Nothing Phone (1) Review: Off to a flying start

You can assign specific glyphs to separate contacts, although this only works with calls and not messages. The interface can also be set up to get notifications on apps or head into individual app settings for more granular control. The haptic motor also vibrates in sync with the LEDs for some accurate vibration. Additionally, the LEDs on the bottom could also be used to indicate the battery status when charging. The LEDs on the back give the Nothing Phone (1) its unique identity and the added functionality they offer is definitely a ‘Plus’.

But it does feel more gimmicky than functional. However, that’s not a bad thing, particularly if you want something cool to show off. The blinking LEDs will definitely turn heads as they did on many an occasion in our time with the Phone (1). It is worth noting that in the absence of the LEDs or when they were turned off, many people assumed the Phone (1) to be an iPhone, at least at first glance. We’ve seen a ton of unique smartphone finishes in the past couple of years, but nothing quite as unique as the LEDs on the back of the Phone (1). So gimmicky or not, the LED lights on the back are still pretty cool.

Design and Build

Moving on to the build and the Phone (1) has Gorilla Glass 5 on the back and the front of the device. Additionally, the handset also comes with an aluminium frame, so you know Nothing is not skimping on the build. The phone’s back is transparent, although the wireless charging coil is just about the only component you can see on the back. There’s a dual-camera setup on the top that is surrounded by an LED light.

The phone has sharper edges as opposed to rounded edges, reminiscent of an iPhone. In fact, a lot of people mistook the Nothing Phone (1) for an iPhone, i.e., until they took a closer look at the phone's back panel or when the LED lights turned on. The Phone (1) has a dual speaker setup that provides surprisingly good sound. Lastly, the phone has general button placements with the volume buttons on the left and the power button on the right, while the USB-C port, speaker grille, and SIM tray sit at the bottom.

Display

Moving to the front and the Phone (1) opts for a 6.55-inch FHD+ (2400x1080 pixels) Flexible OLED display with 10-bit colours. The screen features a 120Hz refresh rate and a 240Hz touch sampling rate. The screen is capable of scaling between 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz. The screen features a typical brightness of 500 nits and a peak brightness of 1200 nits, although the peak brightness is only achievable in some videos that support HDR.

However, the software caps peak brightness at 700 nits. While the screen is quite bright, it is far from the brightest in the segment, although it is easily visible under direct sunlight. You also get HDR10+ support on the screen, another ‘plus’. There’s an optical fingerprint reader that is quite responsive and fast. The display may not be the best for gaming but it is excellent for watching content. But that doesn’t stop the screen from running at 120Hz in games that support it.

Performance

We’ve done front, and back, now let’s take a look inside. Powering the Phone (1) is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ SoC with the Adreno 642L GPU. The chip is paired with up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. In Geekbench 5, the Nothing Phone (1) managed a single-core score of 832 points and a multi-core score of 3072 points. We also ran a few titles on the device, including Call of Duty: Mobile and Apex Legends Mobile, although the phone did get slightly warm after the first 30 minutes.

Diablo Immortal also ran without a hitch on high settings at 60fps. The Snapdragon 778G+ is not as fast as the Snapdragon 870 SoC or the MediaTek Dimensity 8100 chip, but it gets the job done here without any hitches. The interface always felt smooth and responsive and my 30-minute gaming sessions were quite fluent for the most part. So while the Snapdragon 778G+ may not be class-leading, it was never once found lacking.

Cameras

With a dual-camera setup, the Phone (1) distances itself from the over-the-top triple and quad camera brandings. You get two sensors here, a 50 MP Sony IMX766 primary sensor with an f/1.88 aperture and OIS and a 50 MP Samsung JN1 ultrawide lens with an f/2.2 aperture and a wide 114-degree FoV. On the front, there’s a 16 MP Sony IMX71 sensor with an f/2.45 aperture for the selfie camera. The Nothing Phone (1) can record 4K video at 30fps on both the main and ultrawide cameras, but you cannot switch between lenses while recording.

The main camera captures images with good detail and dynamic range in daylight, although objects in the background lack some detail. Colours looked a little too saturated at the start, but since then Nothing has been updated in the cameras to turn down the saturation, which has resulted in better-looking shots. The colours look quite vibrant here, resulting in some good Instagram-ready shots. The Nothing Phone (1) also deals with noise relatively well, although we did notice some of its popups in the background of images in lower light. You also get a 2x digital zoom on the Phone (1). But as good as it is, it is not as effective as the main camera.

