Four months with the Nothing phone (1), what does it give? Here are some user feedback that we wanted to share with you to get a good idea of what Carl Pei’s first smartphone offers.
The Nothing phone (1) is the first smartphone launched by the new brand of Carl Pei (ex co-boss of OnePlus). Launched at less than 500 euros, this device wanted to stand out from the competition with a design that is a little out of the ordinary. Indeed, it has a transparent look enhanced by a few LEDs on the back which light up and come alive according to notifications and certain interactions.
This Nothing phone (1) lent by the brand was used for four months by our colleague Robin Wycke. The latter is a member of the video team of Frandroid, often behind the camera, sometimes in front, for our YouTube and Twitch channels. It stands out in particular for its strong attachment to Google Pixels.
However, the phone (1) had aroused his curiosity. Here we collect his feedback.
“I really recommend it at less than 500 euros”
Overall, Robin makes a point with the Nothing phone (1): for the price at which it is sold, this smartphone is a bargain. ” I came from a high end model and didn’t really feel that I had upgraded to a cheaper device“.
“ I really recommend it at less than 500 euros “, he explains straight away. Why ? Our highly esteemed colleague found the smartphone very complete overall with great qualities to highlight.
A unique design
Let’s go over in detail the points that he liked the most. Not surprisingly, design tops the list of qualities cited. ” To both sober and original, we are very close to the aesthetics of the iPhone, but Cyberpunk version with its LEDs on the back ». He is also satisfied with the grip, the smartphone holding well in hand and being sufficiently light: “ And it’s quite nice “. In addition, “with its screen with edges whose thickness is perfectly constant, for its price, one wonders how other brands manage to always have a chin“.
How can we talk about the design of the Nothing phone (1) without mentioning the Glyph Interface on the back? This is how the LEDs on the back should be called. Verdict of our videographer? ” Very pretty, but not very useful “. This remains a positive point in his eyes, since he sees it as ” a great design element which does not detract from the user experience. “The most useful in my opinion would be the charge level indicator. For the rest it’s very gadget, and finally on a daily basis we forget it quickly. On the other hand, to show off in the evening, it’s really top.»
Autonomy and photo
We also mention “the excellent autonomywhich is, according to Robin, better than the Google Pixel 6 or Pixel 7 Pro he currently uses. He is delighted to have been able to enjoy endurance similar to that which he enjoyed at the time on his Honor View 20 “who was very good at it“.
For a complete smartphone, you must also be able to count on it in terms of photography. In this area, the Nothing phone (1) “is far from ridiculous“. Robin never felt like he was behind when it came to image quality.
And even if overall, a Pixel 6a remains better in the exercise in this price range (especially in night mode), there are a few times when the Nothing phone (1) was superior. “It is better at rendering certain textures, such as office carpet. There are more details“.
Robin however regrets the absence of a telephoto lens, but remember that this is rather normal for this price range.
Some good ideas
By the way, to finish on the very appreciated points, let’s mention the Bluetooth menu which brings a touch of originality with an image preview of the connected headphones and their level of charge. Let’s also mention a nice little detail: when the Nothing phone (1) is used horizontally, the notification and quick settings panel has an ingenious layout.
It is, in fact, cut in two vertically.hasWith quick settings on the left and notifications on the right. The space is thus much better used than on Android Stock/Pixel Experience, it’s really well thought out“.
Qualities to refine
These are not the only qualities of the Nothing phone (1) highlighted by our colleague from the video division ofFrandroid. There are other positives that he retains, but those still deserve a little work.
As it stands, his feelings are still mixed on these elements.
Haptic feedback
This is the case of the haptic engine which is “very good feeling level, we are getting closer to Pixels, but capricious“. If you type quickly on the keyboard, for example, it will not necessarily react to each keystroke:
Sometimes the haptic engine stops working while typing text, then all the missed vibrations seem to be restored at once in a big, very noisy vibration (surprising the passengers of the train where I was). It happened to me four or five times.
Software experience
The clean side of Nothing OS, the interface offered on the phone (1) has something to please with easy-to-use navigation and no frills. However, after four months with this smartphone, Robin regrets an interface that is close to that of Pixels in the DNA without offering some really useful features such as the integration of Google Lens in multitasking or copying text from a image.
“From a box that seemed like a “new OnePlus”, I expected more customizations, I expected an interface with a philosophy close to that of OxygenOS, but it’s really not the case“.
In the same vein, if you can use the Glyph Interface as a more powerful flashlight, you have to go through the flash options in the camera to take advantage of this function. It’s a shame that you can’t activate this option directly from the quick settings, “ohu then i did not find“.
The 120Hz screen
The 120Hz screen is “super nicein Robin’s words, but it’s not the fluid pus either. At times, the Pixel 6’s 90Hz felt more responsive. This is a feeling he had on certain applications, while the latency time on some interactions seemed longer than necessary.
In short, there are beautiful things, but still small optimizations to be made on this side.
More bugs than the Pixel 6
We must now talk about the things that annoy. And there are some on the Nothing phone (1). In four months, Robin encountered technical problems. A lot. “Coming from a Pixel 6, yet known for its bugs, I had many more bugs on the Nothing phone (1)“.
The worst of them concerned the lock screen:
Sometimes (it was almost daily), the fingerprint sensor disappeared! The little round location was no longer visible at the bottom of the screen, and nothing happened when I put my finger where the sensor was. This situation was not resolved immediately by locking/unlocking. Sometimes it was necessary to restart the smartphone completely. Other times, the smartphone would freeze: white screen, black screen, and after a few seconds everything would return to normal.
Another bug arouses surprise. On several occasions, Robin noticed that the Widevine L1 certification of the Nothing phone (1) was no longer detected. However, in the wonderful world of DRM, Widevine L1 – considered more secure than level L3 – is essential on an Android smartphone to access SVoD content with HD quality (or more).
“But in general a reboot accompanied by a clear cache/data on the app concerned solved the problemand Robin was once again enjoying video streams in the best quality.
Finally, and this is not a bug, our videographer was frustrated by the impossibility of switching from wide-angle to ultra-wide-angle (and vice versa) while filming.
Promising beginnings
At the end of these four months of use, Robin’s feedback allows us to confirm some impressions during our test. The Nothing phone (1) is a very good first smartphone for Carl Pei’s young brand.
The product does not feel like it was rushed or sloppy. It is neat, complete and pleasant to use on a daily basis and has found its good price at less than 500 euros. However, despite the great efforts made, early mistakes remain, especially on the software part which deserves to be refined to avoid bugs and expand some functions.
We therefore hope for relevant updates on this model and a future smartphone – the phone (2)? — who will learn the right lessons.
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Nothing phone (1)
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