Going off the mainstream designs comes with its set of rewards but can be a highly risky strategy if things go south. Carl Pie took the leap of faith and went on to implement his life’s philosophy of being transparent to the radical new line of products under the Nothing brand name.
After the initial chalk-and-cheese response for the hyped, first-ever earbuds and the smartphone, Nothing has worked on its mistakes and come up with the impressive Nothing Phone (2). Over the period of two years, we’ve seen a lot of Nothing-inspired concepts, and to be frank, all of them seem right in place!
Designer: Subhav
Now, to pair your powerful Nothing Phone (2) with a matching power bank, another concept ignites our expectations from the London-based consumer electronics manufacturer. Just imagine the cool vibe of all your see-through gadgets on the desk or in your backpack while traveling. A power bank is an essential accessory and every time you plug your Nothing Phone (2) into the gadget, that sense of unison is unmatchable.
The transparent aesthetics of the power bank display the innards in their full glory and are illuminated by the array of small warm-toned LEDs on the inside. This lends the accessory a diffused light on all sides for a Cyberpunkish look inside out. Creating a power bank makes even more sense for Nothing, given the usability and the no-frills nature of the product. With countless options on the market, a transparent power bank in Nothing’s product line would be another step in completing their ever-growing ecosystem.
Earlier this year, Nothing teased a sub-brand by the name of CMF with nothing more than just a logo reveal. Today, leaked images obtained by Twitter-user @techleakszone show three CMF products in the works. We upscaled these low-res images to get a clearer picture of the three products – a smartwatch, a pair of TWS earbuds, and a 65W GaN charging brick, all scheduled for an end-September release in India. All products have one thing in common – the use of a vibrant orange that draws instant attention to them, in a way contrasting Nothing’s transparent approach to design rather wonderfully!
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The most prominent of the products is the smartwatch, which is priced at a budget-friendly ₹4499 ($54.48 USD) and comes with a 1.96″ AMOLED always-on display. Styled to somewhat lock horns with other budget watches/wearables like the Fitbit, the CMF smartwatch comes with an aluminum alloy case and a silicone band. A 330mAh battery gives it up to 13 days of use on a single charge, and the wearable works as a comprehensive fitness/sports tracker with support for 110 sports, along with features like heart-rate monitoring, blood-oxygen monitoring, stress monitoring, sleep tracking, etc. The spec sheet below compares the watch with other budget smartwatches on the Indian market, comparing features along with an incredibly competitive price tag.
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The second product (code-named Corsola) is a ₹3499 ($42.3 USD) pair of TWS earbuds designed to compete with other brands in the low-budget segment. CMF’s earbuds are significantly different in appearance from the Nothing Ear (2) earbuds. They aren’t transparent, and they come in a circular case instead of a square one. The earbuds have up to 45dB of active noise cancellation and an impressive 37-hour battery life with the charging case. Just like the Ear (2), they are IP54-rated as well, although at half the price.
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The third is probably the most interesting product of the lot – a GaN charger designed to compete in the accessories market and probably bring in the green for CMF by selling to both Android and iOS users alike. In a world where phone makers are increasingly deciding to ditch the idea of packaging chargers along with their phones, CMF’s 65W GaN charger makes quite an impact. With three ports (two USB-C and one USB-A), the charger can simultaneously power three devices, giving you a multifunctional power brick that takes care of your phone, tablet, and earbuds or power bank. The GaN semiconductor keeps the charging brick’s size extremely compact, and that bright orange color means you’ll never misplace it! The charging brick is expected to have a ₹2499 ($30.2 USD) price tag at launch a month from now.
You may think that a Nothing ‘Npod’ music player sounds like an absurd idea, but I’m here to say that it makes absolute sense…
There are some undeniable similarities between the Apple of Steve Jobs, and the Nothing of Carl Pei. Both founders started other successful businesses (Jobs also founded Pixar and Pei founded OnePlus) before finding their true calling in tech. In his 2022 presentation, Carl Pei mentioned that tech had stopped being fun, rather subtly casting aspersions at Apple that used to make exciting products once upon a time when Steve Jobs was in his ‘pirates of Silicon Valley’ era. Apple’s breakout product may have been the Mac, but it truly became a cultural phenomenon with a music product – the iPod. Similarly, Nothing made its global debut with a music product too – the Nothing Ear (1). One could argue that the Nothing Phone (1) almost perfectly matches the iPhone 12’s size and shape, so it’s safe to say there’s quite the overlap… and this fan-made Nothing Npod (1) takes things a step further.
