It has a fantastic design, feels good within the fingers, and stands effectively in efficiency, battery, and UI. However, the cellphone disappoints in cameras and has a hefty dimension.

Pros

Two-Way Wireless Charging

With all of the hype subsiding over the previous couple of weeks, the Nothing Phone 1 is now all in regards to the person expertise it affords. Being the brand new entrant within the smartphone market, the model is taking part in on the design, software program expertise, and different beautiful perks like glyph lights and wi-fi charging. Having used the gadget for about two weeks, right here’s my full overview for Nothing Phone 1 summing up its execs, cons, and if it’s price shopping for.

Nothing Phone 1 Review

Box Contents

You get the next issues contained in the retail bundle:

• Nothing Phone 1
• Pre-applied display protector
• A USB-C cable
• Paperwork
• SIM Ejector Tool

Design & Build: Built to Flaunt

The Nothing Phone 1 takes its design inspiration from the iPhone 12 but manages to face out with its distinctive traits. You get flat sides crafted out of recycled aluminum with an anodized end, adopted by a glass again.

Both the entrance and rear are lined by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. And the entire unit is IP53-rated to deal with minor splashes. Although, I’d have most popular an entire water resistance with an IP67 or IP68 rating- however once more, let’s go away that out for the flagship territory.

Being 8.3mm thick and carrying a 194gram weight, the cellphone has an total bigger footprint. Despite that, the load distribution is nice. And being an iPhone 13 person, I discovered it to be a bit extra comfy in fingers, because of the perimeters that soften as they merge with the rear.

Coming over to the entrance, we see the attractive symmetry with even bezels on all sides. Nothing has managed to do it by utilizing a versatile OLED panel folded inwards on the backside to cut back the chin dimension. But do be aware that total facet bezels are thicker than different telephones.

The cellphone carries a punch-hole digital camera to the left, adopted by an earpiece up high which additionally doubles as a stereo speaker. Proximity and ambient gentle sensors are hidden within the black bars. The display is flushed effectively with the chassis in contrast to the OnePlus 10R whereby it appears like a pasted glass slab.

Volume rockers are given to the left whereas the ability button sits on the right- each buttons really feel tight and tactile. The backside carries a USB-C port, speaker grill, SIM tray, and first microphone. There are a complete of three microphones onboard- on the underside edge, on high, and one on the rear subsequent to the digital camera.

Even although the Nothing Phone 1 flaunts a clear again, it’s extra of a transparent glass layer. Underneath is the fake design- you may’t see any bare elements, apart from the wi-fi charging coil and ribbon cable.

The cellphone is available in two colors- Black and White. The black variant appears extra delicate and the glyph lights have a sharper distinction when glowing. At the identical time, I like the white unit for its less-smudgy again and contrasty entrance with a silver-black separation on the perimeters.

Overall, the Nothing Phone 1 feels and appears premium in fingers. Coming from the likes of the iPhone 13 and OnePlus 9RT, design and in-hand really feel are what I like probably the most about this gadget. If I’ve to complain about one thing, it’s the hefty dimension and thick bezels across the nook.

Worth mentioning, Nothing doesn’t bundle any case contained in the smartphone field. If you intend to purchase or have already purchased the cellphone, listed below are the most effective instances to go for.

Glyph Lights

The lights on the again are what Nothing calls the “Glyph Interface.” It consists of 5 lightning strips, manufactured from over 900 LEDs. They glow both individually or collectively for notifications, and calls, and present different data together with charging.

You get a preloaded mixture of ten ringtones and ten notification sounds. Each sound has its personal glyph gentle impact which appears tremendous cool from the rear. Moreover, the cellphone robotically turns silent when put down indicated by the lights blinking twice; good for many who need visible notifications with none noise within the room.

Apart from the flashy alerts, you can even sync these lights to music taking part in on the cellphone. Now, whereas all of it attracts eyeballs and appears entertaining, there’s not a lot which means to it. The complete level of conserving the cellphone the other way up is subsided by the truth that it has an always-on show that exhibits way more knowledge like time, notifications, and battery degree.

