The hotly anticipated Nothing Phone (1) has officially been revealed, and will be available in Malaysia from July 18. Carl Pei, the founder of London-based Nothing Technology Ltd., launched the much-hyped smartphone with a keynote address in London last night (July 12). Pei also revealed special features of Nothing Phone (1), which is the first smartphone produced by his firm.
The keynote was delivered from two different locations — a cafe and a theatre — before Pei met guests at the launch event inside a large hall in London.
The ceremony was aired live via the Nothing Phone (1), which Pei specifically pointed out to highlight the video quality of the phone.
Pei is best known for co-founding Chinese phone maker OnePlus in 2013. He founded Nothing after leaving OnePlus in 2020.
All We Know About The Much-Hyped, Stripped-Down Nothing Phone (1) Launching Today
The key features of Nothing Phone (1)
Unique glyph lights that respond to several functions
Glyph lights on the semi-transparent back of the phone are the most attention-grabbing feature of the Nothing Phone (1).
Pei demonstrated how the glyph lights perfectly synced with different ringtones and even Morse codes. Certain combinations of glyph lights can be assigned to specific callers to help users identify the caller from the manner in which the lights flicker when the phone is placed upside down.
Each of the sections of the glyph interface is set to indicate a specific ongoing function of the phone, including charging and notifications. Pei said that more features will be added to the glyph interface in the future.
Lightweight body
The phone is lightweight, weighing just 193.5 grams. Pei pointed out that the weight could be reduced because of the materials used in making the phone. The bezels are made using 100 percent recyclable aluminium and the front and back are covered by Gorilla Glass 5.
“So nowhere where you touch the phone do you have plastic. For us, sustainability has been important ever since the beginning. But it is not something that you should talk a lot about. For us it is more about taking the actions and stating the facts,” said Pei.
He added that more than 50 percent of plastics used in the phone are recycled or bio-plastic. The tin used for soldering is 100 percent recycled.
OS and processing power
Nothing Phone (1) has a 6.55-inch OLED display panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. The display supports 1 billion colours with HDR10+.
Speaking about the software, Pei underlined that “stability, quality and reliability is way more important than a ton of flashy features.” The interface is Android 12-based Nothing OS and Pei underlined that there is no bloatware.
He said that the phone has a powerful Snapdragon 778G+ chipset at its heart and a 4500mAh battery, which can be fully charged in an hour. The phone also supports wireless charging.
Two main cameras
The phone has a total of three cameras at the front and rear.
The two main cameras, which are placed horizontally at the rear, have 50 MP sensors. One of them is a Sony IMX766 and the other camera, a Samsung JN1, is designed for taking ultra wide pictures with a field-of-view of 114 degrees.
The Nothing Phone (1) cameras are capable of shooting 4K videos. Making things easy for shutterbugs are dual OIS and EIS stabilisation, scene detection and night mode.
Additional features
Pei said that the Nothing OS can be used for quick settings for Nothing ear (1) TWS earbuds — the company’s first ever product, which was launched in 2021.
Among the notable additional features is the phone’s ability to connect with Tesla cars. Pei said that Tesla owners will be able to use the phone to control certain features of the car, such as turning on the lights in a parking lot or turning on the AC before entering.
A “fun little NFT widget” is also present on the home screen. It displays NFT collections of the owner and view floor prices.
Nothing Phone (1) pricing, launch and where to buy in Malaysia
The Nothing Phone (1) comes in two colours — white and black.
It is placed in the upper-midrange phones category, which means that it will compete with the likes of OnePlus Nord 2T and the upcoming Oppo Reno 8 series.
The phone will be available for sale from July 16 for five days at the company’s kiosk at Covent Garden, London.
Limited drops of the phone will be available with the brand’s partner retailers starting July 18. The Nothing Phone (1) can be purchased online and in-store at Crossover in Malaysia, Limited Edt in Singapore and Carnival in Thailand.
Other select countries where limited editions will be released are Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Macau, Philippines, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, and the UK.
Open sale will begin on nothing.tech website and all other partners covering more countries around the world including India on July 21.
There are three models of the phone: 8+128 GB, 8+256 GB and 12+256GB. The 12+256 GB model will be available at a later date.
The 8+128 GB phone will cost GBP 399 in the UK while the 12+256 GB is priced at GBP 499. The price of a Nothing Phone (1) in Malaysia starts at RM 2,399.
The box contains the phone, a Type-C cable and pre-applied screen protector, SIM tray ejector, and safety information and warranty card. There is no charger supplied with the box.
(Main image: Nothing; Featured image: Nothing/@nothing/Instagram)
This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Kuala Lumpur