Subjects in portrait shots were well-exposed, while background blur and details levels were quite good. You can also use the 50 MP shooting mode in instances where you want more detail in your shot. Unlike many of its competitors, the Nothing Phone (1) opts for a high-resolution 50 MP ultrawide camera. The ultrawide camera doesn’t maintain colour consistency with the primary sensor. You also lose a bit of detail and the dynamic range is average at best. On the plus side, colours look less saturated here and noise is kept under control.

In low light, night mode kicks in automatically and does a fantastic job reducing noise and bringing in more light into the scene. Images were well-exposed and had a good amount of detail. Additionally, both colour saturation and dynamic range were respectable. The punchier colours tend to make photos using the night mode look unrealistic but appealing, nevertheless. Night mode is present with the ultrawide camera, although images look much softer, and the level of detail sees a major dip. Despite the 50 MP resolution, the ultrawide camera here still struggles at night, facing much of the same roadblocks as lower-resolution ultrawide lenses on other mid-range smartphones.

The selfie camera was highly effective in daylight, capturing photos with natural skin tones and good exposure. Additionally, edge detection and subject separation were also on point for the most part. The Nothing Phone (1) can capture 4K video at 30fps or 1080p video up to 60fps. The phone captures good video in daylight with vibrant colours and above-average dynamic range. There’s both EIS and OIS support, although HDR video is limited to 1080p at 30fps.

The camera system on the Nothing Phone (1) didn’t quite hit its full potential but has since received several software updates to tackle some of its shortcomings, although we didn’t test the camera with the most recent update. Overall, there are both ‘Pros’ and ‘Cons’ here, the former being the utilization of two high-resolution sensors and the latter being the sensors not living up to their full potential. However, Nothing is improving quite a few of these shortcomings since the launch of the Phone (1).

Battery

The Nothing Phone (1) opts for a 4,500 mAh battery that felt more than adequate. The Phone (1) lasted the entire day under heavy usage, giving me around five and a half hours of screen-on time. However, I always found myself reaching for the charger at night, so as to not be left with insufficient battery life going into the next day as the device takes particularly long to charge using just the cable.

Yes, there’s no adapter in the box, just a cable. The Nothing Phone (1) also supports 15W Qi wireless charging and 5W reverse charging. Overall, battery life is just about decent and charging is lacking due to the lack of an adapter in the box. On the plus side, the Phone (1) does support wireless charging but that isn’t enough to round it up as ‘just about average’.

Software

In terms of software, the Phone (1) boots Android 12 with Nothing OS on top. The interface is relatively clean and is reminiscent of Stock Android we see on Pixel devices. Nothing is also offering three years of major Android updates and four years of security updates for the Phone (1), which is in line with most Android flagships. While the camera app does feel similar to the one, we see on the iPhones, the rest of the device as a stock Android feel to it. The Phone (1)’s dot-matrix and the animations look pretty cool.

For those who pre-ordered the phone, Nothing India in collaboration with Flipkart offers ‘Nothing Community Dots' NFTs. The Phone (1) has also a retro-themed recording app, custom wallpapers, and weather widgets. There are also built-in controls for the Nothing Ear (1) TWS earbuds. Tesla owners can also seemingly access shortcuts to control their car, according to Nothing. The software experience on the Nothing Phone (1) is quite nice, although I’d recommend steering clear of NFTs.

Verdict

Nothing fueled the hype machine Phone (1) for months, setting huge ambitions for its first smartphone. However, in terms of its specifications, the Phone (1) is nothing out of the ordinary. And without the LED lights on the back, you are left with a device that looks similar to an iPhone at first glance. But while the Phone (1) may not live up to its expectations, it is still a heck of a device.

The chipset, although not the best, is still reliable in every perceivable scenario, the display is solid, the battery life is good, the software is excellent, the build quality is fantastic, and the cameras are few but versatile. Add to all of that are the extremely cool LED lights, which give the phone its unique identity and cannot be overlooked. Sure, the Phone (1) may not have the best specifications for its price in every area, but we’ve yet to see a phone that does. What you do get, is a device that is well above the average across the board.

A quick glance at the specs sheet may give you the feeling that the Phone (1) is a bit overpriced but there’s more to the handset than specs alone and it is easy to overlook the effort put into the design here. We believe the Nothing Phone (1) is a good mid-range phone, a great addition to the segment, and an excellent first attempt at a smartphone. If you are looking for a well-balanced smartphone under Rs 35,000, then the Nothing Phone (1) might be right up your alley. It is worth noting that the Phone (1) is currently available for less than Rs 30,000 in India, making it one of the best phones in the segment.