Nothing Phone 1 Review: Nothing Phone 1 is one of the few phones with lots of hype built around it months even before it was launched. One of the many reasons why this phone caught the attention of people is the unique build design. There is nothing spectacular about the shape, to be honest. But the glyph lighting and transparent rear design stand out as unique in the seas of smartphones.
So, in this Nothing Phone 1 Review, I’m going to share with you everything you need to know about the device from good to bad to areas that need improvement. Could it be that the Nothing Phone 1 is just an overly glorified smartphone? Well, let’s find out.
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Nothing Phone 1 Review
Nothing Phone 1 Review: Display, Design, and Durability
The Nothing Phone 1 comes with a 6.55-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels, support for a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, and a peak brightness of 1200 nit. The display is fast and smooth and you can also decide to set it to 60Hz to save battery.
The design of the phone looks familiar. It has a flat front screen with a punch hole on the top left corner and the rear panel is also flat but this is where it gets interesting. On the rear, it has Multiple LED lights (glyph lights) that you can customize to alert you of incoming calls, notifications, charging progress, and even use as a camera fill light when taking night photos.
On the front, bezels are very noticeable but still look good when you hold the phone up close. Truth is, the display and design of the Nothing Phone 1 are really cool. But how about its durability? Nothing Phone 1 is made of a Glass front (Gorilla Glass 5), glass back (Gorilla Glass 5), and aluminum frame. The device is splash and dustproof as it’s certified to have an IP53 protection rating.
To help you understand this, for phones with similar price tags, only the iPhone SE 2022 has better durability than the Nothing Phone 1. Even the Samsung Galaxy A73 (which is more expensive) and Galaxy A53 only feature an IP67 rating but have plastic backs and plastic frames.
So for its price, the Nothing Phone 1 gives you one of the best value for money. If there are other phones priced similarly that are made of better materials and are more durable please indicate them in the comment section below. I’ll wait and edit this post.
See Also: Nothing Phone 1 Price in UK and Availability
Nothing Phone 1 Review: Chipset and Performance
The chipset inside the Nothing Phone 1 is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ 5G. This chipset is built on a 6nm process technology. The chipset has four power cores and four efficiency cores. The Cortex-A78 core has a speed of 2.5GHz and the four Cortex-A55 efficiency cores have a speed of 1.80GHz. This CPU is paired with the Adreno 642L GPU.
To be honest, there is nothing extra special about the chipset used in this device. If anything, it’s an old chipset. But does that mean it is inefficient? Not really. You see, the Snapdragon 778G+ 5G is a gaming chipset and is also very power efficient. It performs well and can play games consistently without issues.
The only problem most people have with this chipset is not performance but the fact that it’s an older chipset. Yes, maybe a new chipset like the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 would have been nice but from test and intensive use, the Snapdragon 778G+ 5G chipset is also very capable.
It’s not like I’m defending Nothing for using an old chip, I really think a newer chipset would have been better but that could have also increased the price of the Phone 1. So the company has to find the balance between performance and price. It’s not easy making a premium mid-range phone and also managing to balance between price and performance.
Having a good performance and also keeping the price affordable can be very tricky. Right now, the starting price of a wireless charging phone is around $600 and the Nothing Phone 1 with a similar feature is about $150 cheaper.
See Also: Nothing ear (1) Price £99 (~$99); Shipping Starts July 31
Nothing Phone 1 Review: Camera
Most of the hype around the Nothing Phone 1 was centered on the uniqueness of its design. But until now, only a few people have talked about its photography and videography. So, how good are the cameras of the Nothing Phone 1? Well, let’s talk about that next in this Nothing Phone 1 Review.
The Nothing Phone 1 has a 50MP primary camera with PDAF and OIS features. This camera is supported by another 50MP ultra-wide lens and this completes the dual rear cameras. On the front, it has a 16MP selfie camera that can record videos in 1080p resolution. The back camera can record videos in 4K resolution and have features such as gyro-EIS and live HDR. The camera features include LED flash, panorama, HDR, PDAF, and OIS.
The 50MP primary camera is the Sony IMX766 sensor and the 50MP ultra-wide lens is Samsung’s JN1 camera sensor that has support for gyro-EIS and can also double as a macro lens. The 16MP front camera is the Sony IMX471 sensor and can only record videos in 1080p resolution.
Now, there is nothing extraordinary about the photos taken and videos recorded using the cameras of the Nothing Phone 1. But I can tell you this, the photos and videos are of good quality. Even in low light conditions, the camera does very well and gives you decent photos and videos.
I know there has been a lot of hype around the phone but this does not also change the fact that the smartphone is still a mid-range phone. And even though you might expect more from the cameras of this phone just because of the hype built around it, in the end, it’s still just another mid-range phone.
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RAM, Storage, and Software
The Nothing Phone 1 comes with 8GB RAM or 12GB of RAM paired with 128GB or 256GB of internal storage. It has no space for storage expansion via a microSD card slot and no space for a 3.5mm headphone jack.
As per software, Nothing Phone 1 boots Nothing OS based on Android 12 out of the box. Nothing has promised three years of major software updates and four years of security patches. You can download and install software from the Google Play Store on the Nothing Phone 1.
According to Carl Pei the founder of Nothing, the company is not big enough to be rolling out monthly security patches every month. Instead, the company will be rolling out security patches every two months.
Nothing Phone 1 Review: Battery and Charging
Nothing Phone 1 is powered by a 4,500mAh battery with support for a 33W wired and wireless fast charge, 15W wireless fast charge, and 5W reverse wireless charge. Other charging features are Power Delivery 3.0 and Quick Charge 4.0.
Using the 33W wired fast charge, you can charge this phone from 0 to 100% in about 70 minutes. And once fully charged, you can use this phone for a full day before the battery runs out.
See Also: iOS vs Android: Similarities, Differences, and which is better
Nothing Phone 1 Review: Price
The starting price of the Nothing Phone 1 is £399 for the base model with 8GB RAM + 128GB storage. The models with 8GB RAM + 256GB and 12GB RAM + 256GB are priced at £449 and £500 respectively.
Buy Nothing Phone 1
| Nothing Phone1 | Price |
| Buy on Amazon | £399 |
| Buy on Giztop | $499 |
Nothing Phone 1 Review: Conclusion
So, is the hype about the Nothing Phone 1 real or it’s all for nothing? Well, some people will say the Nothing Phone 1 is overhyped maybe this is because they expect more from a mid-range phone like this. But the reality is, regardless of the hype, the Nothing Phone 1 is just another mid-range phone with a unique design.
The company didn’t really promote anything about the Nothing Phone 1 that appeared to be false. The design of the Nothing Phone is unique, it has good cameras, a decent chipset, a smooth and fast display, it is durable, has a wireless charge solution, a good battery, and is a reasonably priced smartphone. So, the company has delivered everything they said the phone would be.
But, some of the cons of the Nothing Phone 1 are the lack of charge in the box, no microSD card space, no 3.5mm headphone jack, and is not available in most places. Aside from these things, the Nothing Phone 1 is a pretty good mid-range phone with very good software update plans.
We know the Nothing Phone 1 might not be available in your country, so below are some alternatives for the device:
