It’s hard to stand out in the smartphone space – especially for a new brand – but nothing makes it look easy. Thanks to a combination of clever marketing, a design-focused approach to its products, and a lofty motto that aims to “make tech fun again,” the brand is able to attract considerable attention, often outshining its more entrenched rivals.
Nothing’s products are generally well-received, with the Ear (1) standing out for its transparent design aesthetic, the Phone (1) having a unique design on the back, and the Phone (2) building on that foundation and offering high-end hardware and more refinement The design is the best of any phone today.
For more than three years, nothing has happened yet, and in 2024, it’s taking on its most ambitious challenge yet: making a cheap phone that’s actually fun to use. That’s the premise behind the Phone (2a), which is now available in select global markets. It’s relatively easy to make a high-end phone like the Phone (2), but it’s more challenging to launch a budget phone with a similar ethos – that’s what Nothing sets out to do, and after using the device I think the brand It worked.
Shortly after the launch of the Phone (2a), I sat down with Nothing co-founder Akis Evangelidis to discuss the concept of the device and why the brand is now turning its attention to the budget market. If you have followed the development of OnePlus, Evangelidis will be a familiar figure. He has worked for the Chinese manufacturer for five years, overseeing its marketing efforts in the EU.
Evangelidis starts by talking about Nothing’s guiding principles and how design differentiation is the “low-hanging fruit” that makes a brand stand out from the start. The same is apparently true for the Phone (2a), which has a similar see-through aesthetic on the back that shows off its internals.
The difference this time is that the Phone (2a) has a centered camera and the case is surrounded by an NFC coil. The design looks quite evocative – especially the white version – and Evangelidis says a lot of thought went into what’s highlighted on the back. “When we first design a product, we think about what components we want to bring to the surface. Everything starts with the engineering side – even our designers consider themselves engineers – and on Phone (2), we chose wireless charging coil.”
Since the Phone (2a) doesn’t have wireless charging capabilities, Nothing made some adjustments to the design to highlight the NFC coil. It’s a functional design choice, and being able to see the coil makes it easier when paying because you don’t have to guess where to tap your phone against the card reader.
Then there’s the placement of the rear camera. Evangelidis said Nothing tried a number of different configurations but ultimately settled on a centered design because it looked “eye-catching.” Another side effect of using a centered camera system is that the phone doesn’t wobble when placed on a table. “Integrating the camera module was a lot of work, and we built a circular system with all the components—the Glyph interface, the LED flash, the positioning of the various screws—within a specific radius to create symmetry.”
Instead of using a polycarbonate back to save weight (and manufacturing costs), Evangelidis noted that it allowed the brand to come up with a unibody design that flows around the camera module and extends to the sides, with a subtle curve where the back meets the middle. -frame. The phone still uses an aluminum mid-frame, giving it structural rigidity, and Nothing’s decision to use recycled materials is also an exception in this segment.
Another differentiating design feature on the back is the battery cable. “The team took inspiration from Massimo Vignelli’s New York subway map, and the idea was to transform something complex into a visually simple and beautifully elegant design. All of our products have similar curves, but Phone (2a) is the first Really showing off its product to its full potential.”
Evangelidis said the final design of the (2a) was close to the first concept the brand envisioned in 2020, but they were unable to execute the design at the time. It’s a good look at Nothing’s capabilities; the brand now has dedicated hardware and software teams, but that wasn’t the case when the Phone (1) launched. As a result, the device has a mediocre interface that’s at odds with the bold design, but there’s nothing in 2021 to make up for it with its own interface.
The Nothing OS team includes many employees who previously worked on OxygenOS, and as with older versions of the interface, the goal here is to deliver a “fast, smooth” experience that’s also intuitive. Nothing OS 2.5 is visually unobtrusive thanks to its bold use of bold colors, and there’s a clever widget system, a very cool monochrome mode, and meaningful customizability.
One thing that sets the Phone (2a) apart from other Nothing phones is the use of MediaTek hardware instead of Qualcomm. Evangelidis noted that going with the Dimensity 7200 Pro was an “obvious decision,” although it required more work to integrate the hardware and optimize the platform.
As for why Nothing isn’t focusing on the budget part, Evangelidis said it all comes down to timing. “We started Nothing to do something different in the industry; Ear (2) was purely for hardware design differentiation and it sold 500,000 units. This allowed us to raise capital to get into mobile phones, whereas the first two Product Over the years, we have been building our product while building our team, which has been very busy.”
“Phone(2) was a turning point because we had the hardware and software teams in place, as well as hundreds of suppliers handling the manufacturing of all the various parts. We wanted to get into the high end of the market to prove we could do it at this level, and we Successfully did that.”
While the Phone (2) does sell in many segments, the phone is significantly more expensive than its predecessor, making it less accessible to Nothing’s large user base. “For some of our users, the price gap[between Phone (1) and (2)]is a little too big, and we’ve seen that Phone (2) has a sizable fan base that’s engaged with the brand and ‘wanted To use our product, we wanted to create a product that would meet Nothing’s expectations while being easier to use. We wanted to create a phone that we would use ourselves. “
Evangelidis spoke about the current state of budget phones, noting how some brands are chasing meaningless hardware goals without considering the end user. So, in the Phone (2a), instead of adding a bunch of secondary sensors, the brand has included two 50MP cameras on the back, a flexible AMOLED screen with thin bezels on all sides, and its largest battery yet at 5000mAh with 45W charging .
But the situation with software is markedly different. “We offer three years of platform updates for our flagships, so we obviously want to offer the same guarantee for Phone (2a). We don’t want to compromise on our core values and aim to serve the segment equally well user experience.”
Nothing is being done to expand efforts in 2024. It has the necessary team in place, and Evangelidis said the brand is “getting into high gear” with its product portfolio. The Phone (2a), one of the most affordable mobile phones, got off to a strong start, selling 60,000 units on the day it was launched in India, much higher than the cumulative sales of the Phone (1) and (2). It’ll be interesting to see how Nothing builds on its early momentum, but it’s clear that the brand has definitely seized the moment.