4 months with Nothing (1): Nothing but happiness?

Four months with Nothing (1) phone, what gives it? Here are some user reviews we wanted to share with you to get a good idea of ​​what the first Carl Pei smartphone has to offer.

Nothing phone (1) is the first smartphone launched by the new brand Carl Pei (former co-chairman of OnePlus). Launched at less than 500 euros, this device wanted to stand out from the competition with a design that was a little out of the ordinary. In fact, it has a transparent look enhanced by a few LEDs on the back that light up and come alive according to certain notifications and interactions.

The Nothing (1) phone lent to the brand was used for four months by our colleague Robin Wycke. The latter is a member of the video team FrandroidMostly behind the camera, sometimes in front of our YouTube and Twitch channels. It especially stands out for its strong association with Google Pixels.

However, the phone (1) piqued his curiosity. Here we collect his notes.

“I really recommend it for less than 500 euros”

Overall, Robin refers to the Nothing (1) phone: for the price it’s sold, this smartphone is a bargain. ” I came from a high-end model and didn’t really feel like I upgraded to a cheaper device“.

“ I really recommend it for less than 500 euros Why? Our respected colleague found the smartphone to be generally very complete with great qualities to highlight.

Unique design

Let’s go through in detail the points that I like the most. Not surprisingly, design tops the list of mentioned qualities. ” to me Both sober and original, we’re pretty close to the aesthetics of the iPhone, but the Cyberpunk version with its LED lights is on the back. ». He is also satisfied with the handle, holding the smartphone in his hands well and being light enough: ” And he’s so cute In addition,With its bordered screen whose thickness is quite consistent, for its price, one wonders how other brands have always managed to have a chin“.

How can we talk about the design of Nothing (1) without mentioning the Glyph interface in the back? This is how the lamps on the back should be called. Our videographer’s verdict? ” Very beautiful, but not very useful This remains a positive point in his eyes, because he sees it as cool design element Which does not detract from the user experience. “The most useful in my opinion is the charge level indicator. For the rest, it’s such a great tool that we end up quickly forgetting about it on a daily basis. On the other hand, to show off in the evening, it really is higher.»

Autonomy and image

We also mentionExcellent autonomyWhich, according to Rubin, is better than the Google Pixel 6 or Pixel 7 Pro he’s currently using. He is pleased that he was able to have stamina similar to that he had at the time on the Honor View 20.”Who was really good at it“.

For a complete smartphone, you should also be able to rely on it in terms of photography. In the field, phone Nothing (1)”It is far from absurdRobin has never felt behind when it comes to image quality.

And even if the Pixel 6a is generally better for working out in this price range (especially in night mode), there are a few times Nothing phone (1) was superior. “It is better to introduce certain materials, such as an office rug. There are more details“.

But Robin regrets the lack of a telephoto lens, but remember that this is somewhat normal for this price range.

Some good ideas

By the way, to finish the highly appreciated points, let’s mention the Bluetooth menu that adds a touch of originality with a photo preview of the connected headphones and their charge level. Let’s also mention some nice details: When using Nothing phone (1) horizontally, the notification and quick settings panel have an ingenious layout.

It is, in fact, cut in two vertically.to meWith quick settings on the left and notifications on the right. Thus, space is used much better than Android Stock / Pixel Experience, it is really well thought out“.

refinement traits

These are not the only attributes of the Nothing (1) phone that our colleague from the video section ofFrandroid. There are other positives it keeps, but it’s still worth a bit of work.

As it stands, his feelings are still mixed about these items.

haptic feedback

This is the case of the tactile engine.very Feeling good level, we are close to the pixel, but choppyIf you type quickly on the keyboard, for example, you won’t necessarily react to every keystroke:

Sometimes the haptic motor stops working while I’m typing text, then all the lost vibrations seem to have been restored at once in a very loud, big shaking (surprisingly surprising the commuters of the train where I was). It happened to me four or five times.

Software experience

The clean side of Nothing OS, the interface on the phone (1) has something to please with easy-to-use and no-frills navigation. However, after four months of using this smartphone, Robin regrets having an interface close to that of Pixels in DNA without offering some really useful features like integrating Google Lens into multitasking or copying text from an image.

“From a box that looked like a “new OnePlus”, I was expecting more customizations, I was expecting an interface with a philosophy close to that of OxygenOS, but that’s not really the case“.

Along the same lines, if you can use the Glyph Interface as a more powerful flashlight, you have to go through your camera’s flash options to take advantage of this functionality. It’s a shame that you can’t activate this option directly from the quick settings,”ohu then did not find“.

120 Hz screen

120 Hz screen is “very WonderfulIn Robin’s words, but it’s not liquid pus either. At times, the Pixel 6’s 90Hz felt more responsive. This was a feeling he had on some apps, while the response time on some interactions seemed to be too long.

In short, there are nice things, but small improvements are still to be made in this aspect.

More bugs than Pixel 6

We must now talk about the things that bother you. And some are on the Nothing (1) phone. Within four months, Robin had technical problems. Much. “Coming from Pixel 6, however it is known for its bugs I had many bugs on Nothing phone (1)“.

The worst thing about lock screen:

Sometimes (it was almost daily), the fingerprint sensor just disappeared! The little circular location is no longer visible at the bottom of the screen, and nothing happened when I put my finger where the sensor was. This situation is not immediately resolved by locking/unlocking. Sometimes it was necessary to completely restart the smartphone. Other times, the smartphone freezes: white screen, black screen, and after a few seconds everything will return to normal.

Another surprising error. On several occasions, Robin noted that the Widevine L1 certificate for Nothing (1) was no longer detected. However, in the wonderful world of DRM, Widevine L1 – which is much more secure than L3 – is essential on an Android smartphone to access SVoD content in HD (or more) quality.

“But overall, a restart with a clear cache/data on the app in question resolved the issueRobin was once again enjoying streaming videos with the best quality.

Finally, and this is not a mistake, our videographer was frustrated by the impossibility of switching from wide angle to ultra wide angle (and vice versa) while shooting.

promising beginnings

At the end of these four months of use, Robin’s feedback allows us to confirm some impressions during our testing. Nothing phone (1) is the very first very good smartphone of the young Carl Pei brand.

The product does not look rushed or sloppy. It is elegant, complete, fun for everyday use and has found its good price at less than 500 euros. However, despite the great efforts made, there are still early bugs, especially with regard to the part of the software that is worth debugging to avoid bugs and extend some functionality.

So we hope for relevant updates on this model and a smartphone in the future – Phone (2)? Who will learn the right lessons.