Tag: nothing

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Mobile Syrup

Nothing follows through with April Fools’ beer gag

‘Nothing’ is producing its very own beer, and yes, you read that right.

Although many chalked the initial claims up to be nothing more than a gag for April Fools, Nothing has decided to take the bit to the next level and commence production of its custom-made craft beer.

The company even took to Twitter to promote the upcoming beer.

Labelled as “Beer 5.1%,” the brew is described as an unfiltered rice lager with subtle notes of pear. Its store page is touting that only five ingredients are present in the beverage (water, rice, malted barley, hops & yeast… if you were curious.)

Made in a collaboration with Freetime Beer Co., an independent microbrewery from Wales, U.K., those interested in staying up to date on information surrounding the beer can even sign up to receive updates.

In one of the most curious instances of a company’s product expansion, Nothing does manage to link its brand to the beer surprisingly well by advertising the beer can with its minimalist design.

The can appears to be clear silver all around, with ‘beer (5.1%)’ vertically gracing the side.

Although no release date has been announced, Nothing expects its fans to be cracking open cans of Beer 5.1% by summer 2023.

Still thirsty? Check out this review of the Nothing Ear (2) wireless earbuds.

Image credit: Nothing

Source: Nothing Via: Gizmodo 

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Mobile Syrup

Nothing Ear (2) Review: Stepping into the sweet spot

Nothing started its journey in 2021 with the Ear (1), and the sequel shows that the company isn’t standing still.

While the wireless earbuds look very similar to their predecessors, there are essential upgrades in usability, portability and, of course, sound quality. They’re a little pricier than the original’s launch price, but they still offer fantastic value compared to the 2023 earbud landscape.

If you’re a fan of product design, things that look like they belong in Ridley Scott’s Alien universe or earbuds that just offer good value, keep reading.

Great expectations

The contents of the Ear (2) box.

Nothing has never shied away from a fun unboxing experience, and the Ear (2) follows the trend. The buds arrive in a small box with a detailed macro shot of them wrapped around the top. Pull a little tab to open the box, and you’re presented with the earbuds. Digging a little deeper reveals two other earbud tip sizes and a short USB-C cable for charging.

The Ear (2) charging case is a bit more compact than the Ear (1), but it’s not that noticeable in your pocket. Where it sets itself apart is in the details — or in some instances, the lack of them.

The downside of clear cases is that you need to clean them often because earwax that rubs off your buds is very noticeable. Ear (2) case pictured on the left.

Side-by-side, the new case seems to be made of more robust plastic that looks more premium than last year’s. You can still tell it’s plastic, but the case sparkles more in the sun, and from the side profile, it almost looks like the buds are submerged in water. It’s not as stunning as glass or crystal, but it feels about as close as we can get while keeping the weight and moldability of plastic.

The premium feeling continues when you pick up the case, as the lid is more snug than the flimsy top half of the Ear (1) case. On the older model, you could push the lid side to side since the tolerances on the hinge weren’t perfect. That’s no longer a problem as the lid locks in a small grove giving the case a more refined feel.

The white centre channel also acts as a foot on the bottom to raise the case’s transparent elements up a millimetre. This sounds inconsequential, but combined with the denser plastic, it allows light to pass through the case in more interesting ways, creating a slight glow around the unit. It’s a small change, but it adds to the sophisticated look. The subtle micro waffle texture has been removed from the white part of the case, which was sad to see at first, but after spending some time with the new buds, the cleaner look of the matte white helps the other details shine.

One such detail is the new magnets holding it shut. At first glance, it looks more complete than the single magnet on the Ear (1). But when you examine the case from the top down, it reveals that this magnet rework matches the size of the hinge. Offering welcome symmetry between the front and back of the case. It’s not a perfect match, but it tells the story of Nothing’s ability to obsess over the smallest details that make its products feel more premium than their price tags.

Still the coolest buds around

The Ear (2) still retain the semi-transparent design from the other Nothing buds, but there are tiny changes upon closer inspection.

My favourite change is that the air pass-through hole on the face of the bud has been replaced with a small metal vent, giving the earbud a higher-end look. Previously this was a small hole drilled into the plastic above the vent. Now it sits flush with the plastic shell removing the need for the hole at all. It’s a small design change, but the hole on the Ear (1) felt like Nothing added the vent to look cool. Now it looks like a functional element, a more impressive achievement.

From left to right: Ear (stick), Ear (2), Ear (1).

