Nothing Phone 1 review. We have to hand it over to Nothing and its CEO, they created a lot of hype for the Nothing Phone 1. We’re sure having someone like Casey Neistat as an investor doesn’t hurt either. But it worked, the Nothing Phone 1 is all everyone seems to be talking about, it’s been a feature in our most read stories since it was first teased, and its specs page is at the top of our daily interest charts for some time now – Jumpstart. But now that the phone is shipped and in people’s hands, and in our office to undergo our review process, it’s time to look beyond the hype and see what the Nothing phone really is.

Nothing Phone 1 unboxing

Let’s start with an unboxing. The box is cardboard but is attractive and different. It looks more like a CD box set than a phone plan. Inside there’s the phone – you can have a white or a black one, a USB-C to USB-C cable and a SIM tool that reminds us of a fuse. There is no box or charger. Nothing sells these two items plus a screen protector on its website. Notice that the phone has a pre-applied plastic screen protector from the box. Forgoing the extras helped keep the price reasonable, although we wouldn’t call it supper low. The basic 8/128GB Nothing Phone (1) costs €469/£399, while a step up to 8/256GB costs €499/£449.

The Nothing Phone 1 looks like most front-facing phones, but that’s more of a limitation of current technology than of the phone. It has a 6.55-inch OLED refresh rate of 120Hz, which seems fair in terms of size. The phone is almost entirely devoid of curves. The front and rear windows are both flat, and the matte aluminum sides are also flat. This makes the Nothing Phone 1 more than a bit like an iPhone 13. While its size puts it in line to hit some punches with an iPhone 13 Pro Max, the two prices are vastly different, so it’s unlikely that they cross each other. A word about specs and performance in hand – the Nothing Phone 1 is light, lighter than its 194g weight would suggest. And the performance is stellar. The Nothing launcher makes this phone look like a Pixel and that’s a compliment.

The back of the Nothing Phone 1 is obviously its most notable part. It’s what’s in every promo and what you’ll see on Nothing’s website. There are two reasons for this – the striking transparent design, which isn’t fake either – you actually see parts of the phone. The other reason are the LED lights – Nothing calls them the Glyph. According to Wikipedia, it means “any kind of useful mark, such as a simple vertical line incised on a building, a single letter in script, or an engraved symbol.” The LED strips are noticeable even when not lit.

Each strip can light up independently. They light up when you receive a notification or a call, but can also be used as a fill light for selfies or videos. Nothing has done technical notification and call sounds that sync with different parts of the glyph interface. It’s really cool even if its usefulness is questionable.

The Nothing Phone 1 seems like an attractive option for a lot of people. It has solid hardware and an interesting look and feel in a boring mid-range view. But you might want to wait for our full review before you pull the trigger. There’s a lot to evaluate – battery life, camera quality, performance, especially under load. Keep watching this space!