Nothing like anything? From Phone 1 to Phone 4a Pro, all Nothing phones have one thing in common

The first iPhone changed the way we communicate. In 2007, Apple’s iPhone transformed what we even thought of a smartphone. We no longer needed phones with large keyboards or tiny resistive displays. The iPhone set a new benchmark. Almost two decades since, the average smartphone hasn’t changed that much. You get a slab-like design, there’s a large screen, a camera on the back, and just about it. If anything, smartphones are again coming with boxy designs and flat frames, a layout pioneered by the iPhone 4 in 2010.

But the slab-like form factor is not a bad thing. After all, other form factors, like phones with keyboards – as in the case of Blackberry – or a phone with an extra screen that pops up – aka the LG Wing – did not succeed. Yes, we do have foldable smartphones now, such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. But foldables have their own quirks, like with durability, not to mention, many of them may be too pricey for many people.

Even on the software side, things aren’t that different. We now live in a duopoly of Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. Yes, in the past, we had Windows Phone and BlackberryOS amongst others, but they failed miserably. Personally, I do believe that Windows Phone had potential, and the UI wouldn’t feel dated even today. However, that’s a topic for another day.

So, consider this. You are a smartphone buyer, and you want to pick a smartphone. At first glance, all phones look quite similar. But then, when you spot one from Nothing.

A company that throws out the traditional design blueprint

Since the Phone 1 in 2022, Nothing has never played it safe when it comes to the design. And its devices look like nothing else out there – no pun intended. The Phone 1 was radical. The backplate came with transparent design elements, exposed screws and the works. And of course, you got a bunch of LED strips which the company called Glyph Lights. This made people talk, it was a big shift at a time when everyone seemed to be going for “safe” designs.

While the company had already brought the Ear 1 earbuds with a transparent design, the Phone 1 truly put it on the map.

The following year, Nothing refined the design, the LED lights got some makeover, but overall, the Phone 2 looked a lot like its predecessor. The company also launched the Phone 2a and Phone 2a Plus, which came with even smaller LED lights, aligning with their mid-range pricing. The Phone 3a series that followed, was also a do-over, mostly at least as far as the design was concerned.

With the Nothing Phone 3, the Glyph Lights were gone, and in came a new Glyph Dot-Matrix – several tiny LEDs enclosed in a circle. This matrix could do a lot more than a simple strip of LEDs. Nothing made some wild choices with the Phone 3 and the result online was a mix of both “wow” and “what?” In other words, it was polarising. Be that as it may, there is clearly a pattern here. Like Apple in its early days, Nothing too is following a two-year cycle for visual overhaul. The newly launched Nothing 4a series adds weight to the argument as it is completely different from the Phone 3a series.

The Phone 4a is a tweaked version of the Phone 3a with a transparent design but with a smaller Glyph Bar. The Phone 4a Pro on the other hand, goes a step further, with something even more futuristic. It swaps the full transparent layout with a full metal unibody and Glyph Matrix from the Phone 3.

Most phones these days feel monotonous and boring. Almost everyone is trying to be the iPhone. Even Nothing is chasing Apple in a way, but it is doing things differently, which is by thinking differently (no pun intended). When you pick up a Nothing device, you still get that “new phone feeling” – they make you excited.

On a side note, Nothing also started experimenting with its sub-brand CMF. Unlike the transparent look, CMF phones are focused on making it easier for you to use accessories such as lanyards or wallets. And these phones pop out too, thanks to bright colours like Orange.

Not the best, but the most fun

Nothing doesn’t compete on specs as much as some other brands. For a relatively young company, it is quite difficult to compete against more established players, with specs alone. For example, the Phone 1 came with a midrange Snapdragon 778G Plus chipset. Even the flagship Phone 3 uses the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 and not the top-of-the-line Elite. Specs while important, are irrelevant if the experience is lacking, which is where Nothing says it likes to focus on more than anything.

Take the Glyph for example. You can customise it for different ringtones depending on who calls, different lighting combinations. And on older devices like the Phone 3a, these lights even sync to music – something which I often used during my time with the device.

While you don’t get the same effect from the Glyph Matrix on the Phone 3 or Phone 4a Pro, it still adds to the experience. You can create and use “Glyph Toys” that light up on the matrix, or get progress details too. The Glyph Bar on the Phone 4a still behaves similarly to the Glyph Lights from past phones, but in a smaller form factor.

Though the Phone 3a Lite’s Glyph Dot did feel like a bummer since there’s not much real estate to make things interesting with a single LED light. But the fact of the matter is, Nothing did not leave a relatively affordable phone behind. It did something interesting with it, too.

It isn’t just about keeping the back of the phone exciting either. Its software, which is called Nothing OS, is also markedly different from almost everything on the market today. At a time when most phones have some form of liquid glass UI like Apple, Nothing’s monochrome and dot matrix-based interface feels fresh. For those who might not like it, Nothing gives you the option to use the more colourful stock Android as well.

Four years ago, Nothing OS was quite basic, with minimal features. But over the years, the company has added many things. You can create widgets (Essential Apps) with AI for your home screen. Though I do find that feature a bit limiting due to a strict widget limit. But I do use a couple of widgets, such as one that actually shows different photos from Space, something that wins over the sci-fi nerd in me. Nothing has also added more features to the lockscreen, including widgets and different clock styles.

A feeling of excitement

Before the Nothing Phone 4a came out, my daily driver was the Phone 3a, whenever I wasn’t reviewing a smartphone. And now, I plan to stick with the Phone 4a as my go-to-device. Even though battery life feels a bit of a compromise when compared to other similarly priced phones, I keep coming back to it, because of how it looks and how it feels.

Sales data released by Nothing suggests that other people are warming up to it too. The Phone 4a series apparently broke Flipkart’s Day 1 sales record. The demand is so high. Nothing has doubled down on retail, launching its first physical store in the heart of Bengaluru recently. Hundreds of people had lined up overnight to witness the opening, akin to an Apple product launch.

And this seems to be the whole idea around Nothing: to keep things exciting. This has allowed the company to gain a considerable fan following, particularly in India. If you scrolled through social media after the launch of their phones, you would see people talking about the design of the devices, design that made them feel excited. And this feeling goes a long way. When the smartphone market is filled with a sea of familiar looking slabs, it reminds you that phones can be fun.

Nothing has had its fair share of controversies, like, for instance, people were not too happy when the company started putting bloatware on its phones or when it cracked the iMessage code enabling seamless chats between Android and iPhone with the Nothing Chats beta. But beyond some of these idiosyncrasies, what stands out is Nothing’s willingness to accept its shortcomings and make changes where necessary. Even that is rare.