There still appears to be a fake vent on the bottom of the stem. It’s disappointing, especially after iFixit tore down the Ear (1) and revealed it would probably look cooler if Nothing showed off the small circuit board inside the buds.

When looking at the top inside of the buds’ stem, there are fewer transistors, but you really have to look closely to spot this change. Overall, these are micro changes that don’t significantly change how they feel or fit. This is a good thing for me since I found the original Ear (1) quite comfortable.

Big sound improvements

While the first generation Ear (1) was fine, the successor offers a notable improvement. The noise-cancelling (ANC) is much stronger, the performance offers more balance, less hum and a wider, more immersive soundstage. While I didn’t mind using the Ear (1), I truly enjoy listening to music with the Ear (2).

Nothing is still using an 11.6mm speaker driver, but the tuning is much better, with support for Hi-Res audio frequencies up to 24 bit/192 kHz. But I think most people will be impressed with how they sound and how much background noise they block out. It seems that something happened around the launch of the Google Pixel Buds Pros in 2022, and now most high-end buds, ranging from OnePlus to Apple, all seem to offer phenomenal active noise-cancellation. The new Nothing Ear (2) are no exception and undercuts the popular competition on price.

Squeeze the side of the Ear (2) to activate its controls.

The transparency mode could be better, but since I use it so rarely, it’s not something that affected me. Alongside that, users get treated to new sounds when toggling ANC and switching to transparency. Turning ANC on/off uses a subtle drum beat that’s tuned slightly differently for each function. Interestingly, when you initiate Transparency mode, the sound is a human letting out a quick breath. It makes sense since turning on Transparency feels like relief as you hear the world again, but it’s likely to be divisive amongst Nothing fans.

The lag has been reduced on the Ear (2), so watching videos is now much less frustrating, but there is still a delay when I connect them to my MacBook. On mobile, there seems to be less noticeable lag. This is a problem most wireless earbuds suffer from, but I hope Nothing works to fix it in the future. There is a low-lag mode in the app, but it’s labelled for gaming, and I don’t think there’s a way to implement it on a desktop. However, I’m still happy that I can at least watch YouTube without lag on my way to work.

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The mic hasn’t changed much, but I’ve only tested it on indoor calls, and so far, it’s been passable. However, no wireless earbuds really have great mics, so I would say that the Ear (2) is usable but not for any professional audio recording.

And most importantly, Nothing has dropped its barely-functioning touch controls in favour of straightforward squeeze controls like the OnePlus Buds Pro and AirPods Pro (2nd-Gen). The company also used this superior method on its Ear Sticks.

Refinement through software

Compared to the app that launched with the original Nothing buds in 2021, the updated Nothing X app (iOS/Android) is full of features and tweaks to help users get the most out of their earbuds.

Beyond the low-latency toggle I previously mentioned, there are systems to personalize the sound levels and ANC for your hearing. There’s also a fit test, a dual connection toggle, and a button to make your earbuds chirp if you’ve lost them. This isn’t as effective as the Find My network that’s built into modern AirPods, but that’s one of the things you lose since these buds are roughly $130 less than the competing AirPods Pro.

If the music isn’t perfect, you can tune it with a standard in-app equalizer to personalize it to your taste. You can also tweak the playback controls if you’d rather have volume controls on the buds or want to tweak which bud does what.

I’m sure audiophiles will be annoyed with how basic the equalizer is, but for most people, the app is easy to use and offers several controls and tweaks to help make your buds suit you. While I tried the automatic sound profile test, I ended up turning it off and bumping the bass down a notch which felt balanced to me.

Overall, there’s a lot of functionality in the app, and enjoy how much personalization you can add to the earbuds through a few tweaks in the app. It’s not much, but it gives me a nice sense of ownership over these buds compared to my Apple earbuds. With AirPods, you get what you get, and there’s a beautiful simplicity there, but the Nothing Ear (2) allows you to make them your earbuds, and combined with the care that went into the look, they feel like a product you can connect with.

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Mobile Syrup

Upcoming Nothing speaker design leaks in renders

Nothing, the tech company led by Carl Pei, has already made a name for itself with its futuristic-looking gadgets, is now rumoured to be working on a new speaker.

While there’s no official name for the speaker yet, leaker Kuba Wojciechowski recently shared a render of the device with 91mobiles, giving us a look at what the speaker might look like.

