Nothing is a phone that catches your eye, like that stunning person you see on social media, but when you start a conversation, you realize there’s nothing upstairs. It’s just another layer of customization on top of Android.
It lacks a desktop mode, the battery is mediocre, it uses USB 2.0, and it’s missing critical features like a dedicated Titan-like chip as seen in the Pixel lineup. Nothing remains just another Android skin when it could take advantage of being European-based to focus not only on minimalism but also on privacy and security—areas that feel secondary when they should be front and center.
We’ve been sold Nothing as a company for tech enthusiasts, with its flashy founders and investors. But in reality, it feels more like a business run by savvy marketers—they present a beautiful facade, but the substance underneath is lacking.
I hope future releases prove me wrong. In the audio space, Nothing does well, but their quality and durability leave much to be desired. I’ve owned three of their products, and two had one earbud fail within nine months: the Ear (stick), the CMF Buds Pro (the only ones still holding up), and the Ear (2), which I had to replace under Amazon’s warranty.
For their next phones, I hope they include a dedicated security chip, allow features typical of GrapheneOS, and improve system security overall. They also need to implement desktop mode functionality and upgrade to at least USB 3.0 or, better yet, 4.0—after all, we’re almost in 2025. On the software side, since they’ve introduced their own gallery app, it’d be great if they integrated cloud sync options with your preferred provider—or even better, support for personal NAS setups.
In short, I just want you to prove me wrong. But as things stand, my next phone will either be a Pixel with GrapheneOS or, once again, the usual iPhone.
I sincerely hope Nothing becomes the Android device that bridges the best of both worlds—a company from the old continent that’s both innovative and a global reference point.
