Review of Nothing Phone (1)

Can a smartphone still be cool? They were, at one time, in the days when they were a luxury rather than a ubiquity. But what happens when everyone has one – and more to the point, we all have pretty much the same one? Phones are not fashion. They are not clothes or shoes or even cars. Chances are probably pretty even that you’ve got the world’s richest billionaire or the person carrying your groceries.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say the choice between smartphones is an illusion, but it’s probably not as great as you think. The last several years have seen market consolidation between a few companies, while once-powerful brands like LG and HTC have been shut down. Add in geographic and career limitations and it becomes clear what a small pool we’re ultimately swimming in here.

Nothing, among other things, is founded on the idea that smartphones can still be great. They can be exciting and interesting in an area where they are more or less identical touchscreen electronic slabs.

There has never been a better or easier time to launch a new smartphone company. But in many ways, founder Carl Pei may have chosen the worst — or, at the very least, the hardest. Along Nothing Phone (1)  with the aforementioned consolidation comes an overall stagnation and decline in smartphone sales. After a decade of flying high, things came crashing down to earth. It was a regression that pre-dated but was ultimately accelerated by the pandemic