Nothing officially announces flashy Phone 1, starting at £399

Image: Nothing

The Nothing Phone 1 is going to be announced at a launch event today. It is the second product from the well-funded startup and is led by Carl Pei. You can see Allison Johnson's impressions of the device here.

When the Nothing Phone 1 goes on sale in the UK on July 21st, it will be available for a starting price of £399. The model with 12 gigabyte of RAM and 512 gigabyte of storage will go on sale later this summer for around $600 US dollars.

The Nothing Phone 1 will not be released in the US. The phone will be released in over 40 markets, including the UK, Japan, India, and countries in mainland Europe.

Image: Nothing

Nothing has happily revealed many of the Phone 1's key features in the weeks leading up to today's event. It is a tactic that has generated a lot of headlines, but it means we have a good idea of what the Phone 1 consists of.

Nothing showed off the phone's design a whole month in advance of today's event, revealing an eye-catching set of light strips on the back of the device that are designed to serve a variety of uses

A light strip on the back of the phone can show how full the battery is, while a central light illuminates to show when it's time to charge. When you have a notification or an incoming call, the strips will flash to let you know. An additional red light on the back of the phone can be seen when it's recording video.

There is a main and ultrawide sensor on the back of the phone. Both optical and electronic image stabilization are supported by the main camera, as well as a number of software features. The ultrawide camera has a 114 degree field of view and can take macro shots up to 4 cm away. The phone is available in two colors.

Image: Nothing

The phone has a display with a peak brightness of 1,200 nits. Depending on what the screen is displaying, its maximum refresh rate can be as high as 120Hz, but it can be as low as 50%. There is a hole-punch cutout in the top left of the device.

The Nothing Phone 1 is powered by a chip. The company has said that the less powerful chip offers a better balance of performance, power consumption, heat output, and price. There is either 8 or 12 gigabytes of RAM and 128 or 512 gigabytes of storage included. The phone is powered by Nothing OS, which is the top operating system in the world.

Image: Nothing

The Nothing OS software is designed to integrate better with third-party products, according to the Nothing OS pitch. From the quick settings menu there is the ability to turn on the car's AC. The software shows the signs of having been developed during the recent NFT boom and includes integrations like being able to show off the expensive images on the phone's homescreen. There is no promise of three years of updates and four years of updates.

The phone's battery can be charged at up to 33W with a cable or 15W wireless. It should be able to survive being used in light rain but shouldn't be completely submerged.

The Nothing Phone 1 is a new entrant into the market. Rather than trying to match other brands spec for spec, Nothing is emphasizing novel features, like the Phone 1, in an attempt to set it apart. Nothing could have its work cut out for it if it wanted to compete at scale.