Nothing Phone 1 Review: A flashy all-rounder
Are you getting something or nothing?
Smartphones have become boring. They don’t give that oomph anymore (barring those folding phones — they are cool). A new company took it upon itself to solve this problem, and here we are with the Nothing Phone 1.
Unless you live under a rock, you’ve probably heard of the phone whose back lights up. The Nothing Phone 1 made a hype so immense that Karan Johar — a famous Indian filmmaker — hosted a party for Carl Pei, the founder of the company “Nothing.”
With its shimmery back LEDs (called the “Glyph” interface), the Nothing Phone 1 has set out to make a name for itself in this crowded smartphone market and offers “brave simplicity” and “deeper interactions” as its unique proposition.
Have these lights been turned up so high that potential buyers can’t help but be drawn in, or has Nothing put so much emphasis on the aesthetics that it neglects other important aspects?
There is only one way to find out.
Design — it turns heads, always
The design of the Phone 1 reminds me of the old feature phone days when companies dared to do something different. The back of the phone looks like an assortment of tech innards that are amalgamated under the protection of Gorilla Glass 5. It looks beautiful, whether you buy the stunning white or the stealthy black model.
Its flat aluminum sides, which give the impression that it was created by a company named after a fruit, fit comfortably in the palm of my hand, and it’s just the right size without being too short or too tall to accommodate people with varying hand sizes.
Move to the front, and you’ll appreciate the even borders of the phone. Nothing has used a “flexible OLED” panel for its smartphone to accomplish uniform bezels throughout. The front also boasts Gorilla Glass 5 protection, so the Nothing Phone 1 is a well-protected glass sandwich. Be careful around water, though, as the London-based startup only rated the phone for IP53 dust and water resistance.
An optical on-screen fingerprint sensor allows you to bypass the lock screen and is speedy, albeit finicky, at times. The phone includes stereo speakers that are loud yet imbalanced at high volumes. The volume rockers are on the left side of the phone, while the power button is on the right.
I like having all the buttons on one side of the phone for a cleaner look, but they are tactile and clicky, so I won’t complain. What’s disappointing is the lack of a headphone jack, and Nothing could have easily provided us with a 3.5mm port, as many midrange phones do.
Design is easily the standout feature of this device, and if you’re looking for something fresh and unique, something that’ll make heads turn and ask the “hey, what phone are you using?” question, then this phone is the unbeatable contender for that.
Display — it’s punchy, and it’s smooth
The Nothing Phone 1 sports a 6.55-inch screen that is complemented by even bezels I talked about earlier. With its 120hz OLED tech and HDR10+ certification, this screen is a delight to look at.
The 120hz refresh rate is a sight to behold; the animations are smooth, and doom-scrolling Instagram has never felt so nice. If you’re coming from a 60hz device, you’ll be shocked at how much of a difference a higher refresh rate display makes. Though a faster refresh rate is appealing, it affects battery life. Nonetheless, there is a 60hz alternative if you wish to conserve some juice. The HDR10+ certification makes the content stand out with its bright colors, but Netflix can’t find out that the phone can do HDR, and we know why.
The brightness of the phone is another feature that landed Nothing in hot water. Apparently, the company advertised the phone’s maximum brightness as 1,200 nits, which is impressive for a midrange device; however, when tested in direct sunlight, it only managed 700 nits, a far cry from the advertised 1200.
When everyone got wind of the issue, Nothing lowered the quoted brightness of its phone from 1,200 nits to 700 nits in some markets and made a statement revealing that while the hardware supports 1,200 nits, the software has capped it to 700 nits, blaming heat and battery drain. I don’t know if a software update will unlock the limit, but it’s disappointing.
I’m happy to report that I didn’t find any display defects such as dead pixels around the camera cut-out, green tint issue, or the black crush issue which people, unfortunately, had to experience with their units. Though Nothing is aware of the plight of its customers, it’s handing out replacement units as fast as it can.
Developing a phone is complex, and keeping in mind this is Nothing’s first smartphone, I’m keeping faith in them to improve upon their mistakes in the next release.
Glyph interface — a glowing light mechanism Nothing is betting everything on
Finally, let’s talk about the device’s defining feature: the Glyph interface. It’s a one-of-a-kind pattern of white LEDs that isn’t just for show: you can set a custom light pattern for different people to know who’s calling; choose from an assortment of quirky notification and ringtone sounds that sync with the LEDs and sound like something from a Star Wars movie; check the charging status of your phone; put your phone display down to enable the “Flip to Glyph” feature, a fancy Do Not Disturb mode that puts the phone on silent mode and uses the lights to alert you of any notification. There’s a cool red video recording light you can turn on in the camera settings and get that retro camcorder recording experience.
