Oliver Cragg / Android Authority
đ§ Happy hump day! Iâm delighted to report that as of last night the iconic Lofi Girl is back to streaming lofi hip hop radio beats, 24 hours a day. All is well.
The Nothing Phone 1 is here!
Oliver Cragg / Android Authority
Yesterday the hugely hyped Nothing Phone 1 was officially announced. Although most of it leaked a few hours before the presentation (which you should know if you read the newsletter yesterday), we now have full details about Carl Peiâs latest project.
The nitty-gritty
- Spec-wise, the Nothing Phone 1 is mostly a standard mid-range affair.
- It has a 6.55-inch 120Hz Full HD+ OLED screen, 4,500mAh battery, dual 50MP cameras, and either 8 or 12GB of RAM.
- The phone is powered by 2021âs upper-midrange Snapdragon 778G Plus, which offers enough power for most users.
- However, the processor has apparently been customized by Qualcomm to allow 15W Qi wireless charging and 5W reverse wireless charging (hence the âplusâ).
- No charger in the box though, unfortunately.
- Check out the specs and more here.
- The real kicker is the âGlyphâ LEDs on the back, which can be programmed to perform a variety of functions.
- For example, it can pulse when you get a notification, flash when you receive calls, show battery percentages while charging, or serve as a key light when using the camera.
- Watch this short video to see just how cool and unique this feature is.
Early impressions
- So does the device actually live up to the hype?
- Although no one has spent enough time with the Phone 1 to publish a full review, several publications have released early impressions, most of which are tentatively positive.
- Android Authorityâs Oliver Cragg was a fan of the design, writing that âthe Nothing Phone 1 looks and, crucially, feels like a phone worth twice its asking price,â although it faces tough competition from other, more established mid-range options like the Galaxy A53, Pixel 6a, and iPhone SE.
- Mat Smith at Engadget was also impressed, writing that âNothing is going hard on the aesthetic angle, and⌠the phone seems, at least on first impressions, plenty capable.â
- The Vergeâs Allison Johnson didnât completely buy into the hype, stating that although it doesnât strike her as âthe revolutionary device that the companyâs marketing it as⌠it has a good shot at being an excellent midrange phone for right now.â
- Alex Walker-Todd at Tech Radar praised the level of polish on Nothingâs first phone, writing that âunique features like its transparent back and glyph lighting marry novelty and functionality in a way thatâs absent from most other phones.â
- 9to5Googleâs Damien Wilde called it the Pixel 5âs âcyberpunk cousin,â comparing the lightweight Nothing OS favorably to Googleâs first-party phones. He also wrote that ââŚonce you wipe away the hype, it actually seems fairly solid.â
Pricing and availability
- The Nothing Phone 1 will go on sale on July 21.
- However, it wonât be available in the US. You can get it in the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, India, and 40 other countries.
- Pricing starts at ÂŁ399 / âŹ469 (~$475) for the 8GB/128GB version.
Prime Day isnât over yet!
Amazonâs annual blowout is still underway, and there are some really great tech deals this year. Here are a few of our favorites:
Roundup
đ Although most of the details have already leaked, the Zenfone 9 is officially set to launch later this month (Android Authority).
đ Whatâs the smallest acceptable phone battery size for most users? Our readers weighed in, and maybe we need to temper our expectations⌠(Android Authority).
đ Stellar wallpapers: Here are the James Webb telescope photos scaled down to fit your Android phone (Android Authority).
Time to eat the rich! These billionaire ice cream popsicles by Brooklyn artist collective MSCHF are being sold in select food trucks in New York City and Santa Monica, California. It seems like today is your last chance to get one, although I like to think theyâll live on in the hearts and minds of the people for years to come.
They do cost $10 though, which some Twitter commenters have criticized as âpeak capitalism.â Canât really argue with that.
Until next time,
Nick Fernandez, Editor