Nothing is one of the newest kids in the block aiming to change how humans interact with technology. It was founded in 2020 by Carl Pei who is also the Co-founder of Oneplus. The Nothing Phone 1 is their latest product and it is nothing short of unique. Unique in the sense that it has one feature that you cannot find in any other smart phone. This is the 900 LED array at the back of the phone which can be customized for different use cases. More on this later.
Based on the two products that Nothing has released so far, it is evident that they are not trying to fit in. In fact, the Nothing Ear 1 which they released last year, is one of the most stylish earbuds in the market right now. Just like their earbuds, Nothing is using a transparent glass back for the Nothing Phone 1 which gives it a distinctive sense, separating itself from the pack once again.
Specs.
- Materials – Glass Front and Back, Aluminum Frame
- Display – 6.55” OLED
- Refresh rate – 120Hz
- OS – Android 12
- Skin – Nothing OS
- Chip – Qualcomm Snapdragon 788G+
- Memory – 128GB 8GB, 256GB 8GB, 256GB 12GB
- Rear Camera – 50MP Wide, 16MP Ultra-wide
- Selfie Camera – 16MP Wide
- Ports – USB Type-C
- Security – Side mounted Fingerprint sensor
- Glyph Interface – Yes
- Card Slot – No
- Headphone Jack – No
- Battery capacity– 4500mAh
- Wireless Charging – Yes (5W)
- Reverse Wireless Charging – Yes (5W)
- Fast Charging – 45W 50% in 30 min
- Colors – White, Black
- Starting Price – $400
Design Language.
Despite being a Mid-range phone, the Nothing Phone 1 is covered in glass both at the front and at the back. The frame on the other hand is made out of Aluminum. The glass at the back of the phone is transparent, revealing partial bits of some internal components. It is impossible to ignore the fact that the back part of this phone is way too identical to the iPhone 12 for it to be a coincidence. Nonetheless, it still looks amazing.
At the front, we have a 6.55-inch OLED display which supports 120Hz refresh rate. This is very impressive to see considering some flagships such as the Google Pixel 6 are capped at 90Hz. Security-wise, it has a side mounted fingerprint sensor which is better and faster than an under display optical sensor.
The Selfie camera features a 16MP Wide lens with a hole punch mounted on the top right-hand side of the device. The rear cameras are impressive as well featuring a 50MP Wide lens and a 16MP Ultra-wide lens.
As for ports, it has a USB Type-C. As you would expect in any phone in 2022, it comes with no headphone jack. Wireless headphones are all the rage and if you are still stuck with wired ones, its about high time you switched over. As a matter of fact, Nothing has their own pair of ear buds called the Nothing Ear 1. It might just be the perfect addition to this ecosystem.
Battery life and Performance.
Since this phone will be out in a couple of weeks, we have no information about the overall battery life, but from the specs we expect it to last a full day on medium to heavy usage. The battery capacity is at 4500mAh and as you would expect, it comes with no charger in the packaging. Despite this slight and contagious mishap, the Nothing Phone 1 supports up to 45W fast charging.
This simply translates to 0-50% in just 30 minutes. To put this into perspective, the top-of-the-line iPhone 13 Pro Max supports up to 27W fast charging while the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra supports the same 45W fast charging. For a Mid-range phone, this is very impressive.
Furthermore, it supports wireless charging and reverse wireless charging. Reverse Wireless charging means that you can charge another device wirelessly through the phone’s charging pad. In this phone, I would not recommend either charging methods since they both cap at 5W which is very sluggish to fill even a pair of earbuds. Regardless, you can still get a quick earbud recharge especially on the go.
As for performance, it features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 788G+ Chip. It is a fast Mid-range chip with sufficient enough performance for your daily tasks and casual gaming. The RAM starts at 8GB and tops off at 12GB. With either amounts of RAM combined with the 788G+ chip, we expect a high performing mid-range phone capable of taking on the Samsung Galaxy A53 which is considered a key player in the mid-range segment.
Glyph Interface.
The Glyph interface simply refers to the 900 LED array at the back of this phone. This is one of the key design elements that makes it stand out against any phone in the market right now. Sure, notification LEDs are not new by any means but no phone has ever managed to pull off this many LEDS.
There are four main areas where these LEDS have been strategically placed: Around the camera layout, around the wireless charging pad, at the bottom center and finally at the top right-hand side of the device. Aside from lighting up when you receive notifications, they serve a handful of different use cases. For example, they can be used as fill lights during photography. The LEDS are bright enough to enhance video or photo quality. This is a very ingenious way of shooting especially in low light environment.
When charging your phone, the bottom set of LEDS act as progress bar indicators. This means that you can see your battery level without turning on the phone screen. It turns off after some time but you can lightly wiggle the phone to see the charging progress. Do you think it is a gimmick? Drop your thoughts below in the comment section.
It is also worth mentioning that there is a red LED light at the back of the phone that blinks when you are recording. Just like with most things in this phone, this is more of a form over function type of feature. In addition to this, Nothing has a segment in the device’s settings dedicated to the Glyph interface. Here you can tweak when and how you want the LEDS to light up among other configurable settings.
Final thoughts.
Nothing being a relatively new company, they have a lot of potential considering that this is their first phone. Nonetheless, some people may consider it a typical Mid-range phone with the Glyph interface being the only unique feature. You can tell Nothing had already thought of this by designing it similarly to the iPhone 12. This was no coincidence. It is a way of attracting many consumers without reinventing the wheel and they did a good job.
The Nothing Phone 1 will officially be released on July 12th, and surprisingly enough, it will first hit the Indian market before being released to other regions. It is also worth mentioning that this phone will not be available in the US or Canada. Would you consider getting this phone over a Samsung Galaxy A53? Drop a comment below.
The look is amazing 🤩
It just looks amazing
It really does!
Great features, great insight. Thanks for sharing this.