Honestly, I was making myself use the Glyph interface for a couple of days, but then I turned on the excellent always-on display and neglected the blinking lights.
In its current state, the Glyph interface feels more like a grandeur design rather than a true utility of sorts. To use it, you have to keep the phone display down, which makes the screen more likely to get scratched, and the always-on display does a good job of what the Glyph LEDs do.
In the end, you can get some utility out of the Glyph interface, but otherwise, it’s a flashy and fun assortment of blinking LEDs that you can show off to your friends and become the talk of the day.
Performance — it gets the job done
The Nothing Phone 1 sports the Snapdragon 778G+, an upper midrange chip that’s the standard, non-plus 778G — the “+” here referring to the addition of wireless and reverse wireless charging. Qualcomm added these features, particularly for Nothing, making it the only midrange handset with wireless and reverse wireless charging.
Granted, the phone doesn’t pack the grunt of the 8-series behemoths such as the latest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 or the Snapdragon 888+, but I was quite happy with the performance of the device.
When I ran the PCMark Work 3.0 test, I got a score of 11,806 — which surprisingly beat the Google Pixel 6A with its flagship Tensor chip and came close to Samsung Galaxy S21 FEs Exynos 2100.
Moving to the 3DMark Wild Life Stress Test, the phone achieved a score of 2,847 and got a bit toasty, climbing to 38°C from 34°C. It’s not an impressive score by any means, but being able to perform and complete benchmarks like these shows the phone can handle everyday-usage scenarios with ease.
My hunger for numbers continues in the Geekbench 5 benchmark test. The phone sprouted a score of 815 for single-core performance and 2,861 for multi-core performance. These numbers rivaled the Snapdragon 860s and the Exynos 990s of the world but couldn’t come close to Pixel 6As mighty Tensor chip.
Enough about tests, now let’s hop into some games. I played titles such as Real Racing 3, Alto’s Odyssey, and Asphalt 9, and the phone handled all the games exceptionally. There’s a basic game mode available that’ll block calls and alerts for a no-fuss gaming experience.
The phone felt warm to the touch after a 20-minute session, but there were no stutters or lag in the games I played. Heavy games like Genshin Impact at the highest visual quality will put a strain on the device, so it’s not a good choice for gamers who want the best gaming experience possible. If you’re a casual gamer like me, the Nothing Phone 1 will serve you well.
You can count on blazing-fast multitasking and storage thanks to 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. The Nothing Phone 1 easily outperforms the Google Pixel 6A when it comes to sequential storage performance, however, it was beaten by its rival in the random storage performance category. However, you shouldn’t take benchmarks too seriously because I didn’t experience any sluggishness while using storage or performing multitasking tasks like browsing a photo gallery or moving between apps.
Although I disable haptics on every phone I purchase — preferring a vibration-less typing experience — this device’s haptic feedback surprised me. The buzzes were not sharp, and I preferred keeping them on for a day or two instead of disabling them right away.
Camera — this won’t blow your socks off
These days, it’s not uncommon for even mid-range smartphones to sport three or four cameras, and unfortunately, it’s usually a case of quantity over quality. You’re better off with the main camera since the 2MP depth or macro cameras have terrible performance.
Thankfully, the Nothing Phone 1 doesn’t pack those silly 2MP tricks and boasts two cameras: a 50MP Sony IMX766 primary camera and a 50MP Samsung JN1 ultrawide camera. The front of the device houses a 16MP Sony IMX471 camera.
The camera UI is clean and Nothing has stuffed nothing (can’t help it) but only those modes which we actually use. There is a time-lapse, panorama, macro, and expert mode, which do their job well and are tucked away in the “more” section of the camera. There are also portrait and slow-mo features with their own sections, and the interface is straightforward and reminds me in a good way of the Google camera app.
Starting with the primary camera, it’s the best of the lot. The images are binned to 12MP, yet there is detail and pop in the picture — the colors are vivid, and the focusing kept the highlights in check. The only issue I discovered was over or under exposure in the viewfinder when I manually adjusted the focus, and it does affect the final image.