From the image, it appears the speaker will feature a clear plastic handle on top and two large woofers toward the bottom. Above those, there are likely two tweeters and a third black circle that features the Nothing logo. On the sides, there are four buttons on the left, likely for volume and skip controls, with a red button that may serve as a multifunction control. On the right side, there are two buttons, with one protruding quite a bit. This suggests it may be a power toggle.

Further, “the device seems to have rubber paddings at the bottom, which should offer good support and grip when placed on flat surfaces.” Other than that, no specs or details about the speaker have been revealed.

We currently don’t know when Nothing plans to announce the new speaker, but considering rge company is working on 2nd-Gen Nothing Ear (2) wireless earbuds, the two audio gadgets could release simultaneously. The devices also might release alongside the Nothing Phone (2) later this year.

Image credit: 91Mobiles

Source: 91Mobiles

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Mobile Syrup

Nothing CEO Carl Pei confirms Phone (2) launching in U.S. later this year

Nothing CEO and founder Carl Pei confirmed in an interview with Inverse that the company was working on Phone (2), set to launch later this year, including in the U.S.

“We decided to make the U.S. our No. 1 priority in terms of markets,” Pei told Inverse.

Pei, who previously co-founded OnePlus, made waves with the launch of Nothing and its fantastic, transparent hardware designs. However, when the company’s much-hyped Phone (1) launched in March 2022, North America was omitted.

Fast forward to this year, and it looks like things are changing for Nothing fans — at least, in the U.S. The company recently launched a beta program that let some U.S. residents purchase the phone with the caveat that it would have limited support on U.S. networks. At the same time, MobileSyrup got its hands on a Phone (1) to see what it would be like using the device in Canada — read about that here.

Moreover, while Pei confirmed a U.S. launch for the Phone (2), he didn’t say anything about Canada. MobileSyrup reached out to Nothing for more details, but the company did not respond in time for publication (we’ll update this story with any pertinent details).

“We couldn’t [bring Phone (1) to the U.S.] earlier because we were only in our second year and our hands were tied building the team as we were building the products. Now as we’re on a more solid footing, we can take a step forward,” Pei explained to Inverse.

Part of that comes down to growth. Pei talked financials with Inverse, noting that the company “did more than $200 million USD last year; the first year we did something like $24 million USD,” and that Nothing had “shipped over a million products already.”

Moreover, Nothing has doubled in size to 400 people and Pei noted the company is having better luck working with companies that wouldn’t work with Nothing before.

As for the Phone (2) itself, Pei only said that it would come later this year and that “we’re developing a smartphone that’s more premium than the Nothing Phone (1).” Software will also be a big focus area for Nothing.

Despite being “more premium,” Pei was adamant that the Phone (2) will be as much as flagship as the Phone (1) was.

On the software side, Pei noted that the software team is now close to 100 people and that he’s “confident” the beefed-up team can make a “fast and smooth experience.”

This all sounds very promising and definitely has me intrigued about what’s coming with the Nothing Phone (2). It’s great to see Nothin expanding into the U.S. — hopefully the company’s momentum carries to Canada as well.

For a look at the Nothing Phone (1), check out Brad Bennett’s in-depth look at the unique device.

Source: Inverse

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Mobile Syrup

Nothing in talks with carriers to launch a ‘future product’ in the U.S.

Nothing co-founder and CEO Carl Pei confirmed in an interview with CNBC that the company is in early talks with U.S. carriers to launch a “future product” in the U.S., but it won’t be a sequel to the Nothing Phone (1).

The U.K.-based company launched its first smartphone back in July, but it wasn’t available in the U.S. or Canada. Ahead of the launch, Nothing said it wanted to focus on the U.K. and Europe, where it had strong carrier partnerships. It also suggested that the Phone (1) wouldn’t work well on North American networks and planned to launch a U.S. smartphone in the future.

Pei reiterated those reasons to CNBC, saying, “The reason why we didn’t launch in the U.S. is because you need a lot of additional technical support, to support all the carriers and their unique customizations that they need to make on top of Android.”

“Now we are in discussions with some carriers in the U.S. to potentially launch a future product there,” Pei said. Although Pei doesn’t specify whether it’s a smartphone, that’s likely what the “future product” is, especially if Nothing is in discussions with carriers.

While that may have some people excited about a potential ‘Phone (2),’ Pei took to Twitter on December 5th to quell any hype about a sequel to the Phone (1):

“Phone (2) isn’t launching anytime soon. We’re focused on doing a few things well, and won’t churn out dozens of products a year like many others. Phone (1) is our main focus. We’re cooking something really great in terms of software, Android 13 and beyond.”

