Nothing Phone Tipped to Launch in April, Could Feature Familiar Transparent Design: Report

Nothing — OnePlus founder Carl Pei's new startup — could launch its first smartphone in April, according to a new report. Last month, Pei teased the launch of a new smartphone in a series of tweets. Now, a new report suggests that Pei's startup could announce the smartphone as early as next month. The handset is said to feature a transparent design, similar to Nothing's first pair of true wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds that were launched in 2021. The company is yet to officially reveal plans for its first smartphone.

According to a report by TechCrunch, Nothing founder Carl Pei took a prototype of the upcoming Nothing smartphone to Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. Citing a source close to the company, the report adds that Pei showed the prototype to a “key executives” from the industry, including chip designer Qualcomm. The startup is reportedly planning to announce the handset in April, after more than a year of working on its first smartphone.

Specifications of the rumoured Nothing smartphone are currently unknown, as the company is yet to reveal any plans or specifications for an upcoming smartphone. According to the report, the handset could feature “elements of transparency” like the Nothing Ear 1 TWS earbuds that were launched in 2021. On February 16, Pei teased a new smartphone on Twitter, in a series of cryptic tweets. Both the Snapdragon and Android Twitter accounts responded to Pei's tweets. In October 2021, Nothing had announced that it has partnered with Qualcomm to utilise its Snapdragon platform in upcoming devices.

Nothing was first said to be working on a smartphone in October 2021, which was tipped to launch in early 2022. The company is also tipped to be working on a power bank, which could be called Nothing Power (1). However, Nothing is yet to reveal plans for either of these devices. The company also acquired smartphone maker Essential, which could help the company with the rumoured development of its first smartphone.