Nothing ran a massive marketing campaign to tease its first product last year before finally unveiling the budget-friendly Ear (1) wireless earphones in July. The device turned out to be a great bargain, offering an exciting design, great sound, and noise cancellation support. The next product in line for the company might be a phone, and rumors say Nothing could unveil it as soon as next month.
Carl Pei, the former OnePlus cofounder, has been meeting with key executives in the industry at MWC 2022 in Barcelona, Spain. The Nothing CEO has shown the prototype of the company’s first smartphone while at MWC, TechCrunch reports. One of the meetings included Qualcomm’s chief executive, the report notes.
Nothing has been working on a phone for over a year, a source with knowledge of the matter told the site. Moreover, it plans to unveil the handset next month.
If there’s one thing about Nothing that feels familiar, it’s the marketing of new devices. It feels like deja-vu because Carl Pei did something similar with OnePlus several years ago.
When the OnePlus One dropped, nobody believed a newcomer could be so successful in this competitive industry. But OnePlus created a high-end device that sold for prices similar to what you’d pay for a mid-range handset. The marketing strategy created a massive community of fans that allowed OnePlus to grow significantly in the years since.
What will the Nothing phone have to offer?
Fast-forward to 2022, and OnePlus is now a part of Oppo. As for Pei, he created Nothing, a brand new company making consumer electronics. The Nothing phone will follow the Ear (1), but nothing is known about it at this time.
It makes sense to assume it will run on Android because anyone can make a brand new phone and ink a deal with Google for the operating system.
The TechCrunch report has little information about the Nothing phone. The handset will share a similar design and “elements of transparency” with the Ear (1). That’s not enough to ensure anyone will want a Nothing phone. Seeing the innards of the Ear (1) is definitely a cool trick. But it’s really the $100 price and the earphones’ capabilities that have made them viable in a crowded field.
With smartphones, it’s even more complicated. We have no idea what sort of specs the Nothing phone will feature or how much it will cost. These are the kind of details that really matter to buyers.
If the rumor is accurate, it’s likely we’ll soon learn more details about the Nothing phone. It’s possible that in the coming days, the company will start teasing the handset, revealing bits and pieces to build up hype before an actual launch event.