Aside from Pei’s subtle shot at his former company, OnePlus, the tweet suggests the phone Nothing launches in the U.S. will be something else, although it’s not clear what. Whatever the product ends up being, hopefully it comes to Canada as well as the U.S. and Canadians get a little something from Nothing.

Header image credit: Nothing

Source: CNBC, Carl Pei (Twitter) Via: Android Police

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Mobile Syrup

Nothing to increase price of Ear (1) earbuds later this month

London-based tech company Nothing will increase the price of its Ear (1) true wireless earbuds on October 26 by about 50 percent.

The news comes from Nothing CEO Carl Pei, who tweeted that the Ear (1) price would climb to $149 USD on the 26th. That’s a 50 percent increase over the current $99 price for the Ear (1) buds in the U.S. Although Pei didn’t say what the Canadian price would be, assuming a similar 50 percent increase, the Ear (1) buds would jump from $129 to about $193 in Canada.

In follow-up tweets, Pei justified the price increase by pointing to Nothing’s growth. The company expanded from its initial three engineers to 185. Moreover, Pei tweeted that the “Ear (1) has received 15 firmware and tuning updates, and is a completely different product” compared to when it launched.

Pei also noted that Nothing has sold almost 600,000 units of the Ear (1) and that the product enabled it to launch the Phone (1).

The Verge points out that global inflation may also play a role in this change. The publication points to the pound’s slump in value as a potential motive for Nothing to increase the price of the Ear (1) buds.

Given that many reviews pointed to the Ear (1) buds’ value as a major selling point, the price increase may deter future sales. At $129, the Ear (1) buds were competitive, but if you need to shell out almost $200, other options become more appealing (like the third-gen AirPods for about $30 more). With that said, if you were thinking about picking up a pair of Ear (1) buds, you should probably do so before October 26th.

Source: @getpeid Via: The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

Nothing’s next earbuds remove silicone tips and revamp case

Nothing is drumming up its never-ending hype cycle again for its new Ear (Stick) wireless earbuds. And yes, that’s the name the company is going with this time; Not Ear (2), but Ear (Stick).

These buds come in a tube case and don’t feature silicon tips like the previous Nothing Ear (1)s. Nothing says that the new Ear Stick is lighter and more comfortable and offers a moulded design.

The earbuds were shown off at the Chet Lo runway show in London, England, Nothing’s hometown. The tease featured the new buds in models’ ears and stuffed in unique shear bags, which will also be on sale later this year.

The same press release says that Nothing will release specs for the earbuds sometime before the end of the year, but it seems like some high-ranking members of the official Nothing Discord might get information surrounding specs sooner, so ideally, these details will leak soon.

Based on the press images, there seems to be a subtle texture on the white centre tube. This is likely to offer grip as you pop open the case, through the cut-out in the transparent section points at the camera in the picture above.

You can see another angle from a smartphone shot from the fashion show. In this image, the buds look pretty big in the model’s ears, but it’s difficult to tell without more context surrounding their size.

Ideally, the Ear (Stick)s will sound better and offer a more consistent Bluetooth connection than the Ear (1)s. While my review of Nothing’s first earbuds is positive, I emphasized their reasonable cost, beautiful design and comfortable fit. Focusing on a new design instead of making the software and hardware work better together could be risky for Nothing.

Traditionally, most wireless earbuds with silicon tips and active noise-cancelling are more expensive than models without these higher-end features. That leads me to believe the Ear Stick should be cheaper than the Nothing Ear (1)s. At $130, it will be hard to shave that price down, and still offer a compelling answer to wireless earbuds like the AirPods and Galaxy Buds Live.

If you’re still curious to catch a glimpse of the Ear (Stick)s, roughly 30 photos from the runway are available on Hypebae.

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Mobile Syrup

dbrand selling Nothing styled decals called ‘Something’

As the hype builds around the Nothing Phone (1) before it releases, dbrand is doing its best to cash in on the hype. The new set of skins and cases are called ‘Something’ and actually looks insane.

The most notable part of the Nothing Phone is its custom back with a transparent panel that reveals a bespoke design and a few LED light strips that are set into a Glyph design.

