Nothing Phone 1 Review: Is the Glyph Interface enough to captivate audience?

Carl Pei, the former OnePlus CEO, made a comeback in the global market with his own brand Nothing. Recently, we got our hands on the Nothing Phone (1), which is the brand’s first phone to reach the masses. It is basically a 5G smartphone that is heavily inspired by Apple iPhones in a lot of aspects. The smartphone packs a Snapdragon processor along with an AMOLED display and a dual rear camera system.

One thing which differentiates the phone from all the alternatives available on the market is the Glyph interface and the transparent body. There is doubt in saying that Nothing Phone (1) is an experiment which has led all of us to see something new and unconventional. However, in this review, we will find out if these aspects work as strengths or the weakness of the Nothing Phone (1).

The smartphone can be purchased from the online shopping platform Flipkart. It is being shipped in two different colours including Black and White.

Nothing Phone (1) review: Unboxing

The Nothing Phone (1) comes in a square-shaped thin box which is quite new in terms of packaging. The box consists of:

• Nothing Phone (1)
• SIM ejector tool
• Nothing Phone (1) guide
• USB type-C cable

Nothing Phone (1) review: Design

The design of the Nothing Phone (1) can be said to be the one aspect which grabbed the attention of the audience all over the globe. Same was the case with me, as soon as I pulled the phone out of the box, it took me a couple of minutes to just explore the design and how different elements have been used. However, if you have a keen interest in iPhones you’ll find that the design of the Nothing device has a striking resemblance to that of the iPhone 12.

The rear panel of the device is completely transparent and it also has the Glyph interface integration. At the top left corner of the device, it has two sensors and the bottom left. The power button of the device is placed at the right spine and the volume rockers at the left spine. To offer it an eye-pleasing look, Nothing has hidden the mechanical parts of the phone pretty neatly. Another major highlight of the device is that you will love the fact that the phone is not prone to smudges. And if you spot one, it can be removed easily.

The device weighs somewhere around 193 grams which makes it easy to carry all day in your hand. The smartphone also has an IP53 rating that keeps it safe from drizzle and dust. Keeping that in mind, it would be great if you don’t plan to enjoy the rains with your Nothing Phone (1). As far as my experience, I would like to quote something which seems like a problem to me. the transparent rear panel is all fun and games but I am really confused on the fact that what will happen once the dust particles get stored inside the phone.

Apart from that, I specifically covered an article in which multiple users have reported design flaws in their Nothing Phone (1). Though I got a bit lucky in that case as my device has none of them. But still, it seems like a major problem when encountering design flaws at a point where someone is investing an amount of more than 30,000.

At the rear panel, Nothing Phone (1) also has 900 white LEDs configured to work as notification lights. The feature is being dubbed by Nothing as the Glyph interface. The LED lights of the device cover the physical aspects like the camera module and the wireless charging cable. The reaction of the Glyph interface to ringtones, battery charging indicator, Google Assistant, etc, is completely customizable.

Nevertheless, on a personal note, I think that the smartphone could have been better if there were more changeable options in respect of the Glyph interface. Still, I am happy to know the fact that the Glyph interface of the handset is going to get better with every update as claimed by the company.

While these LED lights at the back look interesting but company failed to mention anything about their life cycle during the launch. Since these are regular tiny LED lights, we don’t know what will happen if some of them stop working, will they be replaced by Nothing for Nothing?

Nothing Phone (1) review: Display

The Nothing Phone (1) flaunts a 6.55-inch FHD+ OLED display accompanied by a 120Hz refresh rate. On top of that, the smartphone also has a 10-bit colour and HDR10+ support. The display of the smartphone has thin bezels all around the phone. The device misses out on the always-on display, still, the fingerprint sensor placement area of the handset is quite visible.

While using the phone, I figured out that it has two display settings including Standard, which is more or less the average setting and the Alive mode. Not only this but the colour temperature of the phone can also be controlled accordingly. While streaming videos and playing games, I witnessed that the colour composition was perfectly breathtaking. If you are someone who is worried about power consumption, then the dynamic refresh rate is a boon for you. The feature was working pretty efficiently at the time of testing.

Nothing Phone (1) review: Camera

If you are a photography enthusiast, you must be wondering about the camera system. How’s the Nothing Phone 1 camera and its interface? Well, the Nothing Phone 1 sports a dual rear camera system including a 50MP Sony IMX766 primary shooter with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and a 50MP Samsung JN1 ultra wide-angle shooter. As far as, camera app is concern, the Nothing has developed its own app which doesn’t take long to get used to it.

The quality of images delivered by the rear camera setup were comparable to phones in its class. Even in low light, it was able to deliver photographs with minimal noise. It also features a dedicated Macro mode to take close-up shots. On the front, the handset has a 16MP primary sensor that delivers decent selfie shots in various conditions. The portrait mode feature enhances the quality of selfies to a considerable extent.

As you can see in the camera samples, the photographs clicked by the primary shooter of the smartphone produce a decent colour composition. It will be safe to say that the photographs clicked by the primary sensor are a little bit inclined towards the warmer tones.

The same goes with the shots clicked in low-light settings. The handset makes sure that you get minimal noise while clicking pictures in low-light settings. The ultra wide-angle snapper also manages to deliver a decent shot in low light with slight noise.

The front camera of the smartphone was able to deliver selfies with clear details in different light settings. The skin tone was decently conveyed in the selfies which means that the device does a decent job in the camera department.

