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The Morning After: First impressions of Nothing’s see-through smartphone

And jaw-dropping views of galaxies far far away.

Mat Smith / Engadget

With its transparent back, light-up details and low-fi ringtones, the Nothing Phone 1 is framed as a playful reinterpretation of the smartphone, a category that (beside foldables) has become staid.

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Engadget

It’s an anticipated addition to the world of smartphones, and Nothing would do well to carve out a place for itself against not only the dominant Apple and Samsung, but an array of Chinese manufacturers with a lot of industrial might — and funding.

I wanted to hate Nothing’s first phone, which has gone hard on detail drip feeding, glamor shots and an awful lot of hyperbole. But my early impressions (I’m in the midst of reviewing the Phone 1 right now) are that, behind all that noise, there’s a surprisingly decent smartphone here.

And it’s not prohibitively priced, either. Not competing with flagship cameras, screens and processors has led to prices starting at £399 (roughly $476). Sadly, there’s no plan for US availability, but the challenge for Nothing is proving a new smartphone company can even exist in 2022.

— Mat Smith

 

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