Our First Look at the Nothing Phone (1) Reveals a Dazzling Transparent Design

Our First Look at the Nothing Phone (1) Reveals a Dazzling Transparent Design

Nothing, the startup behind one of the best wireless earbuds, revealed the rear design of its upcoming Phone (1) smartphone. The company, led by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, is scheduled to reveal the Android device in full at a July 12 event.

Until then, we have a sneak peek to snack on, and as you can see from the above image, Nothing is making transparency a signature design element across its growing product portfolio. Appearing through the clear back panel are illuminating light strips positioned in an arrangement that was mysteriously teased earlier this year. We don’t yet know the purpose of these strips, but our best guess is that they serve as notification indicators.

Also revealed under the transparent back panel are exposed screws, tiny dotted “Nothing” branding, a large wireless charging plate, and a rather strange logo that reminds me of Trolli Cherry Bomber candy. Where the Nothing Ear (1) have a contrasting black and white design, the back of the Nothing Phone (1) is stark white.

Apart from the design, this teaser image reveals a dual-camera setup in a pill shape similar to the one on the iPhone X. We don’t know much about those cameras, but it’s safe to assume there will be either a zoom or ultra-wide lens augmenting a main standard camera. The device will run Android (with a simple Nothing OS skin), be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor (a midrange chip, most likely), and support wireless charging.

Earlier this year, Nothing released a handful of screenshots of the Nothing OS, showing its unique design language consisting of custom fonts and graphical elements. The backgrounds contain the dotted, futuristic font found throughout its products along with monochromatic hues.

Nothing has promised a smartphone “designed to deliver a fast, smooth, and personal experience” and one that will “effortlessly connect and integrate Nothing products and products from other world-leading brands.” The latter goal is particularly important to Nothing, a brand attempting to compete against Apple with its own “garden” of products that will be sold under the Nothing brand or used to help other companies release their own devices.

It’s a steep hill to climb, and one slip down could put Nothing on the same course as Essential, another Android startup that had a similar goal of distilling down products into their minimal forms. Nothing even acquired the rights to the Essential Phone brand, though Pei told The Verge that the acquisition was about acquiring the name, not copying the product.

We’ll find out if Nothing will become something when the company officially reveals the phone (1) on July 12.