There is also a 50MP option, which produces extremely detailed images at the expense of taking up more storage. The night mode performance is excellent, and it makes a difference. I took some photos of buildings in low light, and the night mode struck me greatly. It takes some time — around 3–4 seconds — to capture the scene, but it’s well worth it in the end. The buildings and lush flora were more visible in the night mode-enabled photo than in the pitch-black chaos produced by the non-night mode shot. The feature requires at least some light to work its magic; otherwise, the results aren’t all that remarkable.
When it comes to the ultrawide camera, it has a 114° field of view, which delivers expansive and breathtaking imagery. It captures as much of the scene as possible, but it lacks the pop and appeal of the primary sensor.
There is a distinction between the primary and ultrawide sensors in that the latter appears washed out in comparison to the former, and the night mode works poorly as well. The ultrawide camera makes the macro mode possible, and it does a fantastic job. Autofocus on the ultrawide makes macro photography practical, while the 50MP count improves detail and sharpness.
The 1.1.4 update of the Nothing OS promises improved color calibration of the ultrawide sensor and better color consistency between the primary and ultrawide sensors. I tested the claims and can say that the update did shorten the gap between the two sensors. It’s still not perfect, but at least it’s getting better.
Out of both the cameras, the primary one is the best, as it doesn’t struggle much in low light, and the ultrawide needs ample light to give an excellent result.
On the video front, the phone peaks at 4K at 30fps, and I did notice shakes and jitters when recording at this resolution. Unless you’ve got a gimbal or very steady hands, 4K 30fps is a mixed bag. Drop down a notch to 1080 60fps and the results improve a lot — the Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) of the camera helps in eliminating unwanted shakes and keeps the video stabilised.
The output is a less shaky video that has vibrant colors and crisp audio. There is an option to enable “HDR” when you’re dealing with dull subjects and surroundings, so it’s a plus. The night mode works wonders in video too, but unfortunately, 4K mode does not support the feature.
The Glyph lights play a role here too, by functioning as an artificial light source that actually works and is brighter than the flash of the phone. You get some white light in dark shots with these lights, along with the brownie points of looking cool while shooting photos or videos.
There is a pro mode (aka “expert” mode) in which you can play with the white balance, ISO, shutter speed, and other tweaks to address every nook and cranny of your image. And the best part is that the mode is supported on both sensors.
The Phone 1’s selfie camera is competent for taking photos for posting on Snapchat and Instagram. It doesn’t do much in the way of selfie innovation, such as introducing moveable parts or hiding the camera behind the display, but it does the job. You have the basics covered with selfie illumination, night mode, and HD portrait mode. There are better selfie shooters on the market that provide far more depth, shooting options, and megapixel counts, but this gadget will still serve you well.
Pro tip: Install Google Camera (GCam) mod from here to achieve Pixel-like HDR pictures and videos. The selfies are also improved over the stock camera, with good dynamic range and superb background bokeh. It should be noted that this is not a device-specific mod — you cannot shoot slow-motion videos, there is no support for the ultrawide camera, and the pics taken do not always appear in the gallery. Aside from these caveats, GCam is your best bet if you have good lighting and want Pixel-style contrast.
If having the best possible camera is your priority, then you should look at other offerings in the market such as the Pixel 6A, the iPhone 14 Pro, and the 200MP mammoth Moto Edge 30 Ultra. Otherwise, the Nothing Phone 1 is a great shooter with its impressive primary camera and wonderful night mode.
Battery — leaves you wanting for more
The Nothing Phone 1 packs a 4,500 mAh battery, and spoiler alert: the battery life is decent.
During my one week of snapping pictures and videos, playing games, tinkering with the Glyph interface, and running benchmarks, I had to charge the phone twice a day. I wasn’t being too tough on the phone, yet it sucked battery like there was no tomorrow. I barely got 7 hours of screen-on time (SOT) with light-to-medium usage, and it dropped significantly when I added games and 4K video recording to the mix.
The battery percentage would drop into double digits overnight, even when the phone was in standby mode. This could be related to the 120hz refresh rate, the Glyph LEDs, and the always-on display. However, Nothing has stated that leaving the Glyph lights on for ten minutes has a negligible effect on battery life (an additional 0.5 percent).
To accommodate “lower refresh rate content,” the 120 Hz refresh rate automatically reduces to 60 Hz. If we disregard these two factors, the always-on display is to blame. However, it is not to blame because I was getting the same battery life before I activated it.
The battery life improved slightly after the 1.1.4 update to Nothing OS. I wouldn’t say it became a standby champ overnight, but the SOT definitely improved. As you can see in the screenshot above, I came close to attaining 8 hours of SOT despite having a modest workload on that day — mobile data was turned off, the location was turned off, and only the AOD was switched on. Still, I can say that the most recent update made the battery last a little bit longer.
