Nothing Phone (1) is without a doubt one of the most-talked-about smartphones of 2022, and since its release, it has been in the headlines for a variety of reasons. For those unfamiliar, the Phone (1) is the first smartphone released by Carl Pei’s UK-based tech company Nothing, alongside the ear (1) TWS earphones. Due to its design aesthetics and attention to detail, the brand is highly renowned among computer enthusiasts. The initial sales of the Nothing Phone (1), which began at the beginning of the previous month, have been met with a tremendous reception from consumers. The business provides three RAM and storage choices for the Phone (1): 8GB/128GB, 8GB/256GB, and 12GB/256GB. We had the opportunity to utilize the 8GB/256GB version of the Nothing Phone (1), and the following is our evaluation of the smartphone.
Nothing Phone (1): Design
The first distinctive feature of the Nothing Phone (1) is its packaging. The Phone (1) is delivered in unorthodox pizza box-style packaging. In addition to the smartphone, the packaging contains a type-C cable, a safety guide, and a separate SIM ejector tool.
Coming to the smartphone, the translucent rear panel cannot be missed. Similar to the Nothing ear (1), the Phone (1) offers a transparent design that is certain to turn heads. The rear of the smartphone does not allow a glimpse inside, but the ‘Glyph Interface’ beneath the transparent panel gives it a raw yet exquisite appearance. You may be wondering what a Glyph Interface is at this point.
The Nothing Phone (1) is equipped with unique LED strips comprised of 900 LEDs. The Glyph Interface on the Phone (1) can be used as a notification LED and charge indicator. You may also modify how the LEDs illuminate and flicker in response to the ringtone. Nothing also permits users to customize the Glyph Interface according to their preferences. This design element is the unique selling proposition of the Phone (1) and can make you the center of attention everywhere you go.
The Glyph Interface is visually appealing, although some feel it to be gimmicky. The Nothing’s ringtones sync perfectly with the Glyph Interface, but when the first excitement wears off, they become gaudy. The smartphone’s rear also includes minimal branding, a vertically aligned twin camera arrangement, and a small red LED that blinks when the video is being recorded.
The Northing Phone (1) has an aluminum frame that provides a luxury appearance and makes the smartphone easy to hold. The USB-C port and SIM tray are located on the smartphone’s bottom edge. On the left side are the volume controls, while on the right is the power button. The arrangement of the buttons on the Phone (1) enables one-handed operation.
Nothing Telephone (1): Display
The front of the Nothing Phone (1) consists of a 6.55-inch OLED display with a cutout for the selfie camera in the upper left corner. The device’s small bezels and smooth edges give it a premium appearance. The smartphone’s front and rear are protected by Corning Gorilla Glass. The Phone (1) also features a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ playback capability. Due to its vivid color reproduction, the Nothing Phone’s (1) display proved to be a delightful experience overall.
Due to its low bezels and vivid display, streaming videos on the Phone (1) is rather enjoyable. The Android 12-based Nothing OS enables you to optimize the display settings for the Phone (1). With a peak brightness of around 700 nits, the display is easy on the eyes even in direct sunlight. Neither did we encounter any issues with the viewing angles. The Nothing Phone (1) also includes a responsive in-display fingerprint reader; we rarely encountered any issues when unlocking the device.
Nothing Phone (1): Camera
The Nothing Phone (1) is equipped with a 50MP Sony IMX766 primary sensor with optical image stabilization (OIS) and a 50MP ultra-wide sensor on the rear dual-camera system. The photographs we captured with the Nothing Phone (1) turned out to be quite good. The best feature of the camera on the Phone (1) is that it does not add extra filters or boost the photo’s colors during processing. The camera performs effectively under well-lit conditions, but the low-light capabilities of Phone (1) are average.
The user interface of the camera on the Nothing Phone (1) is also worthy of praise. The user interface of Phone (1)’s camera app is straightforward and resembles that of iPhones. It lacks unnecessary modes that are rarely utilized. We were very satisfied with the stabilization and output of the iPhone’s video recording (1).
We also experimented with the portrait setting of the camera. The mode was fairly unique, and the ability to customize the effect’s intensity functioned properly. In low-light settings, the Phone (1) struggled to adequately discriminate between the foreground and background.
The Nothing Phone (1) features a 16MP camera with a Sony IMX471 sensor on the front. The punch-hole selfie camera generates clear images that are suitable for sharing on social media networks.
Nothing Phone (1): Performance
The Nothing Phone (1) is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ processor. Up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage are combined with the SoC. We were startled to observe some lag when switching between apps on the smartphone, which gives a fluid performance in daily use. The problem persisted even after installing the most recent update. To be clear, the lag was so infrequent that typical users would not even notice it.
The smartphone ships with Android-12-based Nothing OS, making it highly customizable. The Phone (1) comes with absolutely no bloatware, making it extremely simple to use and set up. The OS experience is fairly comparable to the native Android, which is a positive from our perspective.
The gaming experience on a smartphone is quite good. The smartphone includes a Game Mode function that monitors gaming tendencies to optimize the device’s battery life, memory, and background activities while suppressing notifications. The device did not heat up while charging or filming long movies, but it began to warm up after a few Call of Duty battles. The sensitive touch and expansive viewing angles enhance the overall gaming experience.
Nothing Phone (1): Battery
The Nothing Phone (1) features a 4,500 mAh battery with 33W fast charging capabilities. Even though the Phone (1) can easily last more than a day with varied usage that includes light gaming, video streaming, social media, and video conversations, it feels a bit lacking. This is due to the rapid charging given by its competitor at its price point.
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