The Phone (1) garnered generally favourable reviews at launch, but it also had its fair share of faults. The much-discussed Glyph UI was unstable, the on paper promised cameras appeared unreliable, and there were issues hiding beneath that oh-so-clear interface. Some even believed that the phone’s was a bit excessive given what it offered. The Nothing phone has been the subject of rumours for several months, but it is now confirmed. The company’s CEO, Carl Pei, unveiled the Nothing Phone (1) to the world in an understated, to-the-point presentation that was surprising for such a heralded product yet felt natural nonetheless. So let’s introduce the Nothing Phone (1).
Nothing Phone 1 review: Design
We went over the design of the Nothing Phone 1 quite extensively in our first impressions piece, but there are a few things that I really like after using it for a longer period of time. The Phone 1 is a very comfortable phone to use, and it feels a lot like an iPhone 12 or iPhone 13. The completely flat sides, front, and back look very industrial, particularly in black. Nothing uses Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for the display and back panel, so we didn’t notice any scratches on the back glass during the review period. However, after only a week of fairly careful use, the pre-applied screen protector over the display managed to pick up plenty of scratches on both of my review units. Nothing, unsurprisingly, will gladly sell you a tempered glass screen protector for Rs. 999.
Nothing Phone 1 review: Display
The Phone (1) features a 6.55-inch FHD+ (2400×1080 pixels) Flexible OLED display with 10-bit colours on the front. The screen has a refresh rate of 120Hz and a touch sampling rate of 240Hz. The screen can scale between 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz. The screen has a typical brightness of 500 nits and a peak brightness of 1200 nits, though the peak brightness is only available in HDR-enabled videos. The software, however, limits peak brightness to 700 nits. The screen is quite bright, but it is not the brightest in the segment, despite being easily visible in direct sunlight. Another ‘plus’ is HDR10+ support on the screen. There is a quick and responsive optical fingerprint reader. The display isn’t ideal for gaming, but it’s fantastic for watching videos. However, this does not prevent the screen from running at 120Hz in games that support it.
Software
If you tried out the phone’s launcher’s public beta a few months before its release, you’ve already seen the majority of what the company’s custom Android skin has to offer. The majority of the new features are a few custom wallpapers, minimalist clock and weather widgets, and a screen recording app for android. You can also enlarge individual app icons or folders, and there are built-in controls for the company’s Ear earbuds if you own them. The remaining integrations are less appealing. Tesla owners reportedly have access to shortcuts for controlling their vehicles, while NFT enthusiasts can display their monkey photos in a dedicated NFT gallery. Those inclusions reveal something about the market to which Nothing is attempting to appeal, but they may also turn off the rest of us. Fortunately, if you’re not interested, you can simply ignore them. The bigger issue is that the software still needs some work. When we reviewed the Ear at launch, we encountered numerous bugs, and while the Phone software appears to be more stable, it is not without flaws.
Nothing Phone 1 review: Hardware and Performance
When you look closely at the Nothing Phone (1), you can see that it has a distinct appearance, thanks to the transparent back and the array of LED lights embedded within, known as the Glyph Interface. The phone also has a foldable OLED display, which means that the bottom of the display can be folded in, allowing the screen to have uniform bezels all around, just like the iPhone. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ processor, 12GB RAM, and 256GB internal storage power the Nothing Phone. Furthermore, it is based on the Nothing OS, which is based on the Android 12 operating system. In general, the smartphone’s operations were very smooth. We tried running multiple applications at the same time while putting a lot of strain on the CPU. Even after several hours, there was no sign of heating or lagging. Aside from that, we spent about 30 minutes playing Apex Legends Mobile on standard settings. The game was running smoothly, and the experience was worthwhile.
Camera
The Nothing Phone 1’s main camera is a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 with optical image stabilization (OIS), electronic image stabilization (EIS), and an f/1.88 aperture. A 50MP Samsung JN1 wide-angle camera with EIS and an f/2.2 aperture is also included. That’s right, there are only two cameras. There are no threes, fours, or fives. It survives just fine and, in fact, benefits from the removal of the extra cameras. The Nothing Phone 1 takes beautiful photos. It leans toward a more natural colour palette and away from the saturation seen in many midrange cameras, which are designed to appeal to those who want to post to social media immediately. The camera on the Phone 1 is more nuanced and subtle in its approach. The wide-angle camera’s photos are more subdued, and they lack the vibrancy of the main camera’s. More tweaking is required to bring consistency in line with the main camera.
Nothing Phone 1 review: Battery life
The battery life on the Nothing Phone (1) is quite good, and depending on usage, this phone can last most people all day. I get screen-on times ranging from 5 to 7.5 hours on most days, depending on my usage, which isn’t bad. My phone is always connected, handles numerous calls, and is outfitted with numerous accessories. The adaptive 120Hz is also enabled all of the time, which has an impact on the battery. The charging isn’t the quickest. Even at 33W, it is still quite quick to charge the battery, much faster than many other phones in the segment, which charge at 25W. We don’t require much faster charging, and the wireless charging on the Nothing Phone (1) is also useful if you have a wireless charger or a wireless charging power bank, as we do. If you simply want the fastest charging speed possible, you may have to look elsewhere.
Price and Availability
Nothing unveiled the Phone 1 on July 12, 2022, and the device went on sale on July 21 in the United Kingdom, Europe, India, Japan, Hong Kong, and Australia. However, incompatibility with various aspects of the US mobile network has forced Nothing to revise its Phone 1 release plans. In October 2022, the company revealed that it is now in direct talks with US carriers to bring a device to the region, though the Phone 1 isn’t specifically mentioned. For the same price, Google’s Pixel 6a is fresh off the assembly line, offering top-tier photographic abilities, a remarkably color-accurate display, and a clean installation of Android. However, the Nothing Phone (1) is entering a crowded market. For the same price, Google’s Pixel 6a is fresh off the assembly line, offering top-tier photographic abilities, a remarkably color-accurate display, and a clean installation of Android. Samsung has recently dipped its toes into the mid-range market with the five-star Galaxy A53 5G.
Final Words
The Nothing Phone 1 display is stable, the battery life is decent, the software is excellent, the build quality is fantastic, and the cameras, though few, are adaptable even though the chipset isn’t the best. Add to it the incredibly cool LED lights that give the phone its distinct identity and make it impossible to ignore. The Nothing Phone 1 may not have the finest features for its price in every category, but we haven’t seen a phone with those features yet. What you do get is a device that performs significantly better than average in all respects.
