Nothing is unique!
No, really, Nothing is unique.
Listen, I’m not an Android user. I have higher expectations for a user experience than Android can deliver. I am an Android developer though. I often need at least one Android device to test on. I got a Pixel 5a a while back, and it’ll hold strong for a few years as my primary test device. Buying another Android phone now, especially one I wouldn’t use in my everyday life, would be redundant, pointless, silly, even.
And yet, just look at that thing.
Sure, it’s basically the exact size and shape as an iPhone Pro Max, and it still just two slabs of glass sandwiching some electronics, but it’s two clear slabs of glass. I can see the electronics inside! Inside there are also LED lights that both look cool and provide additional functionality.
Finally, something unique. Something new. I almost want to buy it just to reward a company for not being a bland cookie cutter phone manufacturer. But it seems Nothing doesn’t want me to buy it. As for what I can buy from the Nothing site, the answer is almost nothing.
That wasn’t a pun that time.
Nothing’s Here!
In the U.S., Nothing hasn’t sold very much. On their website right now, you can only buy the Nothing Ear (Stick) and a 45W USB-C power adapter. That’s it. You can also see the Nothing Ear (1), which Nothing released with “drops.” Yes, Nothing leans into “drop culture.” A “drop,” in this case is a limited release of a product. The goal is to try to generate hype around the limited nature. People line up for new sneakers (often to resell on StockX or eBay) and other new fashion items. Why not tech, Nothing must have asked. And, to be fair, people do line up for tech… from large and popular established brands like Apple.
Nothing’s drops for the Ear (1) have been the most reliable way to get the headphones. You can also buy them for retail or less on StockX. Clearly trying to create hype wasn’t the right answer for noise cancelling headphones.
What about the Nothing Phone (1)? Nothing also tried to make use of drops. They also didn’t sell the devices in the U.S., so the online store is empty. Six months after the release of the Nothing Phone (1), you can’t just buy it in the U.S. from Nothing’s website. By the time you can, they may be working on the Phone (2)!
You Can Get The Nothing Phone (1)… Kind Of
There is one way to get the Phone (1) from Nothing on their website in the U.S., a beta program. The beta program, unfortunately, doesn’t give you options in the phone. You can’t pick the top-of-the-line model or even pick the color. You do, however get an NFT. You read that right. Along with the drop culture, Nothing also leans into NFTs, and has even put a special NFT app on the Nothing Phone for backgrounds.
“What is included in the Nothing Beta Membership and how much does it cost?”
“The membership costs $299 and will include:
– Phone (1) Black 8 + 128 GB
– An opportunity to claim a Nothing Community Black Dot (grants access to the Nothing brand and special offers)”“A Black Dot is an NFT. A token that is part of Nothing’s official Web3 project – Nothing Community Dots. These tokens have been gifted to our earliest supporters and can be used to unlock exclusive spaces on our Discord server.”
– From Nothing’s website
I know, I know, it’s cringe as all hell. But the phone is so cool looking! Just… ignore the cringy attempts to force drop culture and leaning on NFTs, okay? The design is cool, you guys! Maybe it’ll catch on and…
God, they’re making me sound like some sad NFT bro too.
Anyway, the beta program was perhaps made not to appeal to many people. The device isn’t their most popular configuration or model, and Nothing admits that it may not work on all U.S. cellular networks. It’s likely that they really do just want to test this with a small number of people. I don’t think this is part of the hype or drop culture, they just need to test the different radio bands used in the U.S. Phones for U.S. networks are kind of an established thing though. Perhaps it never was a consideration in the original design and it’s hard to work in support for it now?
Manufacturing Hype More Than Devices
The iPhone gets hype because there’s only one iPhone. It’s the device all Apple ecosystem/iOS users need. On top of that, it’s a flagship device from a company that consistently releases some of the best smartphones of the year. Nothing doesn’t have that reputation. Not yet, anyway. It takes consistent delivery and meeting customers’ expectations to build that reputation of trust and quality. Going off of complaints to Fakespot, that’s just not happening yet.
The Nothing Phone has a unique and cool design, but it’s not a flagship device. It’s not going to pull in the people looking to have the most advanced devices every year: the very techies who would hype something like this. They’re trying to manufacture hype when they should be working on manufacturing phones. Because the Nothing phone is a cool mid-range device… you just can’t really buy it. Unfortunately for Nothing, people are largely okay with that.
Oh, and for the love of tech, Nothing, ditch the NFTs.
I’m rooting for Nothing. Hopefully I’ll have some of their tech in my bag one day. Maybe even my pocket, if they make a smaller Nothing Phone… or if they just release one at all.