When it comes to charging, it supports 33W wired and 15W wireless, with 5W reverse wireless charging. 33W is a decent number — the phone went from 30% to 95% in about 50 minutes, but competitors in this price bracket come with charging speeds of 68W and 80W, putting the Nothing Phone 1 to shame.
The absence of a charger is a trend I’m always infuriated about, and unfortunately, Nothing took that route. You only get a Type C cable in the box, with no sign of a charging brick. If you don’t have a spare lying around or want a fast charger, Nothing will happily sell you one for Rs.2,500.
To Nothing’s credit, it’s the only phone to tout wireless charging and reverse wireless charging in the midrange space, a novelty usually found only in flagship devices.
Software — a no-nonsense, Pixel-like experience
If you’re an Android purist like me, you’ll feel right at home with Nothing’s uber-clean software skin — Nothing OS. The software doesn’t come with bloatware or adware (looking at you Samsung and Xiaomi), save for Nothing’s simplistic camera app, a retro-looking voice recorder app, some unique clock widgets, and a controversial NFT gallery widget.
The Nothing OS v1.1.3 is based on Android 12, and this version includes Google’s adaptive battery feature and a revised fingerprint verification UI for third-party apps. Aside from that, the entire experience seems like a Pixel, with Material You’s design language powering the UI. With Material You’s great wallpaper theming system, you get to choose system UI colors, and Nothing’s use of its futuristic dot-matrix font peppered throughout the OS gives the phone a chic feel.
The OS, on the other hand, has some quirks and bugs. For example, the fingerprint scanner doesn’t always show up on the lock screen and in apps like WhatsApp, so you have to relock the device to make it work again. The night mode option also disappears even when taking photos at night, and the gesture bar stays on the always-on display if you don’t lock the device on the home screen.
Weird bugs? Yes. Can Nothing fix this? Also yes, as it is currently rolling out a v1.1.4 update that includes several much-needed fixes, including enhancements to the ultrawide camera’s color calibration, a new motion detection algorithm that promises greater stabilization, and increased shooting speed in HDR mode. There’s also improved battery optimization in the always-on display, LHDC audio compatibility, system integration with Nothing’s Ear 1 app, a watermark on photos to signify you’re rocking a Nothing phone, the September security patch, and a slew of bug fixes.
What it can’t muster right now is the Android 13 update, as Nothing plans to roll out the next version in the first half of 2023. According to a report from Android Authority, the company later set the above timeframe for the upgrade after Carl Pei was chastised on Twitter for his somewhat empty response to a user asking about the Android 13 release. Not all is lost though, as Nothing intends to release a beta version of Android 13 before the year’s end, which will please people wanting to have the latest and greatest.
The software commitment of three years of version upgrades and four years of bi-monthly security patches is excellent, but since that infamous tweet from the founder, users have grown skeptical about the release timeline of major upgrades.
Seeing that Nothing is churning out a lot of patches to sort things out, it’ll release a stable build of Android 13 at a slower pace rather than race to deploy it in a buggy mess. It’s a young startup with only one device under its belt, so it’s only fair we give a chance to Carl Pei’s venture and hope the update situation improves over time.
Verdict
Watching the media frenzy that gadgets like the Nothing Phone 1 generate is always entertaining. It’s a fantastic upper midrange phone that does everything you need it to do, but it also makes such a bold fashion statement that you can’t help but notice it, and you secretly enjoy the attention it draws.
No other smartphone compares to this one if you’re looking for something truly unique and eye-catching. Aside from design, the phone also boasts a clean Android build, excellent haptics, a capable primary camera, and unique features such as wireless and reverse wireless charging that are seldom seen in midrange handsets.
The phone is fantastic, but the competition is intense. The Moto Edge 30 ships with vanilla Android at a lower price, and then there’s the powerful Moto Edge 30 Fusion for Rs.40,000 with fantastic exchange rates and bank discounts in Flipkart’s Big Billion Days sale, as it gives a Snapdragon 888+ experience at a wallet-friendly price. Fans of the Pixel line should think about getting the Pixel 6A because it has a complete Google experience and the highly sought-after Tensor chip.
The gist is, there are plenty of alternatives to the Nothing Phone 1 on the market that offer advantages in some areas, and picking the right one comes down to personal taste and requirements. However, if you’re looking for a flashy all-rounder, the Nothing Phone 1 shines bright in this ever-populated smartphone market.
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