Nothing Phone (1) Review: An Ultimatum to the Generic Android
After a big bunch of parrot posters, teasers, YouTube videos and every other marketing method (and our lighthearted Nothing Phone (1) memes), the Nothing Phone (1) has finally launched in India!
We know we got a couple of memes on Nothing, but IRL, we’re such big fans of Nothing that we did not even wait to register for our Pre-Order Passes! And now, we finally have the phone before the beginning of official sales!
But before we get to the review, let’s look at the basic specs first!
Specs
Price
- Starts from ₹31,999
Chipset
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ Processor- 1 x A78 (2.5GHz)+3 x A78 (2.4GHz) +4 x A55 (1.8GHz)
- Adreno 642L GPU
- Hexagon 770 AI Processor
Software
- Nothing OS based on Android 12
- 3 Years Android Update + 4 Years Security Update every 2 months
Memory
- 8 GB LPDDR5 RAM + UFS 3.1 128 GB ROM
- 8 GB LPDDR5 RAM + UFS 3.1 256 GB ROM
- 12 GB LPDDR5 RAM + UFS 3.1 256 GB ROM
Display
- 6.55″ Flexible OLED
- 2400 x 1080 pixels display at 402 PPI
- 60 Hz-120 Hz Adaptive Refresh Rate
- 240 Hz touch sampling rate
- 500 nits brightness- 1200 nits peak brightness
- HDR10+ supported
Audio
- Dual Stereo Speakers
Camera
Rear Camera
- 50 MP Main Camera with Sony IMX766 sensor with EIS and OIS + 50 MP Ultrawide + Macro Camera with Samsung JN1 Sensor with 114° FOV & EIS
- 4k recording at 30 fps, 1080p recording at 30 fps or 60 fps
- Slow motion at 120 fps
- Night mode in 720p/1080p at 30 fps
Front Camera
- 16 MP camera with Sony IMX471 sensor
- 1080p video recording at 30 fps
Connectivity
- 5G compatible- 12 bands
- Bluetooth 5.2
- WiFi 6
- NFC
Battery & Charging
- 4500 mAh Battery
- 33W Fast Wired Charging
- 15W Wireless Charging
- 5W reverse wireless charging
Design
- Dimensions: 159.2 mm x 75.8 mm x 8.3 mm
- 900 Mini-LEDs Glyph Interface
- Transparent back with Corning Gorilla Glass 5
- Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Screen
- Weight: 194 gms
- Dual-SIM
- Available in shades of Black and White
Detailed Review
Multimedia experience
Display of Nothing phone (1) is quite apt for the price point. It has an FHD+ OLED display that is also HDR10+ supported which is ample for a phone under this price. You can observe sharp, detailed, bold colours on the screen. But no matter how great the display is, we found a few issues.
There is no HDR10 certification for Netflix specifically, which means you can’t enjoy some of the best UHD content present on the platform. It’s disappointing because most people in India use Netflix on their phones, and the whole point of enjoying Netflix is not there.
Also, regarding a few units, some people observed a visible green tint on the screen, possibly a hardware issue. However, it was not there in the product we received.
Continuing further in multimedia experience, we’ve come to the audio segment now. Given that Nothing Phone’s original product was a TWS device, the Nothing ear (1), the absence of a headphone jack in Nothing Phone (1)’s audio is very understandable. But still, it’s a bit of a bummer if you ask us.
But here’s a stellar display feature that is not there in any Android phone of this price range: The display has thin and symmetrical bezels! It is hard to achieve, and you need to spend extra cash buying flexible OLEDs to get it balanced. It’s not exactly a feature that makes to spec sheets, but it is definitely appreciable.
Nothing Phone (1) has dual-stereo speakers, which give a pretty crisp sound, and the loudness level is perfect. Moreover, since ear (1) is part of Nothing’s ecosystem, it pairs up instantly with the phone and you don’t need to install the separate ear (1) app for configuration settings.
Performance & Battery Life
Before the official announcement, many of us speculated that the Nothing Phone (1) would have Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1. Instead, we got Snapdragon 778G+ chipset, the second latest mobile platform in Snapdragon 7 series after Snapdragon 7 Gen 1.
Many people were a bit disappointed by this, but if you check the benchmark scores of both the processors, you’ll notice that 778G+ performance speeds are better than Snapdragon 7 Gen 1. The latter is more efficient than 778G+ though.
You can see the real-time output of the same on the Nothing Phone (1). You can run games like Apex Legends in Ultra mode (57 fps-60 fps). For heavily graphical games like Genshin Impact, we’d recommend playing in 45-50 fps which is still pretty decent.
If we talk about the battery performance, the phone is well-optimised for a good amount of usage without bleeding the battery incessantly. Even when the Glyph Interface is switched on, it does not consume more than 2% of the battery per hour. Nothing Phone (1) supports wired and wireless charging of 33 watts and 15 watts, respectively. Moreover, you can also use the phone to reverse-charge your devices at 5 watts!
It is a little beat down regarding wired charging because at this price, you can find chargers of 67W, 80W and even 120W. So it’s not the most stellar feature if you like fast charging.
On paper, they’ve mentioned that it takes about 70 minutes to charge in wired charging. In our testing, the charging took about 75 minutes, i.e., one hour and 15 minutes, which is not so bad compared to the spec sheet.
