present – which we now know will be the case. Most aspects of the Nothing Phone (1) though remain completely unknown.
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