OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei left the company last year to start his own venture with the "Nothing" brand name. While the new firm has made some pretty big claims about being a "giant reset button for all things innovation", so far, it has only launched its $99 Ear 1 earbuds. However, that is set to change soon as the company has now revealed details about its upcoming handset, the Phone 1 - stylized as "phone (1)" -, which will launch in a few months.
Nothing has tweeted the following teaser:
You’ve speculated, and now you know.
— Nothing (@nothing) March 23, 2022
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/Lo4UPkk7MT
In a more detailed blog post, Nothing stated that the Phone 1 will feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and a "Nothing OS" skin based on Android. According to the firm, Nothing OS will borrow the best bits from Android and "every byte will have a purpose", but the latter part is most probably marketing fluff. The skin will also be available as a launcher for select phones next month.
In an interview with The Verge, Pei further explained that Phone 1 is more about competing with Apple"s hardware and ecosystem offerings rather than being just another challenger in the saturated Android market. Although the device runs Android, the key emphasis this time around is partnering with other firms for white-labeling and strengthening the Nothing ecosystem across various consumer categories.
Some early images of Nothing Phone 1 have also been shared and although the phone appears bezel-less, it is important to note that the images are renders rather than actual photos:
Some early images of the Nothing OS skin on phone renders were also shown off:
Practically nothing about the specs is known (pun intended) as of yet, but Pei did emphasize that sound quality is a an important focus area for the device. We"ll likely know more in the coming weeks and months ahead of the phone"s launch in summer 2022.
Editor"s Note: An earlier version of this article stated that the image was of Nothing Phone 1. However, the image is actually an early look at Nothing OS on a generic phone render. This error has now been rectified, we apologize for the oversight.