Designer: Shreyansh Onial
Designed by Shreyansh Onial, the Nothing Npod (1) simultaneously pays homage to Apple’s iconic iPod Shuffle and Nothing’s transparent design aesthetic and glyph interface. In ways, it’s also a reflection of how Nothing is capable of revolutionizing the music industry through the power of technology and nostalgia.
The Npod (1) is a pretty literal fan-made reinterpretation of the iPod Shuffle, with the signature circular control panel on the front and a matching circular glyph interface on the back. A wireless charging coil on the back also hints at the iPod… er, Npod (1) charging wirelessly, although there’s definitely a USB-C charger on the bottom, judging by the ‘!’ glyph on the back which can also be found on the Phone (1) and Phone (2).
The presence of a glyph interface on the Npod (1) seems like an odd choice, but it isn’t inconceivable that the interface responds and reacts to the music being played. One arc in the circle could act as a volume indicator while the other could serve as a seek bar, showing the progress of the audio file (the Phone (2) had such a feature too).
The Npod (1) is designed to be a tad bit smaller than the Ear (2) case, reflecting the iPod Shuffle’s comparative size too. The Npod and TWS earbuds go together rather well if you ask me, although the music player is clearly missing a pocket clip that would allow you to attach it to your clothes for easy control and usage.
For now, however, the Npod (1) is just a fan-made concept (I imagine Apple’s legal team would sue Nothing into oblivion if they made something this, well, similar). Ultimately though, it’s a fun design exercise that also serves as a pretty strong reminder of the overlap between the current ethos of Nothing under Carl Pei, and of Apple in the turn of the millennium under Steve Jobs.
Carl Pie kicked off a new chapter of his successful journey with the Nothing Ear (1) TWS earbuds, then followed by the Phone (1). One thing common with every Nothing product release to date is its share of hype and leaks. Ever the more reason for creative digital artists to come up with their proposed concept versions of a Nothing inspired product.
To be honest, any Nothing iteration piques my interest, and this portable speaker follows suit. The concept is an interesting piece since portable speakers should fall right into Nothing’s core technology expertise. So, there’s no reason for anyone to believe that there won’t be a portable speaker on Carl’s timeline in the coming years.
Designer: Hao Ping Chang
Christened the Nothing Sound (1), this portable speaker concept keenly emulates the visual design language that a real Nothing portable speaker would adopt. A fashion accessory for home and outdoor use that’ll turn eyeballs, and will be equally capable when it comes to practicality. Portability and ease of use are the keys to this design that aims to refresh the closely contested portable speaker market.
This portable speaker is a balanced mix of contoured and geometric shapes, bringing to life a very aesthetically pleasing form. The audio accessory can sit pretty on a desk just like an Xbox Series X. Compare that to an earlier conceptual design that heavily weighed in on the contoured shapes and see-thought aesthetics. The Nothing Sound, however, keeps things simple without missing out on the classy vibe.
Controls of the chick portable speaker are seamlessly integrated into the design in the form of a rotary knob on the speaker’s top. This allows for intuitive interaction with the gadget such as volume adjustment, power on/off, and Bluetooth connectivity. Enhancing the user experience are the Glyph interface LEDs that are programmed to interact dynamically with the beat of the music. If desired, they can be deactivated for a more subtle experience.
According to Hao, the speaker is inspired by a book’s form, since they are a common companion for many on their journeys. Therefore, the aspiration is that “Nothing Sound” will accompany “its owner in a myriad of contexts and situations.” The focus of this product design is to have a pursuit of uniqueness, self-expression, passion and a style that is second nature to Nothing!