Wireless charging is the standard 15W charging because this is the charging limit in most Qi-compatible devices.
Software & Memory
Nothing Phone (1) has a very close-to-stock Android software that gives a clean, bloatware-free user experience. It adds a lot to software optimisation and battery efficiency because generally, in Android phones, heavy Android skins slow down the phone and impact the battery life quite a bit. So there’s no lie that you are getting a good software experience for a mid-range phone.
You will be getting 8 GB and 12 GB LPDDR5 RAM variants with UFS 3.1 128 GB/256 GB storage options. The RAM options are the usual ones in most Android phones in the mid and upper ranges. However, for this price range, LPDDR5 type RAM is not found in many phones, which makes it a good contender in the smartphone market.
Camera
Rear Camera
The primary camera has a Sony IMX766 sensor, also used by brands like Xiaomi and OnePlus for better image processing. However, Nothing Phone (1)’s primary camera takes decent photos under daylight without over-saturation or over-processing, making the picture look more natural.
The ultrawide camera has a Samsung JN1 sensor that works the same as the primary camera, in addition to taking images for a wider FOV, i.e. 114°, without distortion. Moreover, the ultrawide camera can also take photos in macro mode. The glyph around the camera acts as a fill light while taking pictures in macro mode. However, there is a significant difference in the clarity of the photos taken from this camera sensor.
All over, the rear camera set up takes pretty natural-looking, clear images, the condition being it should be clicked under daylight. Night mode is present in all cameras, including the front camera, but it needs some refinement because the pictures get a tad grainy texture.
Both the cameras have OIS and EIS, which is why the image stabilisation is pretty clean, especially for the primary sensor.
Front camera
The front camera has Sony IMX471 sensor for better image processing; it can take very crisp-looking selfies and portraits. You can even take videos in 1080p at 30 fps with EIS, which is good. However, the night mode is not at its best; the pictures clicked under low light are even more grainy from this sensor.
Connectivity
The connectivity of this phone is absolutely amazing! There were no call drops, and call quality was crisp each time. It’s got Bluetooth 5.2 and WIFi 6, which are pretty fast and stable.
What we liked the most: The connectivity features are open. For example, you don’t have to install separate apps for your TWS device. You can check battery levels and configure any TWS without installing dedicated apps.
This phone has NFC, unlike most phones in this price range.
Design
The design of this phone is its most valid distinguishing factor. The build of the phone is pretty good for the price.
With Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the back panel and screen, recycled aluminium chamfered side frames and a boxy structure, it has a very premium outlook and hand feel. However, if you observe very closely, it does have a bit of layout like an iPhone 11 or 12.
And how can we forget about The Iconic Glyph Interface?
Phone (1)’s Glyph Interface has always been the talk of the tech town since the time the design was revealed. While most of us thought that the Glyph Interface existed only for show, we have finally realised that it’s pretty functional.
The most-known function: Notification and Ringtone light patterns. You get a set of sounds for calls and notifications in the Nothing OS, which are synchronised with the Glyph Interface lights, for which you can see the Glyph lights flickering. You can set specific notification tones for different contacts or/and apps, so you don’t have to check your phone every time you get a notification.
The charging indicator at the bottom of the back panel is the wiggle Glyph light that indicates the percentage of battery while the phone is charging. It turns off after a while, so if you want to turn it back on to check your battery level, you have to lightly wiggle your phone.
Moreover, you can use it as a portable ring light for shooting videos and a subtle light source for macro shots.
Verdict
Despite the claims made by Nothing regarding the Nothing Phone (1), it has a long way to go in the context of being Apple’s competitor.
And we believe that it has got the potential to do so. It doesn’t have a strong spec sheet, but you’ll observe the effort to get the basics right.
Carl Pei gave us OnePlus before, which focused on providing good specs for fair pricing, which went over pretty successful. But then, OnePlus fell into the conventional phone market after Carl left OnePlus. It’s a device that is a glimmer of hope for many people from the old OnePlus community.
Nothing Phone (1) has the polished user interface and experience you won’t find in phones of this price range. Sure, the phone uses an older chipset, which might seem bummer, but the benchmark tests have something else to say.
Moreover, the phone is so well optimised that even with such a mediocre spec sheet, it feels like a very snappy phone, which is not something you will find in a mid-range phone.
We would not recommend the phone to extreme avid gamers and photographers, but it will do just as fine if you game occasionally and do casual photography.
The best part? The Glyph Interface, of course. It is the most distinguishing factor of this entire phone and is pretty functional. However, it’s also a parlour trick to get used to because most people don’t keep their phone screen facing down to avoid scratches. It’s still a pretty cool feature, though, especially in a mid-range phone.
The design of the phone is absolutely masterful. We love how premium it feels and looks despite the pricing.
Irrespective of the casual memes on our socials regarding how Nothing Phone (1) looks like an iPhone and has LED light functions like a Nokia 3220, we absolutely love how amazing it looks.
But as a leading brand of mobile skins, screen guards and full-body protectors, we tend to encourage people to improvise on how their phone looks. And that’s why we’ve got a collection of Nothing Phone (1) skins and Nothing Phone (1) Screen protectors/ Full Body protectors.