You can’t recreate the lighting with the new dbrand skins, but there are custom patterns for the new S22 Ultra, the iPhone 13 Pro Max, Apple’s MagSafe charger and the Pixel 6 Pro. There is a section on the site that allows prospective buyers to request other skins as well.

There’s no denying that all the skins are cool to look at, but my favourite is the S22 Ultra version since it even shows off a fake pen tucked away inside the device.

If you want to pick up the new skins, you can visit the dbrand store here.

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Mobile Syrup

Nothing’s Phone (1) costs £399 (roughly $624 CAD)

Carl Pei and the Nothing team have finally revealed a complete look at the company’s first smartphone, the Phone (1).

There are a few standout features surrounding the device, but like the Nothing Ear(1) buds, the new Phone (1) looks to strike a solid compromise of features, price and design.

The look is the most striking part of the phone (which comes in black and white). There’s a transparent back made of Gorilla Glass 5, and Pei described the Glyph interface as very customizable and integral to helping the phone stand out during the Nothing launch event.

Some elements like the small LED at the bottom that notifies users of their phone’s charging status seem helpful, but the large light surrounding the wireless charger seems like overkill. Pei said that this light comes on when the phone is wirelessly charging, so I assume it will be covered in most situations.

You can use all the rear lights as notification lights, and Pei mentioned that you can customize each light for different contacts so you can make the phone your own. It still remains to be seen how distracting all these lights will be. You can dial back the brightness if the lights are too intense or disable them entirely.

With all of this in mind, I still love the unique look of the phone, and the fact that it’s running a very light skin on top of Android 13 makes me excited to see where Nothing goes with it in the future. As much as the lead-up to the phone overhyped a few things, the reveal of the device was relatively chill, and the Nothing team even shot the entire event on the Nothing Phone (1).

The cameras

We also learned that the company placed two cameras on the phone to favour quality over quantity.

As I mentioned, the full reveal video was shot on the Phone (1), and it looked decent but a little over-saturated. That said, the company’s sample photos before the event looked solid with decent detail and smooth colours.

The primary camera is a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 sensor with a 24mm focal length and a combination of optical and electronic image stabilization. This camera also houses most of the extra camera modes. There are panoramas, portrait mode, night mode and tons of others.

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The Ultra-wide camera is a Samsung JN1 sensor that’s also 50-megapixels, and it has macro capabilities and a 114-degree field of view.

The selfie camera is a 16-megapixel shooter that can also do portrait mode, night mode and capture Live Photos like an iPhone.

Nothing has a few samples available here if you want to check them out. During the event, Pei also noted that all the sample photos were snapped by real people and not photographers.

Other features

As with many flagship handsets, the Phone (1) features an in-display fingerprint scanner, reverse-wireless charging and fast charging. The battery is a 4,500mAh cell and can be topped up with a 33-watt PD charger in 70 minutes. This isn’t superfast, but it should be enough for most people.

As noted before the event, the phone has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ chipset. This is basically the same version in devices like the Motorola Edge, but Nothing and Qualcomm have stacked wireless charging for the Phone (1).

The phone has a rather reasonable starting price of £399 (roughly $624 CAD) for the model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. A model with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage is £449 (roughly $702 CAD) and the 12GB RAM + 256GB storage = £499 (about $780 CAD). These are reasonable prices for a device with these specs, and the few tech press and YouTubers that have the Phone (1) seem to like it so far.

To keep the phone feeling modern, Nothing also plans to provide three years of software updates and four years of security patches.

The bad news

The phone also only has an IP53 rating, protecting it from light dust ingress and minimal water spray. For reference, an iPhone 11 has an IP68 rating that makes it fully submersible in water.

Unfortunately, Phone (1) won’t be sold in Canada. There may be a global version available on Nothing’s website at some point after July 21st, but it’s still unclear.

If you want to learn more about Nothing’s Phone (1), check out Nothing’s website, but you’ll need to make sure that you set your region to the UK as the Canadian version isn’t updated yet.

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Mobile Syrup

Canadians dodged disappointment with Nothing Phone (1)

In keeping with the trend of making much ado about Nothing, it seems pertinent to point out that Canadian smartphone fans may have dodged disappointment thanks to Nothing not releasing its upcoming Phone (1) here.

That’s not to say Canadians would be better served by less choice when it comes to smartphones. I’d argue more choice is better, especially in an era where smartphone companies are increasingly disappearing. LG is gone, HTC emerges once every few years with a new scam crypto phone, and Motorola only seems to launch a few budget or mid-range options each year in Canada.

