Enlarge / The Nothing Phone (1) bets the workplace that you'll instantly autumn successful emotion with this backmost design. If you don't, there's not overmuch other to see.

Nothing

Does anyone retrieve the "Nothing Phone?"

The awkwardly named "Nothing" is simply a caller smartphone institution from OnePlus cofounder Carl Pei, and its archetypal phone, the Nothing Phone 1, launched astir fractional a twelvemonth agone successful Europe, India, and China for 469 euro (about $500). Nothing volition present fto you buy that phone successful the US for $300. The institution is calling this a "beta test," but it doesn't dependable similar you're investigating thing different than marketplace interest. The "beta test" statement means that buying the telephone comes with caveats that marque it a beauteous unspeakable deal.

First, a speedy recap: The Nothing Phone 1 is simply a $300 mid-ranger with a Snapdragon 778G+, a 6.55-inch, 2400×1080 120Hz OLED display, a 4500 mAh battery, and a clump of different specs that autumn firmly into the "meh" category. The instrumentality has nary wide income transportation for wherefore it's a bully smartphone, with lone a fewer airy strips connected the backmost sheet to abstracted it from the crowd. The institution hopes the wacky backmost sheet volition stroke you away.

So astir this beta test—for $300, you aren't really buying a US-spec phone. Instead, Nothing volition nonstop you the accumulation Europe/India/China model, hoping that everything volition conscionable enactment out. You'll beryllium missing large frequence bands connected each carrier, truthful depending connected your location, you mightiness person awesome trouble. The phone's FAQ says 5G is not supported connected AT&T oregon Verizon astatine all, and it's lone partially supported connected T-Mobile with 1 band. You're besides missing LTE bands connected each carrier. Voice implicit LTE and Wi-Fi won't enactment connected AT&T, CDMA won't enactment connected Verizon, and you'll request to telephone Verizon and beg the institution to adhd your telephone to its IMEI database truthful it tin beryllium activated.

And there's nary warranty. The FAQ notes that determination is simply a 14-day instrumentality policy, and past "there’s nary after-sales work aft this period." The telephone ships successful 5 to 7 concern days for each 50 states. You'll besides get a Nothing Phone NFT.

The 1 spot of investigating you mightiness bash connected the telephone is with the beta mentation of Android 13 that it ships with, though you could conscionable arsenic easy trial that successful Nothing Phone's authoritative regions of sale. Of course, a beta OS comes with a hazard that your telephone won't enactment correctly. A beta mentation of Android won't walk Google's Play Integrity API (this used to beryllium called "SafetyNet Attestation"), truthful higher information apps volition astir apt propulsion mistake messages and unopen down. These are usually apps for banking, tap-and-pay, some games, and DRM-encumbered media apps similar Netflix and YouTube.

Even with the discount, paying to "test" a half-broken merchandise is simply a truly pugnacious sell. If you're conscionable looking for a decent telephone astatine a debased price, the Pixel 6a is usually $449, and it's often connected sale for $300 oregon $350. (The $350 woody is happening right now.) Besides being a batch faster than the Nothing phone, it besides comes with immoderate nice-to-have features similar Federal Communications Commission certification, the quality to link to the cellular system, a accumulation OS that tin tally apps, and a merchandise warranty if thing is broken. There's adjacent an LED flash if you're truly into backmost sheet lights.

Nothing says that the "Nothing Beta Membership programme volition tally until 30 June," which presumably means the telephone volition nary longer beryllium for merchantability by then. That's besides erstwhile the Nothing Phone 1 volition beryllium astir a twelvemonth old. The institution says the US is "set to beryllium an important marketplace to us," truthful possibly the adjacent exemplary volition beryllium decently sold here. It would beryllium bully to person a caller smartphone contention successful the US, but not similar this.