After all the hype surrounding the upcoming Nothing Phone (1), it has been revealed that the device won't actually be coming to the US after all. The company has confirmed in a statement that it is focussing its efforts on the UK and Europe for the initial launch, and the phone may not even work reliably on US networks.But if you're an American user who was planning to buy the phone, don't give up hope just yet. Nothing has said that it plans to release a US-supported model in the future.
The Nothing Phone Isn't Coming to America
The news was first revealed by the renowned leaker Evan Blass, who put the reasons down to network compatibility. It was subsequently confirmed by Nothing in a statement to PCMag.
"While we’d love to bring phone (1) to the entire community around the world, we're focusing on home markets, including the UK and Europe, where we have strong partnerships with leading local carriers. It takes a lot to launch a smartphone as you know, from ensuring the handset is supported by the country’s cellular technologies to carrier partnerships and local regulation, and as we're still a young brand we need to be strategic about it."
Furthermore, Nothing added that if you buy a Phone (1) to use in the US, you'll experience "unpredictable" coverage on T-Mobile, no support for VoLTE on AT&T, and it won't work at all on Verizon.
While the move is a disappointment, it perhaps isn't a big surprise. Nothing founder Carl Pei's previous company OnePlus did launch its early phones in the US, but it wasn't until the OnePlus 6 that the company secured a carrier deal.
The US market is notoriously difficult to break into, with Chinese manufacturers like Oppo and Xiaomi having very little presence there, despite selling in huge numbers throughout the rest of the world.
But that doesn't mean that the potential Nothing fans in North America should give up hope of owning a device by the Android newcomer. The company said that it is working on a model with full US network support, although it hasn't given any timeline for its release, or any indication of what the phone will be.
What to Expect From the Nothing Phone (1)
The first Nothing phone is generating hype and excitement largely due to its original design, which has now been revealed to support a totally revamped take on LED notifications.
Little else is known about the specs so far, other than that it will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor (thought to be the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, along with 8GB of RAM), and sport a dual-camera setup on the back.
Other anticipated specs include a 6.5-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate, and a 4500mAh battery. It will run a stock-like version of Android branded as Nothing OS.
Nothing Phone (1) Launches in July
Any other markets for the launch outside Europe haven't yet been officially confirmed, although India is expected to be among them. We'll find out all the details when the phone is finally unveiled on July 12.