Facts
- 20 Glyphs – Phone 1 features 20 glyphs segregated in two sets – 10 for notifications and 10 for ringtones
- Corning Gorilla Glass 5 – Protective hard glass used for screen and back panel to mitigate scratches.
- Android 12 – Nothing promised three years of regular Android updates and four years of security updates.
- 50 MP Primary Camera – Beating the resolutions of famed smartphones like the OnePlus 10 Pro.
- 16 MP Selfie Camera – Keeps the promise of decent photos when given the right amount of light.
“Allow your phone to communicate with you through glyphs. An inconspicuous way of Nothing Phone 1 to distinguish important notifications from the others.”
Nothing Phone 1 – the hype of two quarters of 2022 is now open for enthusiasts to try. Phone 1 is luring the tech savvies with its gimmicky and semi-transparent back panel. Unlike Vivo and Oppo, which have been trying to entertain their audience with ombre and colour-changing back panels, Phone 1 sets the stone in an entirely different direction. With its semi-transparent rear, Nothing Phone 1 allows users a glimpse of the wireless charging coil, screws, and most hyped – fancy notification LEDs or glyphs, as the company likes to like it.
Notification LEDs are the biggest differentiator though, Nothing Phone 1 sports premium design and hardware.
Though the LEDs are a huge differentiator, the design of Phone 1 is similar to that of iPhone 12 and iPhone 13. With the flat back panel and large side buttons, Phone 1 is reminiscent of iPhone 13. The side bezels are thicker than Samsung’s S21 FE and iQOO’s Neo 6. Moreover, the phone exhibits IP52 water resistance.
Moving on to the glyphs, Nothing claims that it is their crucial feature paving the phone a pathway to cut above the rest. However, the glyphs appear to be a homage to the multi-colour notification LEDs. The phone features 20 sets of glyphs categorised into notifications and ringtones (10 for each category). Though Phone 1 allows users to set the glyphs as per their choice, the customisation is restricted to simply selecting the glyphs. It does not let users play around with sounds, i.e., users are stuck with sounds for each glyph. On the other hand, you can even set different notifications for different features in a single application, provided the app supports the said feature—for instance, a different tone for likes on Instagram and direct messages. Glyphs prove to be intrusively helpful when the phone is flipped with the screen down.
Coming to the camera, Phone 1 features a 50 MP primary camera and a decent secondary camera. The primary camera includes optical image stabilisation with f/1.9. The second rear camera is an f/2.2 lens, including a 50 MP ultrawide sensor. Moreover, Phone 1 also features a 16 megapixels selfie camera. The cameras allow video recording up to 4K/30p. With Phone 1, you can be assured of vivid, detailed, and vibrant images, given that there is an adequate amount of sunlight. The portrait mode of Phone 1 is far behind that offered by iPhone but still worth a mid-range phone.
A phone can’t be entirely examined without testing its processor. With Nothing, the company became all about cost-cutting, which is reflected heavily in Phone 1’s processors. It is believed that a processor that is robust and strong to comprehend advanced gaming today will still remain efficient two or three years down the line. Nothing’s Phone 1 features Snapdragon 778G+, which works adequately well in the Android version of 2022. However, the phone is anticipated to eventually lose its efficiency over time since the chipset lacks the urgency offered by MediaTek Dimensity 8100. The biggest worry with Nothing Phone 1 is probably its efficiency with the upcoming version of Android since the company assures Android updates for three years. Today, it can handle office multitasking, casual gaming, and other essential tasks. However, there is no guarantee of the same three years down the line.
Phone 1 comes with the primary Google Suite apps and asks users to accept certain conditions, like – agreeing to Google’s set of policies, Privacy policy, etc.
Verdict
Nothing Phone 1 is a reasonably handsome purchase locked in the midrange and works adequately smoothly with the current versions of Android. However, the phone lacks assurance of efficiency over time. If you are satisfied with just the necessary performance, the Nothing Phone 1 can be an intelligent choice.
