There is a status symbol where my phone issupposed to be.
That is the vibe I get from the Nothing Phone, the first phone from Carl Pei. The company made its grand entry into the tech landscape last year with the Ear (1) earbuds, which were fly as hell, but wouldn't wreck your bank account and didn't have all of the performance perks you'd get from more expensive earbuds.
The phone goes in the same direction and ends up in the same spot. This is a mid range phone. You won't get top-of-the-line performance or specifications like you would get with a four-digit price. I decided to start with British pounds because you can't buy the phone in the U.S. right now. According to Nothing's website, people in other markets can get one through a retail partner.
The phone is one of the best looking phones around. It is difficult to understand whether or not it is worth buying in a crowded environment.
Baring it all. Credit: Molly Flores / Mashable
The transparent back case is the first thing anyone will notice about the phone. The ear did the same thing. It was very endearing to me when I was a child, and I am still very fond of it today. The right buttons are pushed by seeing the big, circular wireless charging coil in the middle.
A series of lights strewn about the back of the phone give it light-based notifications. The settings menu can be used to modify the Glyph interface. There are a lot of different light-dancing patterns to choose from, and you can even sync them with different contacts. They call it a portable ring light because you can turn the phone on and off at the same time.
Can your phone do this? Credit: Alex Perry / Mashable
You will be able to turn the phone over on its face and reduce screen time without compromising your ability to answer calls or respond to messages. I didn't have a compatible sim card when I was in the U.S. The lights might be hard to see out of the corner of your eye due to the samples in the settings menu.
The Glyph interface is still pretty cool even if it isn't useful. A phone that looks like tron is something I like. It feels great in the hands, with a sturdy aluminum frame that seems to be strong enough to handle a lot of physical trauma. There is a power button on the right and a volume button on the left.
The display is large without requiring the use of two hands, and it looks great thanks to a 120Hz refresh rate. That performance isn't as smooth as it could be.
The Phone is not as flashy when it comes to interior specifications.
There is 8 to 12 gigabytes of ram.
It is possible to store 128 to 256 gigabytes of data.
The chip is from the same company as the 778G chip.
The battery has 4,500 mAh.
The RAM and storage numbers are adequate, but the mid-range Chipset was the most disappointing part of my time with it. This is an older chipset than the one that powers the newer flagships like the Moto Edge+, which isn't hugely surprising given the more affordable price, but it does produce mediocre performance.
The activities on the phone just feel slow even with a smooth refresh rate. While scrolling down my timeline, I can see that there is a delay in the performance of the social network. It is necessary to be distraction. It takes a little while to load my messages. I haven't had this problem with other recent phones, so I don't think it's a problem with the app being poor.
I used Geekbench to make sure I wasn't crazy. It came out with a lower performance score than both the S22 and S21 from the past. Basic things like web browsing and watching videos on YouTube were adequate, even though other social apps, like Facebook andInstagram, did a better job. I didn't really notice how fast the phone does anything.
Nothing OS is handsome, if a little bare. Credit: Screenshot: Alex Perry / Mashable
It's a shame, because I like the philosophy behind Nothing OS, the proprietary fork ofAndroid that Nothing built for this phone There is a lack of bloatware, so as soon as you get past basic setup, you can start making money. It's not necessary to sort manufacturer apps from your home screen. I wasn't able to use its ability to remotely control aTesla or display NFTs because it has a dot matrix fonts on its home screen. I don't own a car and I don't own any NFTs either.
One advantage of rolling with a less powerful chip is longer battery life. The company rates the phone at around 18 hours on a single charge. I was able to use it for about 18 hours before I needed to charge it again. It makes up for it in gas mileage.
It has been established that Phone (1) is fine as anAndroid phone. There are better cameras in this price range out there, but I was pleasantly surprised by certain aspects of Phone (1)'s dual-50MP lens setup. Night Mode can help lighten up dark images. Sometimes software-based nighttime photography can make photos look artificially lit, but in this case, the hammock and grill in my backyard came out to be nighty.
This was impossible to see without Night Mode. Credit: Alex Perry / Mashable
The non-Night Mode equivalent is almost completely black. This is the same picture as the one of my grill. They don't look like they have studio lighting over them.
As was this. Credit: Alex Perry / Mashable
It is possible to get a feather in a plant pot with a macro lens.
Birds of a feather. Credit: Alex Perry / Mashable
The default lens produces vivid images when you just need to take regular photos.
Honestly, great composition by me. Credit: Alex Perry / Mashable
I can't offer a comprehensive review of a phone that isn't available in the states, but based on some hands-on time with the Nothing Phone, I would advise Americans not to be upset about its lack of availability here.
This is the first attempt at a mid-range device from a startup that only sells earbuds. A bunch of flashing lights on the back of a phone adds a cyberpunk vibe to it. I don't know if those lights are useful but that's just me. Even if the performance profile isn't anything to write home about, nothing OS stripsAndroid down to its bare essentials and brings a nice aesthetic.
It has a good camera system as well. ThePixel A-series phones are available in the U.S. for very agreeable prices and run well.
There doesn't seem to be much reason for us Yankees to be excited about a new phone.
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