No, not every part is vague- the Glyph lights do present battery degree when charging and you’ll set customized ringtone gentle for sure contacts. Plus, the lights across the coil glow twice whenever you begin charging your TWS or every other gadget wirelessly.

The Glyph interface is a novel and progressive method for a smartphone again. And the corporate ought to work on bettering it additional with third-party app integration and further customizations. For now, I’ll settle for that as a lot as I used to be intrigued by the lights in the course of the preliminary interplay, they barely get my consideration now.

Display: Fast 120Hz Panel (But Beware of Tinting)

Nothing Phone 1 incorporates a 6.55-inch OLED show. It’s a 1080p panel with a quick 120Hz refresh price and HDR10+ playback help. It helps 10-bit colour depth and might show 1 billion colours, just like the Mi 11 Lite. You additionally get an optical on-screen fingerprint scanner positioned a centimeter away from the underside rail.

By default, the display has a heat tinge however you may tone down the temperature in show settings. There are two colour modes- Alive and Standard with the latter being extra pure and muted. On the default setting, the panel appears vibrant, has nice viewing angles, and maintains good accuracy.

You additionally get help for Widevine L1 DRM which facilitates HD streaming on OTT platforms like Prime Video, Netflix, and extra. On paper, the cellphone affords a most brightness of 500 nits and as much as 1200 nits throughout HDR playback. The similar can also be a weak level when utilizing the cellphone beneath shiny daylight.

Lately, there have been a number of stories of high quality management points with the show. Our unit has a slight inexperienced tint on the backside, seen on darker backgrounds within the low gentle surroundings. And I hope the identical is fastened throughout the brand new inventory on sale.

Overall, it’s a fantastic panel that appears punchy, has deep blacks, and runs easily with a excessive refresh price. Plus, interacting with the show is a pleasure, because of the superb haptic motor.

Performance & Software: Clean UI, Apt Performance

The Nothing Phone 1 is brewing its energy from the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ chipset. You get 8/12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 128/256GB of quick UFS 3.1 storage relying upon the variant you select (we now have the 12-256GB mannequin right here).

It isn’t a high-end chip however has sufficient grunt to run all heavy apps and video games together with titles like Asphalt 9, Call of Duty Mobile, and PUBG New State. The cellphone dealt with Genshin Impact, one of the vital resource-intensive video games with none hiccups on medium graphics. Similarly, COD ran like a breeze on excessive graphics and body charges.

Although, it did get a bit heat on the rear with prolonged playtime. Overall, I didn’t have any points whereas gaming on the device- however be aware that it’s nonetheless not constructed for hardcore gaming. Nothing has geared up the gadget with a fundamental Game Mode. But all it does is block calls and notifications- so take it with a pinch of salt.

Complimenting the succesful {hardware} is tremendous clear software program. The cellphone runs Android 12 with parts following the model’s dot matrix design. There is not any bloatware onboard and the UI resembles the inventory Android.

At the time of writing, the gadget is operating Nothing OS 1.1.3, after a number of updates throughout testing that refined the digital camera, battery life, and intermittent points. It runs easily in on a regular basis use and there’s no lag or stutter when fiddling between apps.

It is extra like utilizing a Pixel (sans Pixel-exclusives) with customized widgets, dot-matrix parts, and wallpapers seeded by the Nothing firm. Interestingly, the default launcher additionally helps icon packs. And those that don’t need any consideration in sure locations can instantly flip off glyph lights from the short setting tile.

Nothing Phone 1 is promised to obtain three Android model upgrades and 4 years of bi-monthly safety patch updates. Carl Pei has additional confirmed the gadget to get the Android 13 Beta replace by the top of the yr, adopted by a secure launch in early 2023.

Camera: Disappointing, as Expected

The Nothing Phone 1 incorporates a twin digital camera setup on the rear, that includes a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 sensor (similar because the OnePlus Nord 2). It has an aperture of f/1.88 and is optically stabilized with OIS. There’s one other 50-megapixel unit, which is an ultra-wide shooter utilizing Samsung’s JN1 sensor; no telephoto right here.

The major digital camera shoots good photos in daylight (by default, it shoots 12MP photos). They are saturated, well-lit, and have sufficient element however have a tendency to melt as you scale back the sunshine. When capturing folks, the cellphone manages to keep up the pure pores and skin tones however once more loses surface-level data.

