The Nothing (1) phone was announced earlier this week. This is a phone, indeed a company, that prioritizes style. The goal is to break the monotony of current smartphone design trends (the company’s Twitter tagline is “We’re here to make technology fun again.”). A signature design element is transparency – like the ear (1) TWS buds, the phone (1) uses clear glass to show off some of its internals. Nothing capitalized on this with the “Glyph interface”, which uses several strips of white LEDs on the back for some light effects and notifications. The phone also comes with a custom launcher (which you can try on your current phone). There is also support for NFT out of the box as well as remote control of certain functions on your Tesla. Let’s just say the Nothing (1) phone was built for a certain crowd. Does that limit its appeal? Or does the perceived exclusivity (of which the invitation-only sales system is a part) make the handset seem even more attractive? Because if you take away the shiny exterior, this could easily have been a OnePlus Nord model. This is a mid-range phone, and at €470/£400/₹33,000, it’s not that aggressively priced. That’s for the 8/128GB model, the 8/256GB is €500/£450/₹36,000 and the 12/256GB is €550/£500/₹39,000. For this you get a Snapdragon 778G+ (adapted to support wireless charging), a 6.55” 120Hz HDR10+ OLED display with FHD+ resolution (not an LTPO panel) and a 50MP main camera (IMX766, 1/1.56” with OIS). There’s also a 50MP ultrawide unit (114° JN1, 1/2.76″), stereo speakers and a 4,500mAh battery with 33W fast charging (0-50% in 30 minutes, 0-100% in 70 minutes), plus 15W wireless However, there’s no telephoto camera, no microSD slot, and no 3.5mm headphone jack. Nothing promises three years of OS updates (the phone starts on Android 12) and four years of security updates. This is comparable to the Samsung Galaxy A series and Google Pixel 6 phones. Let’s take a look at the competition the Nothing (1) phone faces. We’ll start with the OnePlus 9. Its screen is basically the same, and you get the more powerful Snapdragon 888 chipset. The cameras are comparable (and have Hasselblad features), as is the battery. An 8/128GB phone can be found for around €550 with some shopping around. The OnePlus Nord 2 is usually €400, but you can find it for a little less. It has a smaller 6.43″ 90Hz AMOLED display and is powered by the Dimensity 1300, which should outperform the Snapdragon. The ultrawide camera only has an 8MP sensor and there’s no wireless charging. OnePlus 9 • OnePlus Nord 2T The Samsung Galaxy A53 5G features a 6.5″ 120Hz Super AMOLED display (no HDR10 support) and is powered by the not-so-exciting Exynos 1280 chipset. The camera department is also pretty basic with a 64MP primary (1/1.7″ OIS) and 12MP Ultra wide. The 5,000mAh battery is larger, but slower to charge (also, no wireless charging). A 6/128GB unit is €360 on Samsung.com and slightly less elsewhere. You could also consider the Galaxy M53, which looks more like the A73 than the A53. It has a larger 6.7″ 120Hz Super AMOLED (no HDR) and runs on the less powerful Dimensity 900 chipset. What it has going for it is the 108MP main camera (no OIS), but the 8MP ultra-wide is disappointing. The 4,500mAh battery not ideal for this size, but at least it does wireless charging. A 6/128GB unit will set you back €400. The A53 and M53 have microSD slots, but no 3.5mm slots. You might be better off with the Galaxy S21 FE. It has a 6.4” 120 Hz AMOLED display with HDR10+ and a Snapdragon 888 chipset, even in Europe. The 12MP (1/1.76″, OIS) main camera and 12MP (1/3.0″) ultra-wide camera are nothing to write home about, but there’s also a 3x 8MP telephoto unit (with OIS). This also has a 4,500mAh battery with wireless charging support. The S21 FE and A53 will have better software support than the M53. The S21 FE (6/128GB) usually falls under €500. Samsung Galaxy A53 5G • Samsung Galaxy M53 • Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G The Redmi Note 1 Pro+ 5G in Europe costs €400, has a 6.67” 120Hz (HDR10) Super AMOLED display and is powered by Dimensity 920. Like the M53, it has a 108PM main camera and an 8MP ultra-wide. The phone has a 3.5mm jack and a microSD slot, as well as a 4,500mAh battery with 120W fast charging (0-100% in 15 minutes, but no wireless connection). You can pick one up for €350 (6/128GB unit) and you’ll get a microSD slot and a 3.5mm jack. The Poco F4 uses the old-but-gold Snapdragon 870 and has a 6.67″ 120Hz (HDR10+) AMOLED display, while a 6/128GB unit costs €400. The Poco X4 GT runs the more exciting Dimensity 8100 chipset and has an LCD display of 6, 6″ 144Hz (HDR10), plus 3.5mm jack. Neither phone has particularly interesting cameras (64+8+2MP, with OIS at F4). As for the battery, they only have wired charging (67W), the X4 GT battery is larger (5,080 mAh vs. 4,500 mAh). Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G • Xiaomi Poco F4 • Xiaomi Poco X4 GT The Realme GT Neo 3T is also available for the Snapdragon 870 and features a 6.62″ 120Hz (HDR10+) AMOLED display. The 64+8+2MP camera setup doesn’t impress here either. There’s also a 5,000mAh battery with 80W fast charging (wired only) An 8/128GB phone retails for €430, unless you want the Dragon Ball version (8/256GB for €500). The Realme GT2 runs on the Snapdragon 888 and has a 6.62″ 120Hz (HDR10+) AMOLED display. The main camera uses the same IMX766 (50MP, 1/1.56″ with OIS) as the Nothing phone, but the ultra-wide 8MP it doesn’t fit. There’s a 5,000mAH battery with 65W charging (0-100% in 30 minutes, no wireless). An 8/128GB unit is quite expensive at €550. Realme GT Neo 3T • Realme GT2 If software support is your main concern, you’ll find the Pixel 6 in some countries at €530 (8/128GB). It uses Google’s custom Tensor chipset and features a 6.4” 90Hz (HDR10+) AMOLED display. The 50MP main sensor is large (1/1.31″ with OIS), the 12MP ultra-wide camera is back in resolution. The 4,610mAh battery supports wired and wireless charging. Google Pixel 6 The Motorola Edge 30 also features a Snapdragon 778G+, albeit without the wireless charging modification. It features a 6.5″ 144Hz (HDR10+) AMOLED display and a 4,020mAH battery with 33W wired charging. The camera setup is competitive with a 50MP main (1/1.55″, OIS) and 50MP ultra-wide (1/2, 76″). The price at Motorola Germany is €450 (for an 8/128GB unit), but you can find it for less. The older Moto Edge 20 is also worth a look, it uses the original 778G chip and has a larger 6.7″ 144Hz (HDR10+) AMOLED display. The main camera has a 108MP sensor (1/1.52″, no OIS) and there’s an 8MP telephoto lens 3x, in addition to the 16MP ultra-wide lens. Like its 30-series sibling, it has a small 4,000 mAh battery. You can pick one up for €360. The Moto G200 has a similar setup, albeit with a 144Hz LCD (HDR10) and a Snapdragon 888+ chipset. The 108MP main camera (1/1.52″, no OIS) is in place, but the TV module is gone. At least you get a larger 5,000 mAh battery (still no wireless charging). These cost around €499 (for an 8 /128GB). Motorola Edge 30 • Motorola Edge 20 • Motorola Moto G200 5G OK, time to vote – who here will join the community of Nothing (1) phone owners? POSTSCRIPT. if you’re having trouble voting using the poll widget above, please vote here.
