Nothing Phone (1) confirmed to have a transparent design
The middle frame is made out of recycled aluminium
Nothing Phone 1 could launch on June 9
Nothing Phone (1) is one of the most anticipated smartphones this year building upon the success of the Nothing Ear (1) TWS earphones. With the Nothing Phone (1), Carl Pei and co. are vying to radically disrupt how modern smartphones look and it’s now confirmed that the upcoming Phone 1 has a translucent design, just like the Ear (1) earbuds. While most details about the Phone 1 are kept under wraps, its specifications have allegedly leaked earlier this month and it’s expected to be a mid-range smartphone.
Early design schematics of Nothing Phone (1)
In an exclusive interview with Wallpaper, CEO Carl Pei and Tom Howard, head of design revealed some intricate details about the Phone (1). Starting with the design of the back panel, Howard told Wallpaper that they “wanted to bring the inside out”, hinting at a transparent or translucent design for the debutant. The Phone (1) isn’t the first phone to ship with a transparent design but since it's Nothing’s first phone, the approach here is to make it look different from what’s known today as the modern smartphone. It’s also confirmed that the Phone (1)’s frame is made out of recycled aluminium.
I want to be transparent with my followers (and everything we design). We cracked a transparent design with ear (1) and now it’s time (2) do it again. pic.twitter.com/APQW3XNHvu
— Carl Pei (@getpeid) May 24, 2022
“There are over 400 components in a smartphone, assembled in layers. We wanted to celebrate the “good ones”, the things we thought were really interesting to emphasise,” Howard says. To that end, some of the elements that are highlighted on the Phone (1) include the cameras and the wireless charging coil.
1972 New York Subway map
The engineering team derived inspiration for the design of the Phone (1) from the 1972 New York Subway map designed by Massimo Vignelli and Bob Noorda and the 1933 London Underground map by Harry Beck, along with many other subway maps.
“One of the issues we saw with the tech industry was that nobody had a consistent way of designing products. Apart from Apple – you can see their coherent vision. But if you had a table full of products from another manufacturer, you don’t really see that. From the very start, we wanted to have a very distinct and iconic design language of our own,’ says Pei.
He goes on to assert that Nothing will maintain the same philosophy as it ventures into other product categories meaning that the transparent design language will make it to other Nothing products as well.
When will Nothing Phone (1) launch?
Previously in March, Carl Pei revealed that the Phone (1) will launch in Summer 2022 but apart from that we don’t know the exact date of the launch. However, Pei has hinted in one of his tweets that the Phone (1) will launch on June 9 at 4:20 PM.
6/9 at 4:20
— Carl Pei (@getpeid) May 4, 2022
As per the latest report by popular tipster Max Jambor that cites a European retailer, the Nothing Phone (1) will either launch or will go on sale on July 21 and is expected to be priced around 500 Euros.
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Siddharth Chauhan
Siddharth reports on gadgets, technology and you will occasionally find him testing the latest smartphones at Digit. However, his love affair with tech and futurism extends way beyond, at the intersection of technology and culture. View Full Profile
