Nothing Phone (1), first impressions: the new one in the class wants to teach the others how to do homework

We’ve been leaking and rumoring about the Nothing Phone (1) for weeks, and it’s finally official. The phone with LEDs on its backCarl Pei’s bet to give a breath of fresh air to the world of smartphones. A new brand, a new operating system, and a promising first generation.

We have already had a first contact with this phone, so we are going to tell you our first impressions on the Nothing Phone (1). We will also review its features and technical specifications, so you can have a little appetizer before its in-depth review.

Nothing Phone data sheet (1)

Transparent and with a party of LEDs

The LEDs. We are all here for the LEDs. The differential factor of the Nothing Phone (1) is its back, which features both a transparent glass and the LED system. Before talking about these, it is worth knowing that the Nothing Phone (1) does not show the bare motherboard elementsbut the trims and screws that have been specifically designed to make this terminal quite aesthetic.

The building materials are aluminum and glass and, yes, it is nailed to an iPhone 12/13 if we look at it from the sides. However, the main drawback that we see in the design is that the back part fills with fingerprints very easily, so this curious transparent back does not fully show off.

Ahead is symmetrical, something that we are not used to seeing in Android terminals. The mobile, although it does not look like it in the photos, is quite large, with a height of almost 16 centimeters. It is relatively light, weighing just over 193 grams. It’s not the most comfortable phone in the hand because of how slippery the back is, but it’s far from problematic.

Go straight to the point. The Nothing Phone (1) is full of LEDs (more than 900) on its back, which have five main functions:

• call indicator
• Notification indicator
• Phone charge level indicator
• Reverse wireless charging function indicator
• Support light in photography

Nothing names this design as glyph (the Spanish translation would be something similar to ‘hieroglyph’), and it lets us know that we have notifications when it is upside down. In fact, there is a function that allows mute the phone when it is face down and only the LEDs work.

The lights are synchronized with the sounds, and we have both personalized ringtones and notification tones by Nothing. We also have the option to add any sound file that we have in the internal memory of the phone and let the LEDs synchronize with it.

My summary of all this is very clear: it is the first phone in years that has achieved keep it sound active, both notifications and calls. The charging sounds, notifications, the phone’s haptic response… Everything is designed to give a great user experience, something that we will delve into in the analysis.

A complete hardware and the great promise in software

At the hardware level, the Nothing Phone (1) is a mid-range that arrives well loaded. It has a 6.55-inch screen, with AMOLED technology and a refresh rate that moves at 60 or 120 Hz (it is not LTPO and, therefore, not adaptive). The resolution is Full HD + and it is capable of playing HDR10 + content. We will talk about the panel in depth in the analysis, although We already anticipate that it lacks a bit of brightness (it’s only 500 nits typical, and peaks of 1,200 nits aren’t easy to reach)

The processor is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+, customized by Nothing to better fit the phone. Our version is the one with 8 + 256 GB of memory, with LPDDR5X and UFS 3.1 technologies, respectively. It’s early to talk about autonomy, although the 4,500mAh with 33W fast charge should be enough to last the day without too much trouble.

But the star in the user experience with the Nothing is not the raw power, but the Nothing OS 1 based on Android 12. We can tell you that we are very happy with what we have tried. It is the closest thing to a Google Pixel, without bloatware of any kind and with some very slight customizations.

Do not expect to find something similar to the first versions of OxygenOS. Not too much customizationis a very clean ROM, with the presence of Material You and its own fonts to define its own design language.

Two cameras, no more is needed

If manufacturers like Apple and Google have shown anything in photography in recent years, it is that less can be more. The Nothing Phone (1) only has two cameras, a Sony IMX766 main sensor (the same one that mounts terminals such as the OPPO Find X5 Pro or the Xiaomi 12) and a Samsung JN1 for the ultra wide angle, both 50 megapixel sensors.

It is early to draw conclusions, although what little we have been able to see we have liked. The only thing we can tell you about Nothing Phone (1) is that the processing is good, very good. It is not up to the highest range mobiles (nor does it pretend to be), but it will not be very difficult to be among the top 3 mobiles in its price range.

There are certain peculiarities, such as the use of phone LEDs as backup lighta fairly complete professional mode and a red indicator on the phone itself to notify us that we are recording.

The Nothing Phone (1) promises

In times of clone mobiles, the Nothing Phone (1) manages to catch the eye. There is a lot to talk about and prove about him, and after these first impressions my feeling is that of to once again have the option to buy a mobile focused on software and user experience. Yes, it’s cool to have an LED disco on the back, but it’s not so much this hardware that matters, it’s how it integrates with sounds, vibration, and user interaction with the system.

Even phones with clean ROMs are not as close to the Pixel as this Phone (1), a real joy for those of us who value a clean system, without bloatware and with just the right customization. It is still a mid-range with the limitations that this entails, but the Nothing Phone (1) is an alternative to follow closely.