Last year, Carl Pei took to the stage to proclaim that Tech had become boring, and it was time to inject some fun back into the industry again. In hindsight, the Phone (1) was an ideal proof of concept to show how exciting phones could be… The Phone (2), which officially launched today, shows a more iterative, refined version of exactly where Nothing is heading as a “small team with big ambitions”.
The launch of the Phone (2) is just as informal as last year’s Phone (1) keynote, and it’s a conscious effort on Nothing’s part to make sure that phone announcements aren’t highly precise, highly engineered, rehearsed monologues that are repeated year after year (major shots fired at Apple). Instead, Carl doubles down on the idea of keeping things fun by pairing up with Casey Neistat and sitting on a rollercoaster for the first few minutes, before vlogging the keynote just like Casey would.
The Phone (2) comes with some significant improvements, but its design still remains familiar. The reason? Not just cost (because retooling, re-engineering, etc. eats into a lot of capital), but also to make sure that the phone’s design remains iconic and memorable. If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it… but definitely refine it to make it better. To that end, the Phone (2) comes with some pretty eye-catching visual refinements in the form of a new Glyph Interface that’s much more detailed and responsive than in the past. Unlike last year’s interface, this year has 11 individual LED panels, with individually addressable LEDs that can respond to different apps and features. The back of the phone also has a mildly curved glass that creates a uniquely comfortable experience as you hold the phone (so that edge doesn’t dig into your palm), and on the front, the selfie camera now shifts to the center instead of sitting in the corner. The phone also ditches the black colorway for a slate, anthracite-like gray that helps you appreciate the transparent rear fascia.
Pei mentions that even though Phone (1) was a proof of concept in a lot of ways, its overwhelmingly positive response proves that the company’s on the right track. Nothing has sold nearly 2 million Phone (1) units to date, and the device has even won a lot of design and tech awards (we gave the Phone (1) an award at the Mobile World Congress this year too). This has helped Nothing hire more designers, engineers, and solidify partnerships to make Phone (2) even better. Every aspect of the Phone (2) sees some form of an upgrade, from the chipset to the display, battery, camera module, and even the OS.
The front shows a great amount of iterative refinements on Nothing’s parts, in the form of a 6.7″ OLED display that now has 0.35mm slimmer bezels than before, and a 1600 nits peak brightness. The camera hole punch gets shifted to the center to aid the phone’s symmetric appeal and the UI, and the screen is now OLED LTPO, which means it can rapidly alternate between 120Hz and 1Hz refresh rates to reduce battery consumption and give you an always-on screen that rivals most flagships. The screen pulls power from the Phone (2)’s upgraded 4700mAh battery, and while Carl doesn’t specifically mention how the battery upgrade translates into hours of usage, he does mention a 40% bump in battery life compared to the Phone (1).
The Glyph Interface on the back is perhaps the most visible refinement of all. With multiple LED bands, it can now say and do a lot more than its predecessor. It’s a lot more responsive, customizable, and has a few tricks up its sleeve like a custom LED strip can light up to let you know you’ve got an ‘important’ notification pending. An LED arc on the top right works as a progress bar, helping you intuitively use the phone’s countdown timer; and integration with apps like Uber and India’s food delivery giant Zomato can show progress meters like how close your cab driver or delivery agent is next to you.
The new Glyph Interface has 11 zones instead of last year’s 5.
The new curved glass back highlights the phone’s premium appearance and hand-feel.
The new Nothing OS 2, which is expected to roll out soon, shows a beautiful monochromatic consistency with app icons, widgets, and other home-screen elements. Unlike other smartphones that have an explosion of color on their displays, with app icons fighting for your attention, the Nothing OS 2 focuses on, well, nothingness… or rather on Pei’s vision for a phone OS that’s fun and classy to look at. Last year, Pei revealed the Nothing OS by highlighting the company’s audio recording app. This year, Nothing unveiled a new Glyph composer feature, with a collaboration with Swedish House Mafia to help users build their own ringtones, glyph patterns, and personalized audio-visual experiences.
While the cameras look relatively the same, Nothing touts a few improvements on the camera front too, thanks in big part to the phone’s new Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, and a new ISP that shoots better images and video. The front camera gets a bump up to 32 megapixels, after last year’s 16-megapixel camera, and the dual-lens primary shooter features a 50MP camera like last year, but with a few significant software upgrades including better HDR, motion detection, blur removal, and low-light photography. How this pairs up to the smartphones of 2023 is still to be determined as the phone hasn’t gone on sale yet. We’re also excited to see what MKBHD’s camera tests for this year reveal, given that the Phone (1) didn’t fare pretty well last year. Our own verdict should be out soon too, as we review the Phone (2) for ourselves.
That being said, the Phone (2) is quite an interesting development for Nothing, proving that it’s getting something right as it slowly moves towards smartphone domination as other Android competitors still push out ‘boring’ phones that all look the same and don’t deliver anything materially different. The Phone (2) goes on sale this week, with pre-orders open on the nothing.tech website, and a flagship-killing $599 price tag.
Riding on the heels of the Phone (2) unveiling, Nothing has also finally announced a black variant for its flagship Ear (2) TWS earbuds, for people who want to embrace the dark side. Just like its white counterpart, the Ear (2) Black comes with Hi-Res Audio certification and LHDC 5.0 technology. The earbuds come equipped with an 11.6 mm custom driver, delivering deep, powerful bass and crystal-clear highs. The new dual chamber design enhances the overall sound quality by improving airflow. Additionally, the earbuds feature Dual Connection for seamless device switching, Personal Sound Profile for a personalized audio experience, and improved wind-proof + crowd-proof Clear Voice Technology. The Personalized Active Noise Cancellation feature adapts to the unique shape of the user’s ear canal, providing bespoke noise-canceling that’s tailor-made to your needs.
A recent winner of the Red Dot Award: Product Design, the Ear (2) has that familiar design that we all know and love. Now in a black finish, it explores the use of transparency, glossy black plastic, and matte-black housing and ear-tips. This contrast allows the Ear (2) to stand out so wonderfully, as does its unique case, which still remains one of our favorites in the aesthetics department.
Along with the Ear (2) black variant, Nothing announced upgrades to both the Ear (2) and the Ear (stick) in the form of a new, advanced equalizer. “This new advanced equalizer gives users even more freedom to control how they want to hear their music through an intuitive and simple graphical interface,” says the Nothing team. “It allows a deep level of customization through a parametric 8-band equalizer with a real-time preview of the changes, the full Q factor, and frequency control.” Available via the Nothing X app, this new feature will also let users share their EQ profile or download others through a QR code.
The Nothing Ear (2) Black is available now via a limited drop on the Nothing.tech website and will be more widely available from 21 July.
Nothing Phone 2 is just around the corner and Carl Pie is pinning down targets with maximum conviction. So, what’s going to be the next prime target in his crosshair? Over-the-ear headphones sound like the next big untapped product to capture for now.
Since we are talking about a consumer-centric gadget, a wireless pair of headies looks like the most probable bet. Whether it’ll please purist audiophiles or not, still the market is huge to get a big chunk of the pie.
Designer: Yungwon Kang
If you already loved the head (1) wireless headphones concept, then there’s another one that’ll pique your interest. These pair of cans christened headset (1) are envisioned for high fidelity audio delivered right to the ears and come with a detachable amplifier to amp the quality on demand. No need for steeply-priced AMPs, DACs or high-fidelity cables – just attach this amplifier to the outside of the headphones nd the audio instantly sounds lively.
The exterior design and color theme look inspired by the AirPods Max, albeit the round-shaped cushions lend them a signature look. The see-through character is sensibly kept limited to the outer shell of the cans, suggesting they are not open-back headphones and provide good sound isolation for noisy environments.
Addition of the dedicated amplifier module promises bidirectional audio output for a life-like soundstage. Something that’s very close to what the audio creator intended to achieve and is replicated in the output of the headphones. All the amplifier controls are embedded on the surface, while the controls for ANC, volume and power lie on the sides of the cans.
Yungwon has chosen the signature white and black color options for the headphones. It’ll be interesting to see if Nothing draws inspiration from this concept design to create a pair of wireless headphones to take on the likes of Sony, Bose, Sennheiser and Apple.