Thankfully, the low-light images has improved after subsequent updates. The Night Mode improves publicity management and likewise retains textures in a greater method.

In comparability, the ultra-wide digital camera is loads weaker. While it has PDAF and might focus as shut as 4cm for macros, low-light pictures have far much less element and are normally grainy and darkish. For me, it has been fairly ineffective even in daylight.

I’d additionally wish to level out that there’s a big delay in processing photos on the Nothing Phone 1. It may be annoying when making an attempt to click on a number of pictures rapidly. And may additionally witness movement blur at instances.

For selfies, you get a 16-megapixel shooter with Sony IMX471. It’s a reasonably common setup that clicks good pores and skin tones however loses out on the element entrance. The similar is the case with videos- they’re smooth and are merely usable for video calls- don’t anticipate recording vlogs.

The rear digital camera can shoot as much as 4K 30 fps; 60fps is restricted to 1080p. You can not swap to the broad angle when capturing in regular mode and vice versa which once more is an enormous disappointment. Anyways, movies from the rear are of fine high quality. They’re secure and have good colour stability.

The Night Mode additionally expands to movies permitting it to file usable movies in pitch-dark environments. Overall, Nothing Phone 1 will not be made for digital camera fans. The major digital camera does an honest job whereas the ultra-wide and selfie cameras are pure bummers.

The photos above are compressed variations. You can verify the full-quality images here.

Speakers, Call Quality, and Connectivity

The cellphone has a stereo speaker setup together with a bottom-firing unit and the earpiece. The latter sounds too tiny and therefore, all obligation drops right down to the principle grill. It is satisfactorily loud for on a regular basis use however lacks stability and richness, making it a reasonably common setup.

Coming over to calls, I had no points in any way speaking to different events over VOLTE. Calls have been loud and clear and there weren’t any sign drops both. The Phone 1 helps 5G and has 13 bands onboard. Furthermore, you get Bluetooth 5.2, Wifi 6, and dual-band GPS.

Battery & Charging: Wireless Lovers, Assemble!

The Nothing Phone 1 carries an adequately sized 4500mAh battery. It typically yielded a screen-on-time of virtually 6 hours when used on Wifi with a mixture of gameplay, social media, and video calls. The firm doesn’t present a charger within the field.

Thankfully, the gadget helps 33W PD (Power Delivery) charging, permitting you to make use of any suitable PD charger available on the market. With my MacBook 67W adapter, it took a bit over an hour to cost from 0 to 100%.

And for many who hate wires, there’s two-way wi-fi charging. You can quick cost the Nothing Phone 1 wirelessly at as much as 15W. And when wanted, you should utilize Wireless PowerShare (to be enabled in settings) to reverse cost your TWS or different suitable gadgets.

For somebody like me who already has a wi-fi charger and TWS that help wi-fi charging, the Nothing Phone 1 makes up for an ideal companion on the go.

Nothing Phone 1 Review: Pros and Cons

Things in Favor

• Eye-catchy design
• Quirky Glyph Interface
• Excellent Display
• Clean & Smooth Software
• Wireless (and Reverse) Charging

Things Not in Favor

• Hefty type issue
• Below-average ultra-wide and selfie digital camera
• No telephoto digital camera
• Imbalanced audio system
• Quality Control Issues
• No charger within the field

Nothing Phone 1: Review Verdict

Keeping the hype apart, the Nothing Phone 1 is a mixture of good, unhealthy, and common. You get a flashy design that may flip eyeballs, glyph lights to boost the on a regular basis expertise, and clear software- all of it complemented by two-way wi-fi charging.

The cellphone additional stands good in different fundamentals like efficiency and battery. However, it’s a bit too giant for people with small fingers and likewise disappoints closely in cameras. Add in different troubles like lack of charger within the field, no telephoto lens, and high quality management points.

For somebody who loves clear UI, desires to face out from the group, and doesn’t click on many photos, it’s an absolute no-brainer. But these into hardcore gaming or images might sit up for different gadgets within the phase such because the iQOO 9 SE.