Nothing Phone 1 review: Performance & Software

The Nothing Phone (1) runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ processor along with 12GB RAM and 256GB internal storage. In addition, it is based on the Nothing OS based on the Android 12 operating system. In general, the operations on the smartphone were very smooth. I tried running multiple applications at the same time along with putting immense pressure on the CPU. However, there was no sign of heating or lagging even after hours.

Apart from that, I played a round of Apex Legends Mobile for around 30 minutes at standard settings. The game was running seamlessly and the experience was worth appreciating. After that, I went all by maximizing the frame rate settings and graphics settings, and then too, the device managed to handle it well with occasional frame drops.

The user interface of the device is pretty clean after a long time I got to see a phone without bloatware which made me instantly happy. The brand has left no stone unturned in terms of the interface to provide us with the traditional OnePlus vibes.

The UI of the smartphone is highly customizable as I even changed the grid size of the launcher and third-party icon packs. One thing which was a bit problematic was that the WiFi menu of the smartphone is not that simple to access. The WiFi toggle of the device lets you access the WiFi menu as soon as you tap it, instead of letting you switch the WiFi on and off.

The company will be offering three years of OS updates and four years of security updates with the smartphone. Now, the only thing left to see is how the device sustains its performance in the long term.

Nothing Phone 1 review: Battery

The Nothing Phone (1) ships with a 4500mAh standard battery that supports 33W fast charging. While testing we noticed that the smartphone, when charged completely, can run for around 15 to 17 hours. Nonetheless, Nothing could have been done better when it comes to charging capacity support.

In times, when smartphones under Rs 20,000 also offer to charge capacity up to 65W, offering 33W with a device priced above Rs 30,000 seems like an uncalculated move. The smartphone gets 50% charged in a time period of 30 to 35 minutes.

Another major turn-off with the device is that you have to purchase the charger of the smartphone separately. In this aspect, we can clearly say that the company has blatantly followed in the footsteps of Apple. This also gives an upper hand to other competitors of the device that ship with chargers and even better specifications at the same price point.

As for the battery drain, an hour-long session of Apec Legends Mobile drained around 17% battery at the time of testing. On the other hand, while streaming videos on OTT platforms and YouTube the battery drained at a speed of 12% to 14% per hour.

Review Verdict: Should you buy Nothing Phone 1?

Well, here comes the big question, should you buy the Nothing Phone (1) or not? So, if you are someone who loves exploring new features (and is already fantasized about the Glyph interface) then you can surely go for the smartphone. Moreover, it is the Eperfect device for those who want decent performance with praiseworthy camera capability.

However, if you are someone who is into performance completely is takes overpricing to the chin, then the smartphone is not for you. On an honest note, I found the device a bit overpriced, especially after the fact that the charger will be sold separately. On a concluding note, keep it in mind that this is the first smartphone from the brand and still people are facing issues like design flaws and others. So make sure that you think thoroughly before investing a decent amount.

Nothing Phone 1 FAQ

Q: What will the price of Nothing Phone 1 be in India?

The price of the Nothing Phone 1 in India is to be around Rs below Rs 35,000. The smartphone is set to retail in India via Flipkart. If you are interested, you can pre-book the device by paying ₹2,000. Its first sale is expected to happen on July 14 in India.

Q: What is Glyph interface?

Nothing phone 1 has customizable glowing lights at the back which they refer to as Glyph interface. The led lights are visible around rear cameras and a vertical strip just below the wireless charging coil. There is another glowing light strip placed diagonally at the top right corner of the phone. The translucent back panel appears to have fine texture lines in certain areas.

Q: Does Nothing Phone 1 feature an AMOLED screen or IPS Screen?

The Nothing Phone 1 boasts of a 6.55 inches Full HD+ AMOLED display with support for a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ support for a better content consumption experience.

Q: What’s the RAM and ROM configuration of Nothing Phone (1)?

The Nothing Phone (1) comes with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage.

Q: What are the camera specs for the Nothing Phone 1?

Nothing Phone 1 has a triple rear camera setup consisting of a 50MP primary camera, and an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera. Furthermore, a 32MP camera on the front for selfies and video calls is possible.

Q: What software we will get to see on Nothing Phone 1?

A: The Nothing Phone 1 comes running on Google’s Android 12-based Nothing OS.

Q: What’s special about Nothing OS?

Nothing is releasing its own ecosystem, Nothing OS, for phones (1). It’ll be based on Android like other Android smartphone makers. The Nothing OS offers several custom elements like Nothing’s dots fonts, ringtones, themes, wallpapers and other features. The Nothing OS learns and optimises itself based on your actions, reducing RAM utilisation. On Nothing OS, phone (1) will receive three years of software updates. Nothing launcher, which is part of the Nothing OS, is already available for download for select Android phones and has already given us a taste of it.

Q: Does Nothing Phone 1 support the 5G network?

Yes, the Nothing Phone 1 will support the 5G network, for sure. It supports dozen of 5G bands from day one.

Q: What’s the battery capacity of Nothing Phone 1?

The Nothing Phone 1 features a 4500 mAh battery with 45W fast charging capabilities. However, the charger is not included in the box.

Q: Is Nothing phone 1 made in India?

Yes, Nothing has officially revealed that Phone (1) is being manufactured in Tamil Nadu, India.