Flagship smartphones sometimes are likely to have a number of hype and fanfare main as much as their launch, but it surely’s not usually we see the identical and even larger degree of pleasure for the launch of a mid-range cellphone. Nothing, the expertise firm based by Carl Pei, who beforehand co-founded OnePlus, has simply launched its first smartphone referred to as the Telephone 1.
This has been a hotly anticipated smartphone for a bunch of causes however I feel the primary one is that Carl Pei, the person heading the corporate, helped form OnePlus from a fledgling enthusiast-only model to one of the crucial in style smartphone manufacturers at this time. Expectations of Nothing’s first smartphone are sky-high. After a seismic build-up over the previous few months with a number of leaks and teasers, the Telephone 1 is lastly right here.
Nothing’s aim for the Telephone 1 is to ship a clear and easy Android expertise however with a singular {hardware} twist by way of its quirky notifications lights. I’ve spent a bit time with the Telephone 1 and listed below are my first impressions of it.
The Nothing Telephone 1 is available in a slim field which has a cropped picture of the again of the cellphone printed on it. The white and black variations of the cellphone are available colour-matched bins. Inside, you may discover the Telephone 1, a security information, a USB Sort-C to Sort-C cable and one of many coolest wanting SIM ejector instruments I’ve come throughout. As anticipated, there is not any charger bundled with the cellphone. Nothing additionally despatched me a transparent case for the Telephone 1, which is bought individually.
The Nothing Telephone 1 would not include a bundled charger, however the SIM ejector device seems to be fairly cool
Earlier than we dive into the specs, we should always first discuss concerning the Telephone 1’s most original characteristic and that’s its again panel. You have most likely seen this angle of the cellphone the most because it’s what Nothing has been utilizing in all of its advertising and marketing materials. To be sincere, I am not an enormous fan of the entire clear design however I do respect how neatly all of the elements have been hidden away. In my view, the black variant seems to be significantly better than the white because the clear impact is extra refined and I additionally desire the darker shade of the aluminium body.
Nonetheless, this clear again is not only for present, because it serves a objective. Beneath the glass again panel are a collection of sunshine strips that Nothing refers to because the Glyph Interface. There is a devoted menu within the software program for it from the place you possibly can set totally different gentle patterns for ringtones and notifications, and even preserve a tab on the battery degree whereas the cellphone is charging. You’ll be able to even use the Glyph Interface as a fill gentle for the rear cameras, which is neat.
The clear again of the Nothing Telephone 1 is its most putting characteristic, for higher or worse
The Glyph Interface appears helpful supplied you will have the behavior of holding your cellphone face-down on a floor, which I personally do not. The lights are actually brilliant, though you possibly can alter the depth, and among the flashing patterns could be distracting. We’ll discover out within the full evaluation how helpful this truly finally ends up being after I’ve used the cellphone for an extended interval. One other factor to bear in mind is that you will most likely want to make use of this cellphone with a clear or translucent case, or with out one with the intention to see the lights.
As a premium mid-range smartphone, the Nothing Telephone 1 will get fairly a bit proper. The flattened aluminium body is clean to the contact and the rounded edges make it snug to carry. It is pretty slim at 8.3mm but it surely has a little bit of heft to it at 193.5g. The facility and quantity buttons have good suggestions and are positioned on reverse sides of the body which makes them simpler to make use of with one hand. On the backside, now we have the dual-SIM tray, a USB Sort-C port, and a speaker. The earpiece doubles up as a second speaker for stereo sound.
The Nothing Telephone 1 is IP53 rated for resistance towards gentle splashes of water and dirt. An IP score is changing into more and more widespread in mid-range telephones and despite the fact that it is not as complete as an IP67 or IP68 score, it is nonetheless one thing and I am glad Nothing hasn’t skimped on this.
The Nothing Telephone 1 has a crisp OLED show with a 120Hz refresh price
On the entrance of the Nothing Telephone 1, you get a brilliant and crisp 6.55-inch show which produces superb colors because of the OLED panel. The show has a 10-bit color depth, full-HD+ decision and a 120Hz refresh price. This cellphone additionally has a capacitive in-display fingerprint sensor, which has been working nicely up to now. The show helps HDR10+ playback and has a typical brightness of 500 nits (1,200 nits peak). There’s Corning Gorilla Glass on the back and front of the Telephone 1.
The Nothing Telephone 1 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ SoC, which is a robust 5G chip seen in telephones such because the Motorola Edge 30 (Assessment). The Telephone 1 is available in three configurations that are as follows: 8GB RAM + 128GB storage priced at Rs. 32,999, 8GB RAM + 256GB storage priced at Rs. 35,999, and 12GB RAM + 256GB storage priced at 38,999. That is LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage. Nothing can also be providing reductions for purchasers who’ve pre-ordered the cellphone.
The Telephone 1 has a 4,500mAh battery and help for as much as 33W USB PD quick wired charging. There’s help for 15W quick wi-fi charging and 5W reverse wi-fi charging. Wi-fi charging is one characteristic that is nonetheless comparatively uncommon within the mid-range house, so this could assist the Telephone 1 get a very good footing.
The Nothing Telephone 1 runs on Nothing OS which is just about inventory Android 12 with just a few tweaks comparable to a customized icon pack, additional wallpapers and widgets, and naturally, the customized ringtones and notification sounds for the Glyph Interface. Nothing additionally guarantees three years of Android updates and 4 years of safety updates, which is nice to see.
There are simply two cameras on the again of the Nothing Telephone 1
Nothing hasn’t gone loopy with the cameras and there are simply two on the again of the Telephone 1, however with high-quality sensors. The first digital camera makes use of a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 sensor which is optically stabilised. We have seen good issues from this sensor in loads of flagships so I am anticipating the identical from the Telephone 1. The second digital camera is a 50-megapixel ultra-wide one, and makes use of the Samsung JN1 sensor, very like the OnePlus 10 Professional (Assessment). This sensor additionally has autofocus so it doubles as a macro digital camera. The selfie digital camera has a 16-megapixel Sony IMX471 sensor which we have seen in loads of OnePlus flagships through the years.
The Nothing Telephone 1 seems to be prefer it may very well be a stable mid-range providing primarily based on specs alone. The inclusion of wi-fi charging ought to give it an edge over the competitors, and the Glyph notification system, whereas a bit gimmicky in my view, definitely units it aside from another cellphone in the marketplace. In addition to having good {hardware}, it is equally vital for Nothing to offer good after gross sales service if it hopes to compete with different established gamers. The corporate says it has service centres in over 220 cities throughout India, which is an effective begin.
Must you consider the hype and purchase the Nothing Telephone 1? Discover out in our full evaluation coming quickly.
