If Carl Pei’s startup is making an Android phone, it could be one of the most interesting devices of 2022.
Nothing, a London-based startup founded by Carl Pei, is reportedly working on a smartphone that will debut in the first half of this year. Although officials haven’t confirmed any (small-n) products, it makes sense that one of the five products it plans to launch in 2022 will be a phone.
IM Pei, the co-founder of OnePlus, is a smartphone nerd royal and no doubt has the connections and experience to bring such products to life. Nothing signed a partnership with Android chip giant Qualcomm last October. And earlier in 2021, it devoured the remainder of Essential, the brand founded by Andy Rubin. have A series of smart home products were planned, but only one Android phone was finally released. In recent weeks, the company has hired former Dyson design chief Adam Bates, a move that will allow it to tackle more complex design challenges — such as modern smartphones.
Recently, Pei himself “Back to Android” and obviously enjoy.
The parts needed for the Nothing phone implementation seem to be in place.
Many of the parts needed to make a Nothing phone in 2022 appear to be in place.That said, smartphone history is littered with ill-fated offerings from brands idea They can break into this notoriously challenging industry. So, where companies like RED, Amazon, Facebook, and BlackBerry have all failed, why has nothing succeeded?
First, Nothing has a huge brand reputation. The company has an impressive list of tech celebrity backers, and its investors include iPhone and iPod co-founder Tony Fadell, Twitter co-founder Kevin Lin and YouTuber Casey Neistat. And then there’s Carl Pei himself – who became the public face of OnePlus in the West and was included in the 30 Under 30 and 40 Under 40 lists.
Many of Pei’s 367,000 Twitter followers will know him from the glory days of OnePlus, a brand that has centered on whipping intensity over the past year.Once the darling of smartphone enthusiasts, OnePlus re-incorporated into parent company Oppo in 2021 looks increasingly like it by 2022 just another big electronics brand. It also faced software challenges in stark contrast to the early days of OxygenOS – a simple, clean software platform designed to appeal to tech-savvy customers.
The Nothing phone could easily be seen as the spiritual successor to the old OnePlus, especially since its brand values seem to align with OnePlus accustomed to What it stands for: Competitive pricing, minimal design, and the idea that technology should give way.
From Nothing’s track record, it’s clear that the hypothetical Nothing phone would be differentiated by design, perhaps bringing the translucent look found in the Ear(1) earbuds to such a device. This is something we’ve seen in the past from companies like HTC and Xiaomi, although neither brand has built an identity around it. (And, arguably, none of it performs particularly well, especially with Xiaomi including fake components on the Mi 9’s transparent back). It could also follow Essential with a unique form factor or novel approach to the display. After all, nothing has a work in the abandoned Gem, Essential Phone 2 and 3 concepts right now.
in making it A good phone you really want to buy In an extremely brutal market, the path to success is not so clear. Nothing is insignificant compared to the hardware divisions of Apple, Samsung or even Google. While a partner like Qualcomm can provide turnkey solutions in many places—basically, doing some errands to get the basic parts of a smartphone ready—the main challenges remain in key areas like imaging. Photography and videography are one of the main differences in high-end smartphones, and companies like Samsung, Apple, Google, and OnePlus have huge teams of engineers working on computational photography and image adjustments. Nothing could lack these resources and need to find a partner who can speed up its camera system. In 2022, complications like portrait mode and night mode will be the bet on everything but budget smartphones.
No phone can be differentiated by design, but will face technical challenges.
Then there’s the supply chain. When OnePlus was producing its first phone, it was challenging enough that an invite system was introduced to balance supply and demand. But in our current post-coronavirus chip shortage world, where key components are likely to have been acquired by major companies years in advance, there is little wiggle room for new entrants. There’s nothing likely to require heavy reliance on ODM partners to turn around Android phones anytime soon.
Like the earliest OnePlus devices, the Nothing phone doesn’t need to sell in huge numbers or be one of the best Android phones to be considered a success. While there is nothing to do in terms of brand value and awareness –and Its founders’ close ties to the phone industry — the possibilities of technology and supply chain work against it. Even a successful Nothing phone is far from guaranteed — but if it happens, it’s sure to be one of the most interesting Android devices of the year.
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