It seems like years ago now, when I heard the news of THE OnePlus founder- Carl Pei making another phone brand. I got into it and researched what made him “special”. I had a major question, like- Why were the media talking about his new company being something out-of-this-world and most importantly why were OnePlus users hailing him as a messiah of the tech world? Quickly through multiple articles I got to understand that OnePlus grew popular not because of their devices but because of the community that drove it. The company was extremely attached to the opinions of the community and took things seriously in this direction. I still remember the news headline which said that Carl had now founded a company called “Nothing”. I thought to myself- what a weird name. Then I thought more and realised, it’s kinds weird for a company to be named “Apple” too. Still, months went by and then this one alien design popped out of no where- a strange pattern. Carl teased that pattern as being a phone? I thought to myself, that is a real cryptic way of releasing your phone to the public.
Months later, phone(1) was launched- the hype around it was insane. The community formed around this phone and I even thought of buying the first phone made by “Nothing”. Still, I didn’t go ahead with my decision because in all honesty, I felt it takes a few tries for any company to mark down their style, design, software, bugs, technically everything. I gave my mind a rest and vowed to check back on this company a few months later. By the time I was back, phone(2) was launched. Still, I waited. I knew that the community that formed around this company would certainly lead to them creating a great product someday. They still need to find that one thing out which makes them different and unique in the market. Apple has it’s cameras, privacy and their ecosystem formed around their products. Samsung has it’s usability and software- along with an ecosystem. Nothing needed to find their roots somewhere, not the font or the glyph lighting but something that makes a user want to buy their phone. Something etched in the experience itself of buying a phone from Nothing.
Months later, phone(2a) was launched. That is when I noticed, the software was brilliant, light, smooth and genuinely great. The glyph had finally found it’s place and the phone did not just rely on their dot-matrix font as being a differentiator but also their design and prices. The software (OS 2.6) was far from perfect but you could see it improving in the future, that is what made me excited. Nothing had finally established it’s identity and found it’s design. The CMF, Design, Software teams had paid attention to every single thing and worked in great unison. I was using a realme device at that time, which was fairly new and had no issues with it- so I waited again. Waited for phone(3) or atleast the phone(3a).
Finally, after months of waiting- phone(3a) and (3a pro) were released yesterday. And I tell you with a lot of happiness, I am finally going to be entering the Nothing ecosystem. So, Carl Pei and the Nothing team- believe me when I say this but, you have definitely created a brand that stands tall and has their own identity. All your work- shows brilliantly. Your designs and software captivate minds of many and are really unique. Your months and years of hard work are something one can definitely see in your devices. It’s quite understandable that as a new company you do face multiple problems in terms of manufacturing and cost controlling, but still your team and your products shine. Your newest product from the spec sheets isn’t perfect, but it’s up there for sure.
Some things I would really like to understand, why it was hard to implement-
- UFS 2.2 being in the phone(3a Pro) model didn’t seem to make sense. Considering UFS 3.0 was released years ago.
- The main question everyone highlights- the choice of the processor. The Pro model did deserve a difference in terms of power, would have loved it if it had the 7 Gen 3.
- The Panda Glass on the front rather than the Gorilla Glass.
- Wireless Charging, considering it is quite common for this segment and I understand it can raise the costs of manufacturing and the retail price of the phone itself- but it would have been a great addition to the Pro Model.
And that’s mainly it. As for some things I’ve experienced in the past using different OS’, namely OneUI, Color OS, Oxygen OS, iOS, MIUI, etc. There are some things that I would love being brought into the Nothing OS 4.0 update-
- Realme OS- There’s a feature to quickly change from one app to the other by using the gesture way of navigation and holding the back key (if this makes sense). You strech the back gesture till the icon for your last opened app shows and when you let go it opens it.
- OneUI- Apps like GoodLock, but for community made things. It could go a long way in helping older phones keep their functionality even after their end of support through constant support by the community. Also could help in more customization, like widgets, icon packs, apps etc.
- iOS- An AI that is uses the onboard AI-hardware and uses to different scenarios like the Apple Intelligence.
- MIUI- A plethora of native apps that are really well built. Other than this, never touch the MIUI.
And that is basically it, thanks for your time. And also, looking forward to the future of “Nothing”.