Until Nothing revealed its first new smartphone, the Phone (1), wouldn’t come to Canada, I was looking forward to its arrival. Admittedly, I probably got a little lost in the hype. The phone is exciting — it features a unique look, and it’s new and flashy.

But as we’ve learned more about the Nothing Phone (1), I’ve found myself thinking that it’s maybe a good thing the first iteration will skip Canada.

Flagship hype for a stylish mid-ranger

Image credit: MKBHD

Most recently, Nothing confirmed that the Phone (1) runs a “custom-tuned” Snapdragon 778G+ chip. As previously reported, the 778G+ is really just a 778G with wireless charging capabilities. The thing is, the 778G (and by extension the 778G+) is a mid-range chip. There’s nothing wrong with mid-range chips, but Nothing’s hype machine has painted the Phone (1) as a flagship. People coming to the Phone (1) with that expectation might find themselves disappointed.

The thing is, Nothing’s Phone (1) will need to contend with some of the biggest players in the market to make any headway. It’s a big challenge, and a market like Canada’s makes it even harder to overcome.

Canada’s smartphone market isn’t big, at least compared to some other countries. As per StatsCan, about 85 percent of Canadians had a smartphone for personal use in 2020. Recent population estimates (also from StatsCan) put Canada at about 38.6 million, meaning roughly 32.8 million Canadians have smartphones. Emphasis on the ‘roughly,’ since the 85 percent comes from 2020 and numbers have likely shifted since then. Coupled with 2019 data that suggests Canada has a nearly equal split between Android and iOS use (46 to 53 percent, respectively, but I’m rounding here to make the math a bit easier) and you’ve got maybe 16.4 million potential customers for the Phone (1).

And since I can already hear the furious typing coming from the comments section, I want to acknowledge that this is just quick, back-of-the-napkin math. It’s not about the numbers so much as that Canada is a small market in the grand scheme of things (Apple and Samsung sold an estimated 239 million and 272 million smartphones, respectively, in 2021).

Obviously, Nothing isn’t going to move that many Phone (1) units, nor should anyone expect it to with its first-ever phone. Instead, if Nothing launched Phone (1) in Canada, it’d be signing up to fight for a fraction of an already small market, and it’d be doing so with virtually no backup (read: carriers).

We’ve been here before

Essential Phone

Sound familiar? That’s because we’ve seen this before from brands like OnePlus and Essential. You still can’t buy OnePlus phones from Canadian carriers, while Essential’s PH-1 was only available through Telus at launch. Yes, OnePlus has had considerable success, but you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone outside of tech circles that’s familiar with the brand.

Anecdotally, I used to work at a smartphone shop before I started writing for MobileSyrup. Nearly every customer I had was there to buy a new iPhone or new Samsung Galaxy, usually because their current iPhone or Samsung phone was broken or old. It was rare that a customer would show interest in a phone from another brand (I did have the occasional Pixel convert, though). The Essential Phone was available at the store I worked at too, but I don’t remember ever selling one even after it was steeply discounted at the end of its run.

Although I never owned an Essential Phone, I liked the device and always thought it was really unique. It was disappointing to see the phone come to Canada and languish in obscurity. Also, it’s worth noting Nothing scooped up what remained of Essential last year.

Need more than hardware gimmicks

So, breaking into the Canadian smartphone market is hard. You don’t need carriers to do it, but even if you have them, it might not help. Moreover, to get people to switch, you really need something to draw them in. Hardware gimmicks won’t cut it (as cool as those LED glyphs are). If I had to guess, the secret might be OnePlus’ anti-flagship tactic — the company garnered a lot of press by offering flagship smartphones at rock-bottom prices. That caught people’s attention and was enough to pull some away from the carrier upgrade pipeline.

Nothing’s Phone (1) doesn’t have that. Rumours point to the price being low, but that’s because it’s a mid-range device, not a flagship. Unfortunately, high-quality, mid-range devices exist in Canada from known brands — Apple’s iPhone SE, Google’s Pixel A-Series, and Samsung’s Galaxy A line, for example. Plus, those all have the benefit of being available from Canadian carriers.

With all this said, I think Nothing’s plan to skip Canada and the U.S. is the right play. Sure, it sucks for smartphone fans, but it also gives Nothing a chance to prove itself in less harsh markets. Maybe with some success attached to its name, Nothing could break through in Canada. Either way, Canadians dodge disappointment.

Image credit: Nothing