What you need to know
- Nothing CEO Carl Pei has confirmed that a Phone (1) successor is launching in 2023.
- The Nothing Phone (2) is set to make its debut in the United States, which will be a priority market for the company this year.
- Nothing also touts the upcoming phone's more premium quality than its predecessor.
The Nothing Phone (1) did not make it to U.S. shores due to market complexities in the country, but that won't be the case with its successor. Nothing CEO Carl Pei has confirmed the release of the company's next Android phone in the United States.
In an interview with Inverse, Pei revealed that the Nothing Phone (2) is underway and will arrive later this year. Unlike the Phone (1), the next-generation device will also make its debut in the United States, which will be a top priority for Nothing.
The revelation comes more than a month after Pei tweeted that the Phone (2) would not be released anytime soon because the company wanted to focus on its first smartphone. Nothing's CEO went on to say that the company was "cooking something really great in terms of software, Android 13 and beyond."
Software will also be a big focus for the Phone (2), according to Pei, though it won't be anything like the exclusive beta membership that Nothing announced earlier this month. For $299, Nothing fans in the U.S. would get a Phone (1) running Nothing OS 1.5 based on Android 13, but carrier support in the country is limited. Worse, AT&T and Verizon customers miss out on 5G support.
Pei also explained why his company had to skip a U.S. launch for the Phone (1). According to the interview, Nothing ran into logistics issues and a host of other roadblocks.
"When you make a smartphone for the US, you need to work with the carriers on certification and adapting some of their features into your OS," Pei told Inverse. "We didn’t have the resources for that before, and now we do."
It appears then that the Nothing Ear (1), which was made available in the U.S., was only meant to test the waters. Pei said that the Phone (2) will have carrier certifications when it arrives in the country.
"We couldn’t do it earlier because we were only in our second year and our hands were tied building the team as we were building the products," Pei added. "Now as we’re on a more solid footing, we can take a step forward."
Inverse notes that Nothing doubled its headcount to 400 in two years. The company also plans on opening more retail stores, including its first in the U.S.
However, Pei shared nothing about the Phone (2)'s specs, only saying that its next contender for the best budget Android phones will be "more premium" than the Phone (1), which garnered praise for its unique rear design with LEDs and stunning battery life, among others.
The Nothing Phone (1) is the first mid-range smartphone with a glyph interface on the back. Backed by former OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, the device stands out with its unique see-through design on the back and is powered by a Snapdragon 778G+ underneath.
