No Phone (1) review

introduction

The Nothing phone has been in the sights for months, but the wait is finally over. Carl Pei, CEO of the company, presented the Nothing Phone (1) to the world with a simple and straightforward presentation, which was unexpected for such a hyped product, but which felt right. So, here he is, he meets the Nothing Phone (1).

The company’s first smartphone seems to have been built following a simple rule: everything you need, nothing you don’t need. And a pinch of innovation, of course. And looking through the specifications of Nothing Phone (1), we can clearly see this applied through and through.

The Nothing Phone (1) uses a 6.55-inch OLED with 1080p resolution and 120Hz refresh. And because of this rather traditional display, the phone doesn’t really need the latest Snapdragon chipset. That’s why Nothing has opted for the competent, albeit not top-notch Snapdragon 778G + 5G chipset, which has already proven itself well.

The camera department also looks simple enough, but still enough. On the back is a dual 50MP camera: a primary with wide-angle OIS lens and a secondary ultra-wide angle with AF. A 16MP selfie camera sits on the other side, located inside a tiny hole in the display.

Hence, you will also find a 4,500mAh battery with support for 33W wired and 15W wireless charging. Reverse wireless charging is also available.

The strength of Nothing Phone (1), however, lies elsewhere. First, it’s the unique transparent splash-resistant design, secondly – the incredibly snappy Android 12 with Nothing interface, and finally, the unique Glyph lighting interface on the back. These make the Nothing Phone (1) stand out in the crowd. So color us curious!

Not offering cutting edge technology is certainly a risky move, but you can’t do a € 450 flagship in 2022. Not like the first OnePlus phones eight years ago. And that’s why we think it was a smart move to get a phone with the most useful features and not overpay for extras that you will rarely (if ever) use, like a LiDAR, a 4K screen, an overwhelmed chip that ruins the battery life.

See, we’ve managed not to make jokes up to this part, and for that we’re already proud of ourselves. So, before we give in to temptation, let’s go through the detailed data sheet.

Nothing Phone (1) specifications at a glance:

• Body: 159.2×75.8×8.3 mm, 194 g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass 5), glass back (Gorilla Glass 5), aluminum frame; Multiple LED lights on the back (notifications, charge progress, camera fill light), Flashing red light on the back (video recording indicator), IP53 – splash, water and dust resistant.
• Screen: 6.55 “OLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, HDR10 +, 500 nits (typical), 1200 nits (peak), resolution 1080x2400px, format 20: 9, 402ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM7325-AE Snapdragon 778G + 5G (6 nm): Octa-core (1×2.5 GHz Cortex-A78 and 3×2.4 GHz Cortex-A78 and 4×1.8 GHz Cortex-A55); Adreno 642L.
• Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM; UFS 3.1.
• Operating system / software: Android 12, no operating system.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f / 1.9, 24 mm, 1 / 1.56 “, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 50 MP, f / 2.2, 114˚, 1 / 2.76 “, 0.64µm, PDAF.
• Front camera: 16 MP, f / 2.5, (wide angle), 1 / 3.1 “, 1.0µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K @ 30fps, 1080p @ 30 / 60fps, gyro-EIS, live HDR; Front camera: 1080p @ 30fps.
• Battery: 4500 mAh; Fast Charging 33W, 50% in 30mins, 100% in 70mins (Advertised), 15W Wireless Charging, 5W Reverse Wireless Charging, Power Delivery 3.0, Quick Charge 4.0.
• Various: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC; stereo speakers.

The one major omission that we can immediately spot is the lack of complete entry protection. Sure, splash resistance is still something, but for a phone of that level of hype, we expected at least an IP67.

The Nothing Phone (1) is available in two color options – black and white – and three memory variants: 8/128, 8/256 and 12/256. The base model starts at € 469, which is a fairly reasonable price given, well, everything.

It all comes down to one question: Is the Nothing Phone (1) a breath of fresh air, a new hope if you will, or a glorified and overpriced midrange? Let’s find out!

Unboxing the Nothing Phone (1)

Nothing Phone (1) ships in an eco-friendly box made with recycled fiber. It gets destroyed on opening, and unless you plug it back in, it will never be the same.

So once you open the paper box, inside you’ll find the Nothing Phone (1), a USB-C cable, and the coolest SIM eject tool we’ve seen to date!

There is no charger inside the box. The phone supports USB-PD 3.0, so you can use any PD charger you have at home.

One more thing, the Nothing Phone (1) comes with a factory-applied slim screen protector. It is of a higher quality than usual and does not stain like those coming to most Xiaomi phones.