The moment Carl Pei departed OnePlus and unveiled the Nothing brand, all of us knew exactly what was in store. When the Ear (1) TWS earbuds dropped, we knew it was just a precursor to a smartphone. Surely enough, Pei took the stage in the summer of 2022 to announce the Phone (1), a device that promised to shake the status quo. The Nothing phone (1) was unveiled with pretty impressive specs and a ridiculous £399 GBP ($475 USD) price tag – ridiculous by flagship standards, definitely. It’s been almost a year since that landmark moment, and looks like Nothing is gearing up for round 2. The company just announced that the Phone (2) will be revealed at a keynote event ‘this summer’, and following Pei’s visit to Mobile World Congress this year, we know that it’ll be using the Snapdragon 8+ Gen1 chipset.
However, the upcoming Phone (2)’s specs just dropped online, and the company (just like last time) released a cryptic render of a close-up that highlights one thing for sure – the Phone (2) will be an exercise in iterative improvement, just like the Ear (2) which released earlier this year. This concept by YouTuber Concept Central showcases what the new Nothing phone could look like. It retains the transparent design language and Glyph Interface, but makes just enough changes to really set the 2nd generation model apart.
The thing with making smartphones is that it’s an incredibly difficult task on a shoestring budget. For a company like Nothing, changing the design of every subsequent model means redesigning, re-engineering, and re-tooling… and that can drain a startup’s capital. That’s why the Ear (2) looked so similar to the Ear (1) because it hoped to establish two things. One, that Nothing’s design is on point, and that something that doesn’t look old and outdated doesn’t need revamping. And two, it’s easier to establish a brand by sticking to a visual design but making minor changes over the years. The Phone (2) concept from Concept Central reinforces that fact.
The Phone (2), for the most part, looks a lot like its predecessor, but has one glaringly obvious change – the camera array. Now with three cameras instead of two, the smartphone gets a minor (yet significant) makeover. The Glyph Interface gets a slight change, which in turn acts as a visual symbol of progress, and the camera system gets an upgrade, with a third lens added to the mix. This 3-lens array would also probably help the Nothing Phone (2) shine better in MKBHD’s blind smartphone camera tests.
The Glyph Interface has a touch of familiarity, but is different enough to look like an ‘upgrade’.
The side profile remains unchanged, giving the phone consistency.
The unique camera bump not only looks appealing on the Phone (2), but it would also make the device differentiate itself from the iPhone
The front of the phone looks exactly the same, although it runs the latest NothingOS 1.5 launcher on top of Android 13. Google is expected to announce Android 14 this week, although I’ll be surprised if the new Nothing Phone (2) gets the upgrade this soon.
As per GSMArena, the upcoming Phone (2) is rumored to come equipped with the powerful Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, along with either 8GB or 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB or 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. Its display is expected to measure 6.55 inches and feature an AMOLED panel with FullHD+ resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, and an in-display fingerprint reader. The potential specs also include a 50MP main camera with OIS, as well as two other cameras, likely an ultrawide and auxiliary cam. The Phone (2) is also said to have stereo speakers and NFC capabilities. Additionally, the phone is rumored to boast a large 5,000 mAh battery that supports fast charging and wireless charging.
Maybe AR/VR isn’t meant for homes… this conceptual pair of Nothing MR goggles transform the outdoors, immersing you in new worlds while keeping you aware of your current one.
Dubbed the Voyage (1), this ski-goggle-shaped headset enriches outdoor experiences, bringing you into a new world. Most MR devices find themselves being used in highly technical fields like medicine or engineering – the Voyage (1) doesn’t take that approach. Instead, it finds the ‘killer app’ of the MR world, just like health monitoring became the ‘killer app’ of the Apple Watch. Quite like how Pokemon GO used AR to push people outside their homes, the Voyage (1) enables people to experience a new reality layered over their own existing reality. It transforms mundane streets into foreign destinations, a boring highway into a mountainous drive, and a bland sky into an aurora-filled one in the arctic circle.
Designer: Junha Kam
The Voyage (1) sits on your eyes, with a sleek design that doesn’t weigh you down or look awkward on your face. A built-in Glyph Interface helps you be aware of your surroundings as well as the world around you be aware of your movements, and depending on your use, a pair of handheld controllers let you navigate your MR experience.
The glasses are unusually sleek, in a way that keeps in line with Nothing’s catalog of products. The only thing that stands apart is the lack of a transparent housing anywhere on the device.
The Voyage (1) is designed to be worn while moving. The mixed-reality ability gives you pass-through features that let you see the world around you so you’re fully aware of your surroundings, and the Glyph Interface ends up being an indicator of sorts, letting others know where you’re looking or turning as you cycle, skateboard, hoverboard, or jog with the MR headset on.
Although primed for outdoor use, the headset’s made to be worn indoors too, with a pair of controllers that help you use the Voyage (1) like a traditional VR headset for browsing the web, playing games, or engaging in indoor-based VR experiences.
Ultimately, the Voyage (1) tries to do what every metaverse company’s been trying to do too – figure out what’s the killer app for AR/VR/MR experiences. Zuckerberg and Tim Cook have been pushing the metaverse pretty hard for the past 5 years (Meta’s focus has been on VR, Apple’s on AR), but even though these devices have existed for quite long now, they feel like a novelty. Everyone who buys an Oculus Quest ends up letting it sit on a shelf and gather dust after 2-3 months of intense use. Maybe with a focus on reinventing the outdoors, the Voyage (1) will be able to help boost mass adoption for the metaverse. Sadly though, this device is entirely conceptual – but if Carl Pei is reading this…
As we anticipate the launch of the Ear (2), Nothing’s 2nd gen TWS earbuds, here is a look at what we can expect from the 2nd gen smartphone which should also drop sometime this year. The Phone (2) will, for the most part, look a lot like the Phone (1), barring a few minor design tweaks and hardware upgrades. Concept designer 4RMD put together this dapper-looking handset to show us what the Phone (2) could potentially look like. The rendered concept features the same aluminum chassis with a transparent rear, a slightly modified Glyph Interface to reflect the new 3-lens camera setup, and a 6.65-inch AMOLED display on the front with thinner bezels than before and a 120Hz refresh rate and 1200nits peak brightness. As per Carl Pei’s announcement at the Mobile World Congress, the 2nd gen phone will also feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset.
Completely refreshing a phone’s design is incredibly expensive, so chances are the Phone (2) will rely on a design not too different from the Phone (1), so it can use a lot of the same parts as a result. The new phone looks pretty much identical in terms of shape and size, while the only notable design change lies in the 3-lens camera array on the top. This also means the Glyph Interface stays the same for the most part, featuring only a minor change on the top with the removal of the ‘Antenna’ LED strip and a horizontal and slightly longer ‘Camera’ LED arc. You’ve still got the G-shaped LED strip around the wireless charging coil, and the exclamation-mark LED strip near the USB-C port.
Further keeping things simple, the Phone (2) retains its predecessor’s black and white color variants, while highlighting the phone’s see-through back as a design feature. I honestly can’t get enough of how beautiful the components look through the transparent Gorilla Glass Victus panel, and it’s great to see Nothing embracing this feature moving forward.
The one true visible change is the new phone’s camera layout, which now has three cameras instead of two. Arranged horizontally, the layout feels similar to the Pixel’s camera bumper, with a slight nod to the 7T, which was one of Carl Pei’s last OnePlus models before he departed the company in October 2020. The new layout features a dream team of three 50MP shooters, including one Wide, one Ultra-Wide, and one Telephoto to put the Nothing Phone (2) firmly in the camera race for 2023.
Although personally a big no-no for me, 4RMD also hid one more easter egg in his design in the form of RGB LEDs in the Glyph Interface. While I personally think the white LEDs have a lot of character for a device that small, the Phone (2) concept’s Glyph Interface can now shine in a variety of colors, blinking blue for Twitter, Pink for Instagram, Yellow for Snapchat, Red for YouTube, Green for Phone Calls, and a host of other colors depending on the app or type of notification.
The same AMOLED display and flat-edge Aluminum chassis, but with thinner bezels.
The launch date of the Phone (2) is unclear at this point, although judging solely by its predecessor, should happen sometime in the first half of this year with the phone being available for sale starting July 2023.
